Prototype Corner: Visiting With Old Friends

AEQX 3019 ex- B&M covered hopper sits in the CP yard at Havelock, Ontario on June 24, 2019.  Its load of roofing granules will be forwarded to Toronto Yard later in the day.

By Peter Mumby.

George likes any railroad equipment involving the words "Boston" and/or "Maine."  This is probably what initiated my interest in this AEQX series of cars.  The subsequent discovery that they were in local Southern Ontario roofing granule service definitely heightened this interest, so I have been photographing them on and off over the last six years or so.  My album now contains 18 individual cars in the AEQX (Atelier Equipment Corp.) 3000 - 3044 group.  My earliest shots of this number series feature an AMIX (Railcar Leasing Specialists) reporting mark, so I assume the entire group has changed ownership.  I have a photo of AMIX 3005 taken in 2013 plus a shot of AEQX 3005 from 2014, so the transfer must have occurred sometime within that time frame.  The particular car featured in this post was photographed because I did not have many views of the car ends.  I found two earlier shots of B ends, but this is my first good look at an A end.  The weathering pattern on this car is fairly typical of the series, with a reasonably clean mid section and darker panels toward the car ends.

This view of the A end of the car displays end lettering and weathering patterns.