DELAWARE, LACKAWANNA & WESTERN RAILROAD
MAIL STORAGE CAR #2037
| Intercity passenger trains impacted a railroad's bottom line beyond the number of passengers which were carried.A significant amount of revenue could be earned by carrying U.S. Mail, packages and other time sensitive commodities on those trains. To meet those needs most railroads rostered an array of baggage, mail storage and other express cars which could usually be seen at the head end of most long-distance passenger trains. |
A Louisville & Nashville Railroad train takes on mail and express at a northern Florida station stop in 1940. Photo Credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, [LC-USF34-054163-E] |
|
An east bound Lackawanna passenger train with an express car of wood construction at Goldsboro, Pa., in 1914. Photo Credit: Steamtown NHP Archives - Watson B. Bunnell, photographer. |
|
Originally railroad rolling stock was constructed of wood. Around 1910 railroads adopted all steel construction as the standard for new passenger train equipment. The Lackawanna ordered its first ten all steel Baggage-Express cars in 1910 and placed orders for two dozen more over the next decade. By the mid-1920's the railroad decided to scrap all of its remaining wood construction baggage car fleet. A total of 75 new cars were ordered with the Museum's car, #2037, arriving in the first group of 30 ordered in 1925.
This group of cars was built by Pressed Steel Car Company and were numbered #2035 to #2064. They were 60 feet long, weighed 110,000 pounds and rode on 4-wheel trucks. Each side had two doors, one seven feet wide and the other four and a half feet. The cars were delivered in the standard Lackawanna passenger car paint scheme of dark green sides with yellow lettering.
These cars were designated Class MR, mail storage, and roamed the entire system. While documentary evidence of specific assignments is very rare, this particular car was recorded in June 1950 in the consist of the “Interstate Express”, a joint Reading Railroad-Central Railroad of Jersey-Lackawanna Railroad train which operated between Philadelphia, Pa., and Binghamton, N.Y.
| When the Lackawanna introduced its new lightweight train “Phoebe Snow” in 1949, it adopted the grey, maroon and yellow worn by its freight diesel locomotives as the paint scheme for all of the railroad's new passenger train equipment. |
Postcard promoting the Lackawanna's premire train "Phoebe Snow". The first car behind the locomotives is an older express car repainted to the new scheme. [M Dodge Collection] |
As older equipment was shopped it too would receive the new colors. By 1954 21 of the 30 cars in the #2035 to #2064 group had received the grey, maroon and yellow paint, but #2037 was not among them. In fact, no photographic evidence has been found to show that this car ever received the new paint scheme by 1960.
During the 1950’s the financial health of many Northeastern US railroads began to decline and the Lackawanna was no exception. It looked to merger with another railroad as the way to halt the decline and after several merger partners were explored the decision was made to combine with the Erie Railroad.
|
Cover of the Novermber 1960 Issue of Erie-Lackawanna Employee Magazine. [M Dodge Collection] |
October, 1960, saw the creation of the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad (Technically the merger was not completed until 1961 and the hyphen in the name was dropped within a few years.). |
| The car continued to operate wearing its Lackawanna paint scheme until 1965, when it emerged from the shops in Erie Lackawanna grey, maroon and yellow and now numbered 402. |
Built in the same order as the Museum's car, Erie Lackawanna #401, originally DL&W #2036, models the EL paint scheme these cars wore. [Paul Tupaczewski Collection] |
Steve Hepler of the Whippany Railway Museum relates the story of one of the more unusual assignments for one of the cars in the series: Earle Henriquez-Gil founded the Morris County Central Railroad, a steam powered excursion operation based at Whippany, N.J., in 1965. Earle's father, Carlos Henriquez-Gil, who never had the opporunity to ride his son's trains, passed away in July, 1968. A MCC train was assembled and after Carlos' funeral service in Morristown, his casket was loaded into Erie Lackawanna Mail Storage car #401, which was obtained for the occassion, for the trip to his final resting place. With engineer Andy Barbera, dressed in a white shirt and tie rather than his usual engineer's uniform, at the throttle of steam locomotive MCC #385 and also including MCC coach #1002, which carried the mourners, the train proceded to the Ridgedale Avenue crossing in East Hanover, where the casket was then transferred to a waiting hearse for the short trip to the Gate of Heaven Cemetary, which is located just across the street. The train was then backed off the crossing and the funeral party proceeded to the gravesite. Since Carlos had not had the opportunity to ride on his son's train, this was Earle's gesture at fulfilling his father's last wish.
|
The casket containing the body of Carlos Henriquez-Gil is taken from EL Mail Storage Car #401. [Steve Hepler Collection] |
|
|
Engineer Andy Barbera moves the train off the crossing. [Steve Hepler Collection] |
|
With the expansion of the Federal Interstate highway network and increased competition from the airline industry, railroads saw their share of intercity passenger traffic steadily decline throughout the 1950s and 1960s. This led to a steady reduction in passenger service. On the Erie Lackawanna only one round trip train between Hoboken, N.J., and Chicago, Ill., the "Lake Cities", remained by 1969. Now considered excess equipment, Mail Storage car #402 was withdrawn from service in October of that year. In January, 1970, the Erie Lackawanna discontinued the "Lake Cities" bringing to a close long-distance passenger train service on the railroad. No longer needed, many of the railroad's baggage and express cars were sold off or scrapped.
| Some express cars, however, were retained and reassigned to the Maintaince of Way department. Such was the case with EL #402, which on December 30, 1970, became tool car #485004 and was assigned to Elmira, N.Y. |
EL #402 was transferred to the Maintenance of Way Department, becoming tool car #485004 and assigned to Elmira, N.Y. Photo Credit: Ron Dukarm October 1980. |
The financial health of many of the railroads in the Northeastern U.S., including the Erie Lackawanna, deteriorated during the 1960s and the early 1970s ultimately resulting in their bankruptcy. Federal action to save rail service in the Northeast led to the creation of the Consolidated Rail Corporation (ConRail - The capital "R" was soon dropped) in 1976. Ownership of most of the assets of the EL, including tool car #485004, was transferred to the new railroad. Repainting cars used in company service was not a priority, so tool car #485004 continued to wear its Erie Lackawanna paint and number throughout its time owned by Conrail. In the mid-1980s, after 60 years of service for three railroads, this car was retired by Conrail. It was then donated to the Tri-State Railway Historical Society and moved to Whippany, N.J.
|
EL #485004, nee-Lackawanna #2037, upon its arrival in Whippany. The white line through the number indicates it had been stricken from Conrail's roster. Photo Credit: Steve Hepler |
|
Tri-State repainted the car after aquiring it, giving it the Lackawanna's grey, maroon and yellow scheme. In 2011 ownership of Lackawanna #2037 was transferred to the Whippany Railway Museum, which currently uses it for storage. Due for a repaint, the Museum plans to return the car to its as delivered look of dark green with yellow lettering.
CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY of NEW JERSEY
COACH #1001
Central Railroad Company of New Jersey (CNJ) Commuter Coach No. 1001 was built by the American Car & Foundry Co. in May 1923 as part of the No. 933-1168 series of class “PB” coaches ordered by the CNJ. It is a classic open-window coach with a clerestory roof. Now approaching 100 years old, it is very representative of the commuter coaches of the early-to-mid 1900s used out of the Greater New York City commuter area by the steam-powered railroads.
| The exterior length of the coach is 72' 6” and the interior length is 62' 3”. The car carried 78 passengers, and weighs approximately 113,100 lbs. The coach was equiped with electric lights and heat was provided by a steam line connection to the locomotive. |
Car Diagram for CNJ Coaches numbered 982 through 1026 (Click magnifying glass icon to enlarge) |
|
CNJ Coach 1002 at Jersey City, NJ 1964 |
Original interior of CNJ Coaches as demonstrated by #980 in the late 1940s. |
|
A CNJ Fairbanks-Morse H44-15 departs Jersey City with a typical commuter train consist c. 1964 |
During its years of revenue service on the CNJ, No. 1001 most likely worked the railroad's commuter lines between Jersey City, Newark, Bound Brook, Flemington, and the New Jersey Shore points. It is reasonable to assume that the car may have ventured into Pennsylvania via the CNJ's route through Phillipsburg, NJ, with service to Easton, Allentown and Scranton, PA. |
No. 1001 operated in regular CNJ commuter service until April 1965 when it was retired, ending 42 years of continuous service.
