Nostalgia & History > Union Pacific McKeen car #17 Lawrence Kansas First Trip???

Found this photograph in a bargain bin, I thought it might be Lawrence Ks, Art Gibson received a copy from me and said it was taken at Lawrence. I have made a couple of close up shots. Does anyone know what the purpose of the  hose is for. I figure the broom head was to sweep away debris off the rail, the hose is got me wandering. The photo has water damage all around it, but the middle where the car is at was OK, it looks like there was some sort of writing along the bottom but is long gone now. #17 was finished in October 1907 and made its initial run out of Lawrence on the 16th and then the trip went to #^*! at Leavenworth. It got its nose bent up and with the design it looks like it would happen very easily. I started to go thru old local papers and have found some local info on the McKeen Cars that the UP used into Leavenworth. I did find an old site on the internet about McKeen Cars, but hasn't been updated in 4 years. There is also a FB site on them but I am not on FB. Any info is appreciated, KCRW287

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Here is a small article about what happened and other info on there operation. KCRW287

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I'm guessing the hose is for dumping the liquid toilet

The depot in the background is Lawrence Kansas 

That two axle baggage car is a new one for me......at least in the US.
The collsion report shows just how lightweight the construction of these cars was.  There was no damage to the standard passenger car.

AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

The local paper reports that on Nov 7 1908 that a 4 axle trailer started to make this run, the trailer was built in Omaha at the UP shops. The UP did have a couple of 2 axle trailers trailers jump the tracks and dragging along. They apparently rode very bad, I think all the trailers got converted. KCRW287

SeaboardMan Wrote:
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> I'm guessing the hose is for dumping the liquid
> toilet

do direct dump?

SeaboardMan Wrote:

> I'm guessing the hose is for dumping the liquid toilet

Did any railroad use retention tanks in 1907?  Floorplans of McKeens like Motor Car 17 show the toilet rooms next to the center doors:

https://mckeencar.com/wp-content/uploads/mckeen-527-SDCRW.jpg

There's another photo of the car with different lettering and sporting a front coupler on the McKeen site:

https://mckeencar.com/gallery/u/union-pacific-railroad/u-p-17/

Despite its early misadventure, M-17 turned out to have a pretty long life as McKeen cars go.  It was retired in 1940.  This photo purports to date from 1936:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29903115@N06/49190660022/

Doodlebug Country only indicates one McKeen trailer with just four wheels on Union Pacific's roster, 31-foot-long T-1 built in 1905.  McKeen's very first motorcar, UP Motor Car 1, was also only 31 feet long with four wheels: 

https://mckeencar.com/gallery/u/union-pacific-railroad/union-pacific-motor-car-1/