| The relatively new Morris County Central Railroad (MCC) - operating steam-powered excursion trains out of Whippany, NJ - purchased #1001 in April 1965, along with four other recently retired CNJ coaches: #910, 1002, 1153 and 1205. The #1001 was named "Sunnyside" by the MCC, but kept its former CNJ number. |
Morris County Central Coach #1001 "Sunnyside" at Whippany, NJ, in 1967. |
|
MCC #1001, repainted and now named "Beaver Lake", at Newfoundland, NJ, in October, 1977. |
The MCC relocated to Newfoundland, NJ on the New York, Susquehanna & Western RR along with its five ex-CNJ coaches in late-December 1973. In 1976 #1001 was repainted in the MCC's new livery and renamed "Beaver Lake". MCC excursion operations with the #1001 operated out of Newfoundland until December 14, 1980 when the Morris County Central made its final runs. The non-profit museum group that operated in conjunction with the MCC remained open at the Newfoundland site for two more years before relocating the museum back to Whippany in mid-1983 where it was renamed “Whippany Railway Museum”. |
Sadly, when it ceased operations, all of the MCC's ex-CNJ coaches remained in Newfoundland where all but the #1001 were scrapped in January 1988. #1001 was sold to a private individual and placed on an isolated section of track near the Newfoundland station building.
| Some restoration work and care had been done on coach #1001 over the years following the Morris County Central's demise, and the car was in reasonably good cosmetic condition considering its age and exposure to the elements. |
Privately owned ex-Morris County Central Coach #1001 at Newfoundland, NJ, June 16, 1994. Photo Credit: Bill Young |
| In 2017, #1001 was donated to the Whippany Railway Museum by its owners, Matt & Jane Klemchalk. The car was moved by truck from its long-time resting place at Newfoundland, NJ to the Museum site at Whippany on August 30, 2021. Seeing the car back on the rails in Whippany Yard after a nearly 48-year absence was at once emotional and exhilarating. |
Ex-CNJ/MCC coach #1001 is lifted from the rails to be placed on a truck for shipment to Whippany. |
|
After nearly 48 years Coach #1001 leaves Newfoundland for the return to Whippany. |
Back on the rails at Whippany, Coach #1001 is reunited with Morris County Central locomotive #385 on 10/18/2021. |
The Museum's ultimate goal is to restore #1001 to as-built condition for service on the Museum's popular excursion trains.
|
The interior of Coach #1001 during the removal of the seats. |
Upon the arrival of #1001 at Whippany, Museum volunteers immediately set to work on the car, clearing the interior of debris and taking stock of what needed to be accomplished. |
| A great amount of work was completed throughout 2022 on both the interior and exterior. As of mid-November 2022, all of the old exterior paint had been removed and the car given a coat of primer paint. Additionally, the roof had a new coat of paint applied in October 2022. |
Coats of old paint being removed from the sides of the coach by Museum volunteers. |
|
The cleaned areas of the car are prepped to receive a primer coat of paint. |
CNJ Coach #1001 with the sides in primer and the roof repainted. |
|
Interior restoration progress on Coach #1001 with much of the wood sanded. |
The restoration and return-to-service of coach #1001 is a priority, so work will be ongoing throughout the winter of 2022 - '23 on the interior. As of November 2022, the sanding of the all-wood interior is nearing completion. Once that task is finished, the inside will be stained a proper tint. Most of the original, stained-glass clerestory windows were found to be missing and the few remaining were damaged when the WRyM acquired the car, but luckily, the Museum had a complete set of originals on hand and they will be refurbished and installed at a later date. In the meantime, all of the seat cushions and backs will need to be reupholstered. |
| Additionally, all of the car's windows need to be replaced. New frames with new glass have been constructed and will be installed in the new year. Most importantly, there is major steel work that needs to be completed before the car can re-enter service. The repair of these deteriorated segments of metal work will commence in the New Year 2023, followed by a new paint job. |
Unrestored condition of the coach's windows and frames. |
|
Rotted exterior steel panel in need of repair. |
Steel damaged by corrosion in the vestibule and needing restoration. |
Restoration funds for #1001 are essential, so please consider making a donation to WRyM to further this effort along. You can visit our Donation Page to make an online donation. The Whippany Railway Museum is an IRS-approved, 501 (c) 3 non-profit, educational organization. Remember, all the work on 1001 so far has been completed by volunteers, and we use our funding wisely and carefully.
|
Thank you for your consideration and support!
|
ERIE-LACKAWANNA RAILROAD
CABOOSE No. C-177
Erie-Lackawanna Caboose C177
| Cabooses are often among the most unique pieces of equipment on a railroad. By the 1950's railroad car builders began offering standard cabooses, yet the cars themselves could vary from railroad to railroad. In the 1940's however, most American railroads built their own “home grown” - style waycars, and the Erie Railroad was no exception. |
 Click to Enlarge |
For decades the Erie had relied on wooden cabooses for their freight train crews that were built between 1914 – 1921. With war clouds forming, the Erie built 70 riveted steel cabooses at its Dunmore, PA shops in June - August 1941. When it became evident that World War II was drawing to a close, the War Production Board granted the Erie Railroad permission to build a second series of 100 additional cabooses, numbered C170 – C269, this time with all-welded construction and equipped with hand-me-down freight car trucks. |
| The C170 series cabooses were built in March 1946 from “kits” at Dunmore Shops, with Youngstown Steel Door Company presumably being the supplier of the fabricated materials required to piece the kits together. |  Click to Enlarge |
| The 1946 Erie cabooses were equipped with trucks fitted with leaf springs and this made them very hard-riding cars and extremely unpopular with freight crews. Drip rails over the windows, were in reality half-sections of steel pipe, welded in place to keep the side windows clear and later became a standard feature on Erie steel cabooses. |
 Click to Enlarge |
The C170 - C269 series cabooses at first supplanted the Erie's wooden cabooses on road freights. This duty was short-lived, as better-riding bay-window cabooses became the preferred caboose for road trains in 1953. The "Dunmore" (as they were nicknamed) then settled into their primary role as local service cabooses. They were commonly found on drills and yard jobs across the entire Erie (and later, Erie-Lackawanna) system. |
| Upon the merger of the Erie Railroad with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in October 1960, caboose C177 became part of the new Erie-Lackawanna Railroad (EL), but retained its original Erie road number, C177. |
| The C177, in EL years, moved around... it worked on the Bangor & Portland Branch in the mid-1960s, migrating to Ohio for local service there in the early 1970s. In April 1976, the EL became part of the huge Conrail (CR) system. C177 was removed from freight service and was repainted work train gray and renumbered CR 46197, and ultimately used on Maintenance-Of-Way trains. |
| In late-1985 Conrail retired the former Erie C177 and donated the car to the Jersey Central Railway Historical Society Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, whose members initially restored the caboose to its 1950's appearance. |  Click to Enlarge |
| In the Fall of 2016, the Jersey Central Chapter donated the caboose to the Whippany Railway Museum. |
 Click to Enlarge |
As refurbished by the Whippany Railway Museum, Caboose C177 (while not known if it indeed was ever fitted with a two-way radio for train crew communication) carries the Erie / Erie-Lackawanna “Radio Equipped” lightning bolt scheme. The Erie Railroad claimed to be the first railroad to be completely “radio equipped”, in that all of its dispatching posts, block and interlocking towers, road locomotives and cabooses |
Erie-Lackawanna Caboose C177. November 5, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler.
DELAWARE, LACKAWANNA & WESTERN RAILROAD
SUBSCRIPTION CLUB CAR NO. 2454
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western MU Subscription Car #2454
The Whippany Railway Museum (WRyM) has acquired former Delaware Lackawanna & Western (DL&W) MU Subscription Club Car No. 2454 (ex-Erie Lackawanna / NJ Transit No. 3454). The acquisition was arranged with the cooperation and donation of the car to WRyM by the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey (URHS).
Through the efforts of long-time WRyM supporter Frank Reilly, a very substantial grant has been gifted to the Museum which is being directed towards the complete restoration-to-operation of this historically significant railcar that comes to us with an abundance of NJ transportation history.
| The DL&W club cars dated from 1912, and operated in steam locomotive-hauled service before being rebuilt for New Jersey suburban electric MU (Multiple Unit) service in 1930. Also known as "Subscription Cars" on the DL&W, they catered to the "gentlemen's club" set. In order to ride in the car, an individual had to be sponsored and voted in by the other members, so the membership would have had a air of exclusivity. Members paid an extra fare each month, which was turned over to the railroad to pay the expenses of operating the car. |  |
  DL&W MU Club Car #2451 at Hoboken c-1930. Photo shows how #2454 would have appeared at the same time. Note original 1912-era stained-glass upper windows still in place at this late date |
The five original DL&W MU subscription / club cars (Nos. 480 - 484) were built new for the Lackawanna by Barney & Smith in 1912 as steel body, open platform subscription cars. They were not rebuilds from earlier main-line parlor cars. No. 2454 was originally DL&W No. 484. Throughout 1930, American Car & Foundry Co. converted the original open platform club cars into vestibule-equipped club cars and fitted them out for electric MU service, the same as all the other high-roof MU trailers that started life with open platforms. |
| DL&W No. 2454 was assigned to the Hoboken to Gladstone Branch run... on a train known as The Millionaire's Express . The Gladstone club car was the only one that had a porter, and it was the only Lackawanna MU car that received air conditioning. It was cool air vented out of the ceiling via ducts from ice bunkers filled with huge blocks of ice. |  |
 Erie Lackawanna MU Subscription Club Car #3454 at Hoboken, Christmas Eve, 1973. Photo: Dan McFadden |
After the October 1960 merger of the DL&W and the Erie Railroad, which created the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad, No. 2454 was renumbered as 3454, the number which it carried until the end of its operating career in 1984. |
Some memories of riding onboard the 2454 / 3454 are provided below by New Jersey commodities broker-turned-steam-excursion-entrepreneur Ross Rowland:
 Erie Lackawanna standard MU commuter coach interior. Photo: Bill Young |
“When my family and I first moved to Bernardsville in the spring of 1968 I noticed that one car on the 7:45 am train had air conditioning while the entire rest of the fleet depended upon little fans near the ceiling to move the hot air around and provide at least a little relief from the heat. The cars all sat in the Hoboken yard all day in the hot summer sun and were plenty hot each evening for the commute home. |
| I asked around about how one could avail themselves of joining the one subscription car that had the A/C and was told that it was a private commuters club whose members were a " whose-who" of Wall Street senior leaders and heavy duty political figures from the NJ "establishment" and that one could only join if sponsored by 2 members and that there was a 3 year waiting list. |  EL Subscription Club Car #3454 interior showing A/C duct at ceiling. Photo: Dan McFadden |
 Entry door to EL Subscription Club Car #3454, Gladstone, NJ Sept. 17, 1972. Photo: Dan McFadden |
A few weeks later I discovered that one of my largest commodity futures customers (at Merrill Lynch) was a long standing member of the car and he agreed to " sponsor" me and find the 2nd. sponsor. I was soon elected to membership and began enjoying the commute home a lot more all summer. |
If I recall correctly I was the first new member in the previous 7 years, and from my memory I was (at age 28) at least 25 years younger than the next youngest member. I was rather used to being the "kid" in the crowd as all the members of the futures exchange where I worked were in their 60's-70's.
| The car was divided near the middle with one end being non-smoking and reserved for members guests. The rules allowed us to bring a total of 4 guests aboard per year (one at a time) and guests were required to ride in the non-smoking/guest end. There were no women members. |  Interior photo of companion EL Subscription Club Car #3453 showing the non-smoking end of the car. Photo: Dan McFadden |
 Interior of EL Subscription Club Car #3454, showing card tables. Photo: Dan McFadden |
The other end was set-up with rattan seats and 2 card tables. Every day there were 2 bridge games on the way into Hoboken and each night there were 2 gin-rummy games on the way home. Both games had regular players and scores were kept and everyone settled up on the money Friday nights coming into Basking Ridge. The players were in fact a "whose-who" of Wall Street and included Mr. Percy Chubb, II - CEO of Chubb Insurance Webster Todd, Director - Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Cyrus Vance, Deputy Secretary of Defense under President Lyndon Johnson and later Secretary of State for President Jimmy Carter; C. Douglas Dillon, Wall Street financier and former Treasury Secretary under President John F. Kennedy; etc.,etc. I never tired of enjoying some of the squabbles that would develop between them on settlement night when they'd frequently argue strongly over pennies when during their average workday they dealt in millions!!! |
 Percy Chubb, II |
 Cyrus Vance |
 Douglas Dillion with President Kennedy |
| I recall one day Webb Todd brought his daughter Christie aboard for the ride into Hoboken and she sat next to me (I rode in the non-smoking end mornings to read the paper in library silence, and this end was the only space females were permitted) and I remember being very impressed with her. It did not surprise me in the least when she went on to become New Jersey's Governor years later. |  Former NJ Governor Christine Todd Whitman |
We were blessed to have as a faithful attendant , Mr. Bob White who worked the car for many years. Each member kept a bottle of his favorite hooch in Mr. White's galley and he knew just how each member liked his drink prepared for the journey home. Mornings he served coffee / tea and crumpets. Each year at Christmas a generous collection was taken and Mr. White did quite well. He was a total professional in every sense and added a great deal to the pleasure of the car.
My memories of riding the club car are extensive, fond and lasting. I always enjoyed the sounds of the mahogany wood paneling creaking as we'd go through the turnouts in Hoboken and the wonderful conversations overheard during the serious card games between those titans of Wall Street on all manner of topics.
The ability to enjoy a scotch & soda along with a good cigar, served by a true professional in the comfort of an air conditioned car in the blazing heat of summer, was truly wonderful and will always be remembered as such
Each morning during the summer the car's ice lockers (slung underneath) would be filled with large blocks of ice to keep the A/C going strong all day as the car sat in the summer heat in the yard. Mr. White would draw all the window shades to keep out the sun's rays and not lift them until he was on his way into the shed to receive guests. The car was always nice and chilly when we left Hoboken no matter how hot the day.
| And all this for the incredible price of $120. a year !!! Great memories....sadly never to be repeated!!” Ross Rowland |
 Ross Rowland |
 #3454 Subscription Club Car at NJT Retirement Celebration, Maplewood, NJ Aug. 11, 1984 Photo: Steve Hepler |
No. 3454 was the featured lead car during NJ Transit's "Lackawanna Electrics Retirement Celebration" in August 1984 at Maplewood, NJ, and once again during the Tri-State Railway Historical Society's "Farewell to the DL&W MU's" excursion on August 19, 1984. The 3454 "closed the show" so to speak by being placed at the head-end of the very last NJ Transit 1930's-era electric MU train from Hoboken to Dover, NJ on August 24, 1984. |
 NJT MU Retirement Celebration, Maplewood, NJ Station Aug.11, 1984 Photo: Steve Hepler |
 #3454 Subscription Club Car leads the Tri-State NRHS' Farewell To The DL&W MU's excursion over the Millington Trestle on Aug. 19, 1984. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Subscription Club Car #3454 at Hoboken Terminal prior to the departure of the last DC-powered electric train to Dover, NJ Aug. 24, 1984. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 #3454 wears commemorative "Last Run" signage at Hoboken Terminal, Aug. 24, 1984. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Caption: #3454 bursts through a "Last Run" banner upon arrival at Dover, NJ Station, Aug. 24, 1984. Photo: Scott R. Snell |
 3454, with all lights ablaze just after her final arrival at Dover, NJ Station, Aug. 24, 1984. Photo: Richard Hart |
 #3454 poses at Dover, NJ with her final crew during the night of August 24, 1984. Left-to-Right: Mike Farrell; Charlie Farrell; Dick Dilger & Al Kelly. Photo: Richard Hart |
The full restoration of this notable rail car was a long-term project. For the exterior of the car the Whippany Railway Museum utilized the services of Star Trak, Inc., located at the URHS restoration facility in Boonton, NJ. The first task was to remove all the earlier paint layers and coat the carbody and roof in primer paint. The lower, rotted portions of steel along the bottom and ends of the car were cut out and refitted with new metal work. Repairs were made to a minor leak in a portion of the copper-clad roof. The decayed steps and vestibule platforms were removed and rebuilt. Museum volunteers also cleaned the car’s underbody components.
 #2454 / 3454 enters the URHS / Star Trak shop at Boonton, NJ to begin its multi-year restoration. April 17, 2014. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 May 19,2014. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Aug. 6, 2014. Photo: Ray Clauss |
 Oct. 10, 2014. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Aug. 28, 2014. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Caption: May 8, 2014. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 April 20, 2015. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 July 13, 2015. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 August 4, 2016. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Brake Component prior to the removal of rust and grime. September 3, 2015. Photo: Alan Wishengrad |
 Brake Component after the removal of rust and grime. September 8, 2015. Photo: Alan Wishengrad |
 A refurbished window frame complete with new glass. April 20, 2015. Photo: Steve Hepler |
While the body repairs were underway, Museum volunteers removed all window frames, refurbishing them and fitting them with new glazing. A notable feature of No. 2454's original 1912 construction is the stained-glass window panels above each large passenger window. Some time after the 1930 rebuild of the car for electric MU service, the stained-glass windows were plated over to give the car a more “modern” appearance. Museum volunteers removed this plating and found that the original 1912-era wood framing and stained glass panels were still in place and intact. The wooden frames for the stained-glass unfortunately did not age well and were all removed and totally re-fabricated. |
 EL (Conrail) MU Subscription Car #3454 at Gladstone, N.J. Steel plating was installed to hide the original stained glass window panels to give the car a more "modern" look. January 8, 1977. Photo: Dan McFadden |
 Original 1912-era stained glass window panels and wood frames still intact after 1930's plating was removed. September 15, 2014. Photo: Alan Wishengrad |
 Newly fabriated wooden window frame with original 1912-era stained glass panels. October 21, 2014. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Refabricated upper stained-glass window panels being installed. April 2, 2015. Photo: Steve Hepler |
| Also unique to the Subscription Cars were their diamond shaped windows. Several of them had been vandalized and their frames had deteriorated. Museum volunteers removed the original frames and fabricated replacement ones. New glass matching the original was cut to replace those panes which had been destroyed. Museum volunteers then reinstalled these signature windows. Finally, the interior framing around the windows was rebuilt and installed. |  One of the diamond windows prior to restoration. May 12, 2014. Photo: Frank Reilly |
 New diamond window frames with glass ready for installation. July 28, 2017. Photo: Alan Wishengrad |
 Whippany Railway Museum volunteers install the new diamond windows. August 1, 2017. Photo: Terence Mulligan |
 Diamond window before installing the rebuilt interior framing. August 30, 2020. Photo: Alan Wishengrad |
 Diamond window after installing the rebuilt interior framing. August 30, 2020. Photo: Alan Wishengrad |
| With the repairs to the rotted sections of the sides and vestibules completed, the new steps installed and the windows reinstalled the next task was to fully repaint the exterior of the car. |  Engineer's end of car after body repair and installation of new steps. May 2, 2016. Photo: Steve Hepler |
The standard color scheme for Lackawanna MU equipment was dark green (Pullman green) sides and ends with a black roof and black underbody. The lettering and car number were yellow.
 Engineer's end of car with roof painted black. October 18, 2016. Photo: Steve Hepler |
In repainting the Subscription Car, first the roof was painted black. Next, all the window glass was masked. The car’s “letterboards”, the areas on the car sides above the windows, were then painted yellow, as were small areas on each side centered under the windows. Stencils for the lettering (LACKAWANNA) and the car number (2454) were then affixed in the yellow-painted areas. |
 Car after masking of the windows. June 5, 2018. Photo: Mike Dodge |
 Applying the stencils for the lettering. July 12, 2018. Photo: Steve Hepler |
With the preparation work finished the car body was ready to be painted. The first step was the application of a primer coat, which when dry was then lightly scuffed. After wiping down the car, two coats of green paint were applied. Once dry, the stencils were removed, revealing the lettering and number.
 DL&W #2454 after the application of the black primer coat. July 17, 2018. Photo Steve Hepler |
 Wiping down the car prior to the start of applying the final coats of paint. July 21, 2018. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Lackawanna #2454 getting the second coat of paint. July 21, 2018. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Removing the stencils to reveal the car's lettering and number. July 23, 2018. Photo: Steve Hepler |
Following the completion of several detailing tasks, the exterior of the car looked as it had at the start of electrified service on the Lackawanna in 1930.
 The vestibule handrails receive a coat of black paint. July 31, 2018. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Delaware, Lackawanna & Western MU Subscription Car #2454. August 6, 2018. Photo: Steve Hepler |
Once the exterior work on the car was completed, the time had come to move it from Boonton to Whippany so the interior restoration could be started. In September, 2019, a few weeks past the 35th anniversary of it leading the last MU train into Dover, the Lackawanna #2454 was again under the wires as it traveled the Denville to Morristown segment of its trip to the Museum.
 Having arrived at Denville, Lackawanna #2454 waits on the Boonton Line as a New York bound train passes. September 19, 2019. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 After 35 years Lackawanna #2454 is once again under the wires as it leaves Denville for Morristown. September 19, 2019. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Having left the NJ Transit line at Morristown, DL&W #2454 travels the Morristown & Erie on the way to Whippany. September 19, 2019. Photo: Mike Dodge |
 Lackawanna #2454 upon its arrival at the Whippany Railway Museum. September 19, 2019. Photo: Steve Hepler |
With its arrival at Whippany, work on restoring the interior got underway. Restoration began with WRyM volunteers removing the carpet and clearing the car of debris. The interior finish of the car was constructed of mahogany, much of which was in remarkably good condition considering the three decades of non-maintenance and exposure to vandalism and the elements, although the interior doors needed to be rebuilt and many of the window surrounds and other finishing pieces needed to be replaced. In a process which took four months, all of the interior's cracked and soot covered varish was stripped and the wood refinished. Meanwhile, the damaged panels forming the car's air-conditioning duct were replaced and followed by the prepping and repainting of the car's ceiling.
 The interior of Lackawanna Subscription Car #2454 prior to the start of restoration work. November 8, 2011. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Volunteers remove the old carpet from Lackawanna #2454. May 24, 2014. Photo: Alan Wishengrad |
 The interior of DL&W Subscription Car #2454 ready for its restoration. September 21, 2016. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Stripping the interior mahogany of the old coats of finish is underway. February 28, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Interior wood ready for the application of new varnish. March 21, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Appling new varnish to the interior wood of Lackawanna #2454. May 28, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 The repainting of the ceiling of car. July 23, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 The Men's (Smoking) section of the car after the completion of the wood restoration and repainting of the ceiling. July 27, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
Nearly all of the metal fittings, both large, such as the baggage racks and lighting fixtures, and small, down to the match strike plates, had been removed over the years, requiring replacements to be acquired or manufactured. With the refinishing of the interior mahogany completed, all of these various pieces were reinstalled. Interior lettering was then applied. At this same time the car's electrical service was converted to be compatable with modern HEP systems and the interior of the car was rewired, down to each of the annunciators which were used to alert the car's porter that a member wanted service.
 Baggage Racks for Lackawanna #2454. The one on the right is prior to restoration while the one on the left is ready to be repainted. May 27, 2016. Photo: Alan Wishengrad. |
 A newly made replacement light fixure for Lackawanna Subscription Car #2454. June 7, 2016. Photo: Terence Mulligan. |
 A Museum volunteer installs window latches. September 10, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 A Museum volunteer installs one of the fan motors. November 30, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 Reinstalling Lackawanna #2454's baggage racks. January 10, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler |
 The subscription car's interior number in gold-leaf lettering. March 4, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Lettering on the window of the entrance doors reminded passengers that the car was for "Members Only". March 3, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 The control panel in the operator's compartment. May 17, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Museum volunteers install replacement wiring for the car's annunciators. December 29, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 The rewiring of the car progresses with the installation of new lighting hardware. January 27, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
| The original heating system was was designed to operate on DC power. This set-up was replaced with one able to operate with on AC power. The radiators were installed within the original floor mounted heating ducts, thus maintaining the original look. The metal plates covering the system were repainted and reinstalled. |  Pieces of Lackawanna #2454's original heating system removed from the floor duct. November 30, 2019. Photo: Alan Wishengrad. |
 Installation of the new electric heaters into the original floor ducts. November 30, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 New heater installed with two of the original grates restored and reinstalled in DL&W Subscription Car #2454. December 10, 2020. Photo: Terence Mulligan. |
| The concrete floor of the car was resurfaced, and a 1910-era railroad-design carpet was manufactured and installed in the main sections. The entranceways, galley and restrooms received new, dark-green linoleum. |  A Museum volunteer grinds the floor of the car to smooth the concrete surface. April 26, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Installation of the new carpet. April 28, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Installation of the carpet. April 28, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
When in service, another distinctive feature of the Subscription Cars were their individual wicker seats. When received by the Museum, a few of the original chairs were still in Lackawanna #2454. One was shipped to a firm located in New Dehli, India, which was able to use it as a template to make the forty exact replicas needed for the restoration.
 Interior of one of the Subscription Cars. Photographed at Hoboken, NJ, April, 1968. |
 A pair of the original wicker seats left in Lackawanna #2454. April 17, 2014. Photo Steve Hepler. |
 The prototype reproduction wicker chair in India. December 22, 2015. Photo: Vikas Khurana. |
 The interior of Lackawanna #2454 with the reproduction wicker chairs. May 23, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
While the interior work was underway, a few finishing touches to the exterior were also addressed. A correct headlight, donated to the Museum, was refurbished and installed and the car's marker lights were repaired and rewired.
 Donated Pyle National Headlight for the restoration. October 27, 2019. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Installation of the restored Sealed Beam Headlight. November 10, 2020. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 One of the marker lights after repair and rewiring. May 17, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 DL&W Subscription Car #2454 with headlight and marker lights lit. May 1, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
On June 20th, 2021, DL&W #2454 returned to service following a celebratory dedication ceremony featuring an appearance by the Lackawanna Railroad's iconic Miss Phoebe Snow. Now visitors to the Museum will have the opportunity to experience how some of New Jersey's wealtiest businessmen commuted from their suburban homes to New York City. The restoration of this car helps to further the Whippany Railway Museum's mission to preserve New Jersey's railroad history.
 Miss Phoebe Snow. June 20, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Miss Phoebe Snow christens Lackawanna Subscription Car #2454. June 20, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Dedication Ceremony for the return to service of Lackawanna #2454. June 20, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
 Visitors to the Museum getting the opportunity to experience firsthand a significant piece of New Jersey's railroad history. June 20, 2021. Photo: Steve Hepler. |
The Museum is grateful to the efforts of the numerous individuals and organizations without whom the restoration of this car would not have been possible. We are especially grateful to Frank Reilly of the New Jersey County Transportation Officers Association and Captain Bill McKelvey of Liberty Historic Railway for their role in providing the funding needed for the successful completion of this project. We thank Star Trak, Philip Paris Restorations, AA Metal & Glass, Frank Minorowicz and Vikas Khurana at Interex Company for their expertise. We also thank the many Whippany Railway Museum volunteers who contributed countless hours of their time to the restoration of this car. We also wish to thank the many good people at URHS. We appreciate their arranging the transfer of the Lackawanna #2454 to WRyM and offer them a big round of applause for, without their efforts, it is very likely that this car would have been lost to the scrapper many years ago.
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD
N6b CABIN CAR (CABOOSE) NO. 981590
Copyright 2013 by Steven P. Hepler
Some Background History
  |
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), “The Standard Railroad of the World”, constructed nearly 1,200 N6b class wooden cabooses (or “Cabin Cars” as they were called on the PRR) from 1914 to 1923. Surely one of the longest-serving and best-known styles of PRR cabooses, the N6b with it's high arched cupola roof, became a system-wide trademark for more than 50 years. The Museum's car, No. 981590 was built at one of the PRR's freight car shops in June 1923. |
| Prior to March 1920, the Pennsylvania Railroad was divided into two operating entities, known as Lines East (of Pittsburgh and Erie, PA) and Lines West. The management of the two operating regions had different thoughts regarding the design and construction of cabin cars under their jurisdiction. |  |
 PRR NC Class Cabin Car-1893  PRR ND Class Cabin Car-1904 |
At the start of the Twentieth Century, the PRR owned a large roster of small, wood-construction, four-wheel cabin cars. At its car shop in Altoona, PA, PRR Lines East began building steel-underframe, wood superstructure ND-class cabins starting in 1904, and all-steel N5-class cars beginning in 1914. Lines West on the other hand, began rebuilding wood four-wheel cabin cars into eight-wheel N6a and N6b types, which combined steel-underframes with wooden superstructures. Conversions of older cabin cars into N6a and N6b's continued until 1923.
|
 PRR N6a Class Cabin Car-1914 |
 PRR N6b Class Cabin Car-1914 |
| These rebuildings came as a direct result of a new law enacted in Ohio in 1913 that required a steel underframe on cabooses used in pusher service . The old, all wood-construction cabooses of the late-19th century were no match for the huge steam locomotives of the new century that would assist the leading road engine by coupling up to the end of long, heavy freights to help push the trains up over long mountain grades. All to often the spindly wood cabooses would be literally crushed by the powerful locomotives shoving at the rear, causing severe injury and even death to freight crews riding in these fragile cars. |   1898 |
 PRR N6b Exterior Plan - Click to enlarge  PRR N6a Exterior Plan - Click to enlarge |
Rebuilding included lengthening one end of each car resulting in an off-center cupola. A small number of N6b cabins received centered cupolas, like the one No. 981590 was built with. There were differences in the size and style of the cupolas as well. The N6a cupola extended over and across the full width of the car, while the N6b design sloped inward from the car sides, creating quite a different appearance atop what were near-identical carbodies.
|
| The distinctive curved roof N6b cupola cut a much slimmer swath than did the style used on the N6a cabins. It wasn't long before PRR train crews gave the N6b's the nickname 'Mae West', alluding to the voluptuous figure of the legendary stage and film actress...a moniker that to this day remains a part of the N6b history. |  |
Lines West utilized the “Fort Wayne” wide-cupola N6a design because of its generous side and overhead clearances. Decades later, this would have been called a "wide vision" cupola. But due to the restrictive clearances in several tunnels in Ohio, the narrow N6b design cupola was employed in that territory. In subsequent years, most of the N6a cars were either scrapped or rebuilt to the N6b design, apparently to provide better clearances on the Eastern portions of the PRR. By the 1940's virtually all of the N6a cabins had disappeared from the scene.
  |
Throughout the 1930's the PRR continued to build new all-steel cabin cars. At the start of America's involvement in the Second World War at the end of 1941, 600 steel cabins were ready for mainline freight runs, resulting in the transfer of many N6a's and N6b's to local freight and work train service. Between 1940 and 1953, the wooden cabins assigned to work train service were painted battleship grey; in 1954 they were given a bright yellow work train scheme. At the same time, many N6b's were sent East, far from their original Lines West territory. |
 PRR N6b in Work Train Gray Paint |
 PRR N6b in Work Train Yellow Paint |
| A 1957 listing of PRR cabin car assignments shows that No. 981590 was a Northwest Region car, assigned to the Fort Wayne Operating District. It was eventually transferred East and became a PRR New York Region car during it's last 5 years of active service. |  PRR N6b 981590 in service on the New York Region circa, late-1950's |
 |
The N6b was the most numerous type of cabin car on the PRR and made up over half of the cabooses owned by the mighty “PCo.”. In 1957 nearly 870 N6b's were still in service...they were used throughout the vast Pennsylvania system and they represented the largest single class of caboose ever constructed in the United States. |
| But, by the early 1960's, the once ubiquitous N6b's could be seen sitting idle in railroad yards, grouped in lines, waiting to be scrapped. After the cars were stripped of reusable hardware, such as air brake appliances, most met their demise by purposely being set afire. Today, of the nearly 1,200 wooden N6b cabin cars built by the men of the Pennsylvania Railroad, less than a dozen survive in preservation in the 21st Century. Lucky No. 981590 is one of this very rare breed. |   |
Entering the Preservation Era
  |
In late-1963, No. 981590 was “white-lined”, and retired from the PRR's ledger books, on account of “Bad Order”. An interesting side-note relates to the two distinct paint schemes this particular cabin car displayed at the same time. On one side of the car , the lettering scheme dated from the 1954 – 1957 era with 13-inch high “PENNSYLVANIA” letters above the windows, and a large “shadow keystone” monogram. The other side of the car revealed a faded scheme that dated from the 1926 – 1930 time period. Here, 7-inch “PENNSYLVANIA” letters were placed above the windows, but there was no 1-inch thick over-line bar above the name that was typical of PRR lettering styles of that era. Also typical was the absence of a keystone herald. Another unusual feature of this particular scheme was that the car number was centered low on the carbody, whereas normally it would have been approximately 24-inches below the company name and it would have been underscored. One can only surmise that at some point in the mid-1950's, the wood on one side of the car had worn out and needed replacement. After the new wood was in place, and painted in the PRR standard “Freight Car Red”, the then-current lettering scheme was applied to only that one side of the cabin. |
 |
 |
|
Early in the New Year of 1964, the weary cabin car was spared from certain destruction when it was purchased by Earle H. Gil, Sr., who was assembling and methodically restoring a collection of vintage railroad rolling stock that would eventually become part of his soon-to-be-operational Morris County Central Railroad (MCC). The MCC was one of the first historic preservation rail ventures in the country, and it was the first excursion line to operate restored, standard-gauge steam locomotives in New Jersey. Gil's railroad made it's first public revenue run on May 9, 1965 out of Whippany, NJ, with the former PRR N6b (now lettered for the MCC) quickly becoming a family favorite as seemingly everyone wanted a chance to ride in a classic, wooden, “Little Red Caboose”.
|
  |
  |
For 5 years, the MCC's cabin car gave countless passengers their first-ever ride in an authentic railroad caboose. But the time came in 1970 when it was determined that due to over 40 years of long, hard service at the rear end of PRR freight trains, the superstructure of the wooden car body was beginning to noticeably sway, and so the little 'Mae West' was reluctantly retired from active train service. It was soon parked on a siding behind the MCC's Snack Car, and was quickly refitted as the railroad's new Birthday Party Caboose. While the exterior retained the red MCC paint scheme, the interior soon boasted pastel yellow paint for the walls and ceiling with pastel blue trim. The original PRR bunk seating was removed in favor of opening up some interior floor space so that a picnic table could be installed for party use. A refrigerator was added for guests to keep cake, ice cream and drinks cold. |
| When the Morris County Central relocated its excursion operations to Newfoundland, NJ in 1974, the N6b took on yet another role... this time as the MCC's Gift Shop concession. Once again the interior was restyled with shelving to display various books and souvenirs, as well as installing a compact sales counter. Just like it did in train service, the original PRR coal stove was still used to heat the interior of the car on cold days...the aromatic soft coal smoke wafting out of the smokestack recalled an earlier time. |   |
All good things come to an end, and unfortunately the Morris County Central Railroad went out of business at the end of 1980. From this point on, the car suffered much from vandalism, deterioration from the weather, and was very nearly scrapped.
 July 1983 |
In 1982 the assets of the former MCC were transferred over to the Delaware-Otsego System (DOS), owners of the New York, Susquehanna & Western rail line that passed through Newfoundland. By December 1983, the MCC rolling stock, including the N6b, was still parked within the station area...and every car was by now being very heavily vandalized. |
| During 1984, after many complaints by Jefferson Township officials and police, the DOS moved the equipment down to the MCC's former engine terminal area within the borders of Rockaway Township, about a quarter-mile East of the station. |  Nov. 3, 1984 |
 Aug. 5, 1986  Dec. 28, 1986 |
As the calendar turned to 1986, Anthony Citro, who owned the Newfoundland Station and some of the surrounding property, sold his holdings to Robert Tilden. After the sale, Tilden quickly arranged with the Delaware-Otsego to purchase one of the former MCC coaches as well as the PRR cabin car. Both cars were moved back into the station area and located on a siding that backed up to the West side of the water tank. Tilden soon began a restoration of the station building and also started some initial stabilization work on the caboose and coach. |
| In January 1988, the Delaware-Otsego had come to the decision that the former MCC equipment in Rockaway Township was a liability due to its deteriorated state and arranged to have a railroad salvage company scrap the rolling stock on-site. Although the scrapper was expressly told not to touch the caboose and coach at Newfoundland Station, the salvage company employees ignored the instructions and soon set to work on preparing the privately-owned N6b for destruction. The caboose was lifted up in the air by a crane so that men with torches could set to work on cutting up the original PRR wheels and truck frames. As the remains of the trucks were being cleared away, the wooden body was lifted higher in the air by the crane... the intent was to quickly drop the car to the ground so that it would splinter apart and thereby make the reclaiming of any remaining steel (such as the frame) that much easier. At the same time, other workers were preparing the coach for scrapping as well. |  Jan. 1988 |
 Cabin Car 981590 with underframe on ground at Newfoundland, NJ after its trucks were accidently scrapped - 1988  Cabin Car 981590 resting on replacement trucks January 1989 |
Luckily, a local resident who was watching the proceedings kept telling the scrapping crew that the equipment they were destroying was privately owned and that they should cease and contact the railroad company for verification. The resident put up such loud protestations that finally, the foreman of the salvage crew did contact his company, and at nearly the very last minute, the scrapping was halted. The caboose body, now minus its trucks, was gently lowered to the ground. In the end, Tilden rightfully demanded that a replacement set of trucks be installed under his caboose, and within a short time-frame, this was accomplished. |
| In 1990, a somewhat disillusioned Robert Tilden sold the property and cars to Bill Jentz, who soon put a concerted effort into completely restoring not only the station, but also the two railcars. Jentz decided to leave the coach on the now-disconnected siding at the West side of the water tank, but had the caboose relocated to the East side of the tank and crane-lifted onto a newly-constructed section of panel track built specially for this purpose. By 1994, the two cars looked splendid in new woodwork, glazing and paint. Even the large Morris County Central herald was faithfully repainted on both sides of the caboose. Some time afterward, Jentz acquired a steel Erie Railroad caboose and had that car set down on yet another new section of panel track next to the N6b. |   Nov. 6, 1994 |
After holding onto the property for 15 years and doing much restoration work, Jentz sold the Newfoundland Station and railcars to the Klemchalk Family in 2005. Matt Klemchalk, Sr., and his son, Matt, Jr. have a great interest in the history and artifacts of the Erie Railroad. To that end, both father and son were able to acquire the steel superstructure of an authentic Erie wooden caboose. The intention is to restore the car by installing all new wood on the “skeleton” of the caboose, but the matter of what to do with the PRR N6b (which by now was again beginning to badly deteriorate from adverse weather), was first and foremost.
 |
In May of 2011, the Klemchalk's let it be known that they would be willing to donate the N6b cabin (minus the trucks) to the Whippany Railway Museum if the Museum could remove the car from the Newfoundland site. A generous offer of such a rare PRR artifact comes but once in a lifetime. But moving a railcar, regardless of size and weight is not something that is accomplished overnight in the majority of cases. Long months of preparation generally lie ahead before an over-the-road transport can be made. |
| It was very fortunate that the Museum's generous benefactor, Joseph Supor, III, president of J. Supor & Son Trucking & Rigging in Kearny, NJ came to the Museum's aid with his offer to move the N6b from Newfoundland to Whippany. Mr. Supor's father, the late, Joseph Supor, Jr. had donated Locomotive No. 385 and Engine No. 7240 to the Museum in 2007. |  |
 |
It was quickly determined after measuring the cabin car for overhead clearances that the 'Mae West' cupola would have to be removed in order for safe transport under the many low overpasses that the caboose would have to travel under. During the Winter of 2012, Museum members researched original Pennsylvania Railroad blueprints, and were able to successfully detach the cupola from the carbody. |
| Meanwhile, in the Spring of 2012, the Museum made contact with Bruce Abeles of Dealaman Enterprises in Warren, NJ. Dealaman's property was home to a badly deteriorated PRR N6b cabin car that was about to be demolished because of advanced age and rot. Dealaman Enterpises kindly allowed the Whippany Railway Museum to salvage materials and hardware from their cabin car for ultimate use in the N6b that would return to Whippany. Upon stepping inside the caboose in Warren, it was amazing to find an un-restored N6b in 2012 with nearly all of its original fittings virtually intact. Over the course of two work days, Museum members salvaged the original PRR coal stove , coal bin, all 16 window frames, brass air brake gauge, water urn, a complete set of window hardware (clips, latches and “finger-lifts”), handrails, two original entry doors, marker brackets, air brake equipment, locker doors, plus a host of other original PRR cabin car fittings.
|
  April 2012 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
  |
The rails and crossties required to build a section of panel track at Whippany to display the cabin car were supplied by the Morristown & Erie Railway. The trackwork itself was built through the generosity of Railroad Construction Company of Paterson, NJ. Lastly, a set of original PRR trucks needed for the wooden carbody to rest on was donated to the Museum by Kean Burenga, president of the Black River & Western Railroad in Ringoes, NJ
|
| After final preparations were made, the cabin car was finally ready for its journey to Whippany. In the meantime, the Klemchalk's Erie caboose "skeleton" had been towed to Newfoundland in late 2012, its frame and side bracing sandblasted, primed and painted. |  |
 |
After a number of delays, July 10, 2013 was selected as the day that the long-awaited lift and transport of No. 981590 to Whippany would occur. At 8:30 AM that morning, the crew of J. Supor & Son Trucking & Rigging began setting up their massive crane in anticipation of the work that lie ahead. |
| After preparing the crane, the first order of business was to remove the already-severed cupola from the cabin car. This was accomplished in short order, and was soon set safely of the ground to await loading onto the low-boy trailer that would haul the carbody to Whippany. |   |
 |
The rigging crew soon had heavy, 11-foot spreader bars secured under each end of the cabin car; this would prevent the lifting cables from literally squeezing the wooden sides of the 90-year old car in on itself. |
| At approximately 9:25 AM, the 23,000-pound cabin car body was lifted off the (Erie RR) trucks it was sitting on at Newfoundland and swung over the mainline of the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway. Within a matter of minutes the N6b was gently lowered onto blocking and made fast to the waiting low-boy trailer. |  |
  |
Next, the Klemchalk's Erie caboose "skeleton" frame was moved in alongside the crane and Supor's men began attaching the lifting cables to the 5-ton frame. Meanwhile, a welder crouched under the frame as he burned off a number of heavy-duty bolts that were securing the caboose frame to its temporary roadway wheels. At 10:45 AM, the Erie frame was lifted into the air, swung over the NYS&W tracks, and within two minutes, it was successfully lowered onto the waiting wheelsets. Finally, the cupola for the Erie caboose was then lifted, lowered and secured in place...completing this very unique transfer of historic railcars originating from the same time period. |
| At 11:21 AM the PRR cabin car left Newfoundland enroute to Whippany via Route 23 South, Route 287 South and onto Route 10 East to the Museum site. At exactly 12 Noon on July 10th, No. 981590 had finally arrived back home at Whippany. |  |
| A well-deserved lunch break was taken by all, and soon, after once again setting up the crane, the entire process was done in reverse order with the cabin car being set on its display track at 2:03 PM...the cupola back in place as the PRR intended. |
| Start to finish, and with a bit of time off for lunch, the whole process took about 5 hours. It was a hot, muggy, sweaty day, but Supor's men enjoy their jobs and they make things look so much easier than they really are. They are an amazing group of professionals. |  |
| The cabin car is now oriented in the same direction it was when it operated on Morris County Central trains at Whippany from 1965 until it was taken out of service in 1970. |  No. 981590 at Whippany, July 16, 1966  No. 981590, Whippany circa-1968 |
|
With this historic car now safe at Whippany its restoration could begin. |
The Whippany Railway Museum extends its sincere Thanks and appreciation to the Klemchalk Family for their wonderful donation of this very rare and historic railcar to the Museum's collection.
A most grateful and humble tip of the hat, and a BIG round of applause goes not only to Joe Supor for being so generous with his company resources, but also to his outstanding professionals: Dave Becker, Murphy Triano, and the rigging team of Ronnie Leonard, Phil Rodino, crane operator Mike Bucher and Kenny Stefanik.
Thanks also to the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway who provided the Museum with the permit to access their property in order for the cabin car to be lifted across their very active right-of-way. It turns out that the NYS&W Track Foreman for the day, Tom Charette knew a number of people who had been involved with the Morris County Central, as well as our friends at the New York, Susquehanna & Western Technical & Historical Society.
Soon to come,
the rest of the story...
New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad
Caboose No. 0112
 Caboose 0112 being delivered at Croxton, NJ 10-4-1948 John L. Treen photo  |
New York, Susquehanna & Western R.R. (NYS&W) Caboose 0112 was originally constructed by the International Car Co. in 1948. It was built as part of a ten-car order to replace the NYS&W’s aging fleet of wooden cabooses. It is a standard International steel NE-6 Cupola – style caboose design. Over the next 30 years, No. 0112 served the Susquehanna well until it was retired and sold to a private individual in 1979. During it's last years on the "Squeak", 0112, along with her sister cabooses, had their windows plywooded over in an effort to reduce vandalism and protect train crews from being injured by rocks thrown at the trains as they rolled along the Eastern end of the railroad. |
| In 1982 the car was acquired by the Morristown & Erie Railway (M&E). Shortly thereafter, it was refurbished by the M&E shop crew and painted and lettered into the Morristown & Erie scheme and given the road number "4". The caboose features solar-powered lighting which was installed by the railroad in the mid-1980’s. For the next 3 decades the caboose was a familiar sight at the end of M&E freight trains. Since 2005 the caboose has been included in the regular consist of the Museum's Summer Excursion Train Rides, but was being used less frequently on freight runs. In 2011 the caboose was retired from freight service and in January 2012, it was acquired by the Whippany Railway Museum. |   |
 NYS&W Caboose 0119 rolls throughHyper-Humus, NJ in 1948. Photo: Bob Collins |
Keeping with the Museum's program to restore its heritage collection to as near original state as possible, Museum volunteers have restored the caboose to its original 1948 Susquehanna Railroad appearance (including its original number 0112), both inside and outside. The car will continue operating on Whippany Railway Museum excursion trains, while presenting visitors with yet another example of New Jersey Railroad History |
"I am the private individual who purchased Caboose No. 0112 from the New York, Susquehanna & Western RR. The railroad ran an ad in Railfan Magazine offering four cabooses for sale and NYS&W Conductor John L. Treen helped me pick out the best of the lot and got me a bargain price on it. I began restoring it shortly after it arrived in Morristown, NJ and was soon approached by the demolition firm that was dismantling the old Hanover Mill complex of Whippany Paper Board Co. in Whippany. They wanted to lease the caboose for use as a night watchman's office as they had no suitable building at the entrance to the property. A deal was quickly struck and the car was placed at the end-of-track for six months at the site now occupied by the Christian Peter Business Park at 9 Whippany Road. Some time thereafter, Morristown & Erie Railway president Ben Friedland made me an offer to purchase the caboose when he saw it for the first time. I sold the car to the M&E and my wife and I used the money for our first trip to Europe in June of 1982 following our wedding in October 1981.
I still remember my fiance', Leslie's reaction when I brought her to Morristown to see the caboose. "That's nice. What the Hell are you going to do with it?" I told her I might put it in our backyard when we finally were able to afford a house. Although she didn't say anything, her facial expression said it all. By then I am convinced she figured she was about to marry a total nut-case, but marry we did, and we're happily married all these years later.
I am pleased that the caboose is now in the hands of the Whippany Railway Museum, where it can be seen and ridden by future generations who might otherwise never have known what a caboose is.
I had the best of both worlds. I not only owned this caboose and saved it from scrapping, but also got to work onboard her many times during my tenure on the M&E. It doesn't get much better than that."
Al Holleuffer (2012), NJ Transit Locomotive Engineer; former Superintendent, Morristown & Erie Railway; Whippany Railway Museum Charter Member
NOTE: The following article appeared in the September / October 2004 edition of the German hobby magazine,
GARTENBAHN profi (GARDENRAIL Professional).
A Small, Standard Guage Model From Aristo-Craft in G-Scale
"A WHITE FROM AFAR"
by Friedhelm Weidelich
 |
As their third small, standard-gauge model, Aristo-Craft Trains now presents a White-built Railbus that was built for a small railway company in New Jersey. GARTENBAHN profi tested the pilot model on its own tracks, and we are the first magazine world-wide to review this fine model. |
| During the 2004 4-day, Big Train Show held onboard the ocean liner QUEEN MARY in Long Beach, California, |  |
 |
Aristo-Craft Trains had the prototype model of their new Standard Gauge Railbus operating for show participants. A short time later, Railbus No. 10 was operating on our own test plant in Germany. |
| It's run over uncleaned, high-grade steel rails showed that this heavy, 565 gram (approx. 1 1/4 pounds) brass model of the Morristown & Erie Railroad's Railbus, built by the White Motor Company in 1918, was capable of operating problem-free thanks to an excellent motor and a front axle fitted with springs (faithful to the original)...a combination made of sheet and spiral springs. |
| The rear wheel set features the many nuts and bolts of the actual bus, which will make the "rivet counters" smile. The brass gearing of the motor allows for very good operating characteristics. The motor is very quiet and the bus rolled for two car lengths after the current was turned off. |
| The body of the well-detailed vehicle is made entirely of brass. The model does not include the unique turntable that was fitted underneath the frame of the original bus in 1969, which allows the real No. 10 to be turned anywhere along the line. Also, the exhaust pipe was not included on the model. |  |
 |
In front of the radiator, at the front "bumper", two draw hooks are included. Also, up front, two headlights, flag brackets and marker lights are provided. The headlights are illuminated, but the markers are not. Small sockets cast into the bodies of both front and rear markers will allow the installation of jeweled, colored lenses by the owner. |
| The radiator grill with its louvered hood, contains many fine details. The engine hood has tiny grasps...these are quite delicate and are not meant to be handled roughly. |
| The model's folding front entry-way doors (operated by the motorman on the real bus) actually opens and folds. The rear door also opens and features a small stairway that allows access to the passenger compartment. The stairs seem to be a bit small for disembarking passengers. |  |
 |
On the inside, detailed seats with hand-holds at the aisle-way sides wait for passengers. Included by the motorman's seat are a handbrake, gearshit lever and "steering wheel"...which is used on the real No. 10 to provide a place for the throttle (which feeds gas to the engine), and the spark-advance lever. The windows of the model are made of plexi-glass. |
| The carbody and roof have all the borders, straps and bands of the original. The lacquer finish of the production model will be the correct "silver-grey" and black of the original 1918 paint scheme. The gold-and-black-shadow Morristown & Erie name is unfortunately, not provided on the model...but must be finished off by the person purchasing the unit. A source of Morristown & Erie Railbus No. 10 decals is PRIME MOVER DECALS, which will produce the sets as demand warrants. Visit their website at www.PrimeMoverDecals.com for details. |
| The Railbus is, from front bumper to the steps in the back, measured at 234mm long, 84mm wide and 92mm high. |  |
| The model of Railbus No. 10 will most likely not be available in Europe since the major importer does not offer the small standard gauge models produced by Aristo-Craft. In the USA, the model will cost between $425 - $500. |
| Whoever wants a model of Railbus No. 10 should hurry, because the first production run covers only about 200 units. Aristo-Craft President Louis Polk has stated however, that he is ready to provide additional units if there is enough demand. |  |
| For a short period of time, this wonderfully produced model from New Jersey was a welcomed guest in Germany and performed flawlessly. Now it is back home, making the rounds at American model railroad shows, and on display at the Whippany Railway Musuem. |  |
Many thanks to Friedhelm Weidelich for providing the photographs of the model of Railbus No. 10
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
|
John Deere started building steel plows out of his blacksmith shop in Grand Detour, Illinois. He built and marketed a polished, self-scouring plow made from high-quality steel saw blades in 1837 and used that success to create a powerful agricultural equipment manufacturing company.
|
| In 1848, the railroad bypassed Grand Detour, and as a result, John Deere moved his young company to Moline, Illinois, where he could bring in steel and ship plows out around the country. | 
|
|
In the late-1910's Deere & Company began building farm tractors, and soon made a name for itself by offering reliable twin-cylinder tractors and implements. |
| The John Deere two-cylinder tractor stands as an icon of modern farming, and represents the transition from animal-power to machine-power. From the trademark Deere green-and-yellow paint to the distinctive sound of the classic “Johnny Popper” exhaust, Deere & Company tractors have a unique place in history.
|
|
|
In the 1930's the industrial world discovered design, and the trend was sleekly styled machines ranging from refrigerators and furniture to automobiles and steam locomotives. John Deere turned to the design firm of Henry Dreyfuss to style its tractors. Dreyfuss' emphasis on science and function as well as sleek lines created a line of timelessly attractive machines.)
|
| Henry Dreyfuss' most famous products include the Twentieth Century Limited of the New York Central System, the Princess telephone, and the John Deere Model A and Model B tractors . The Dreyfuss firm created a simply elegant tractor, which was the beginning of a long, c ooperative relationship between the firm and Deere & Company. Dreyfuss design touches continued to grace John Deere tractors well into the 1960's.
|
|
|
A turning point in the history of Deere tractors came in 1947. A new factory opened in Dubuque, Iowa, designed specifically to produce Deere's answer to the Ford-Ferguson 9N...the new M series. The Deere M had been the subject of experiments for a few years. It was designed to replace the smaller Deere tractors and be a complete system for smaller farms and a useful support tractor on larger farms.
|
| The Model M of 1947 departed from usual John Deere practice by having its two-cylinder engine standing upright, mounted longitudinally in the frame; all other Deere's had their engines laid flat with cylinders facing forward. The M also used the engine as a structural member, making it a “unit design”. | 
|
| Several new features marked the Model M. The padded seat included inflatable cushions and was adjustable fore and aft, while the steering wheel could be telescoped through a one-foot range, allowing the driver to either sit or stand while operating the tractor.
Introduction of the MT was planned for late-1947, but postwar material problems and enormous demand for the original model meant that it was December 1948 before the MT could be put into production. The MT was essentially the same tractor as the Model M, but there were some significant new offerings. |
|
The Model MT (for Tricycle) was finally added to the John Deere line in 1949. The MT was taller and more versatile for row crops and vegetables than the Model M. The MT offered rear wheels that were fully adjustable on the axle from 48 to 96 inches wide, at any setting the operator chose, and one man could do the job of resetting the wheels. The MT featured a choice of two types of “narrow” front wheels. One, was a single front wheel, carried “bicycle” style. The other mounted two wheels close together on an axle that tilts them so that they nearly touch at the bottom. In both cases, the idea was that the front wheel drove between two crop rows, while the rear wheels could be adjusted to straddle the same two rows (different crops are planted in different row widths). These are often referred to as “row crop” tractors because of that design intent.
|
| The MT also boasted the first Dual Touch-O-Matic system, with a split rockshaft to control left-or-right or front-and-rear implements. A 101-cubic-inch engine delivered about 14 drawbar horsepower and just under 20 HP at the belt pulley. |  |
|
The John Deere Model MT tractor on display at the Museum was manufactured in 1949, the first year of production and weighs 3,183 lbs. It has been completely restored to its 1949 factory appearance. |
 SERIAL NUMBER : MT 15053. Operational. |
| Though the MT was extremely durable, productive and popular (with over 30,000 units produced), it remained in the line only until 1952. Now, decades after it was built, this wonderful old machine proves that 'Nothing Runs Like A Deere”. |  |
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12'|
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
Case Model 'VAC-12'
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
 |
The J.I. Case Threshing Company was a maker of agricultural steam traction engines and was a well-respected company. It began making gasoline-powered tractors in 1912.  |
  |
| The 'VAC' was part of the Case 'VA' series which replaced the earlier model 'V' series of tractors in 1942. The 'VAC' was a general purpose tractor and production continued until 1955. | 
|
|
This large tractor, painted in Case's familiar 'Flambeau Red' (actually a shade of orange) was built in 1952 and has been completely restored to its factory appearance. |
| This “row-crop” tractor is a two-plow, four-wheel type machine with adjustable dual front wheels and rear tires. It is powered by a four-cylinder, vertical engine with hydraulic lift control and four forward speed ranging from 2.32 MPH to 8.40 MPH. This tractor weighs 3,200 lbs. |  Serial No. VAC5653458. Operational. |
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
Whippany Railway Museum
Acquires 1912-era DL&W MU Club Car
It is with much excitement that we announce to all that the Whippany Railway Museum (WRyM) has acquired former Delaware Lackawanna & Western (DL&W) MU Club Car No. 2454 (ex-Erie Lackawanna / NJ Transit No. 3454). The acquisition was arranged with the cooperation and donation of the car to WRyM by the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey (URHS). Through the efforts of long-time WRyM supporter Frank Reilly, a very substantial grant has been gifted to the Museum which is being directed towards the complete restoration-to-operation of this historically significant railcar that comes to us with an abundance of NJ transportation history.
The DL&W club cars dated from 1912, and operated in steam locomotive-hauled service before being rebuilt for New Jersey suburban electric MU (Multiple Unit) service in 1930.
Ford Model '2N'
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
 |
This two-tone gray and red-painted, semi-streamlined tractor was built in 1946. It is an “offspring” of the Ford 9N which was produced from 1939 – 1941.  |
The production of the 9N-class tractor was a joint venture between Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson. Commonly known as the Ford – Ferguson tractor, Harry Ferguson designed the 3-point hitch and hydraulic system while Ford's engineers designed and built the tractor and made it all work together.  |
 |
 Click To Enlarge  |
The '9' was for the year 1939, and 'N' was Ford's designation for 'tractor' Early in 1942 amid wartime material shortages, Ford soon realized if tractors were to be built at all they would have to be produced without electrical components and rubber tires. The new, stripped-down tractors were designated 2N ('2' for 1942). The first 2N tractors were built with steel wheels and magneto ignitions and had to be started with a hand crank because they had no battery or starter. In-mid 1942 Ford was able to convince the government that the tractor was as important to the farm back home as the other war products were, and restrictions were relaxed. The 2N's were then built with starters, batteries and rubber tires. For the next several years into 1947, few changes were made to the 2N. The tractor was doing very well in sales and Ford engineers were busy designing the new 8N tractor that would be introduced in 1948. |
  |
| Although this is a 2N-class tractor, it carries a 9N serial number. There are no 2N serial numbers; all 2N Ford tractors retained the 9N serial numbers. |
| This tractor weighs 2,500 lbs, and is known as a “high-crop” model, having its front wheels spread far apart in line with the rear tires. Serial No. 9N215988. Operational. Restoration in progress. |  |
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H'
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
  |
"Farmall”... the name itself conjures an image of the quintessential farm tractor. The Farmall 'H' – class tractor was introduced in 1939. It was one of the first projects of industrial designer Raymond Lowey , who was hired to restyle the entire International Harvester line. Lowey was also famous for styling the Pennsylvania Railroad's GG-1 electric locomotive, as well as the rakish Studebaker car styling of 1953 and the paint scheme for Air Force One, first introduced in 1962. Lowey's use of smooth contours and bright red sheet metal make even a 1939 Farmall look completely modern 7 decades later. Production continued until 1953 with nearly 400,000 units sold. |
 |
The Museum owns two Farmall H's...one was manufactured in 1941 and is a classic “row-crop” tractor with dual front wheels. The large rear wheels have rubber tires which are filled with a sodium chloride solution to add weight to the machine for better traction. Each rear wheel weighs in excess of 600 lbs. The tractor itself with the added tire weight tips the scales at about 6,700 lbs ! Serial No. FBH78486. Operational. It has been completely restored to its original factory appearance. Click to enlarge |
 |
 Click to Enlarge  |
The second Farmall 'H' - class tractor was built in 1942 originally with front and rear steel wheels due to wartime restrictions on domestic use of rubber tires. After the war, as was the case with many of the steel-wheeled tractors built during early 1940's, they were converted over to rubber tires. Look closely at the large rear wheels and you will see the original steel spokes...cut down and welded in place to fit the new rim. This tractor weighs 5,500 lbs. Like our 1941 Farmall 'H', this machine is another “row-crop” model with dual front wheels. Serial No. FBH105903. Operational. It has been restored to its "as-delivered" appearance. |
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
FORDSON Model 'F'
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
 |
Henry Ford's “Fordson” is possibly the most famous tractor ever made. Coming from a family farm background, Ford knew firsthand the toil of farming. Ford wanted to popularize tractors by mass-producing them, just as his Model T had done for automobiles. |
|
The Fordson persuaded thousands of small farmers to buy their first tractor, and over half-a-million of them were sold between 1917 – 1928, transforming American farming. |
 |
   Click to Enlarge |
This tractor is the oldest one in the Museum's collection... it was built in April 1923 and weighs 2,426 lbs. Serial No. 305616. After 5 decades of non-use and outdoor storage, it was restored to full operation in it's 90th year by Museum volunteer Ben Beek in 2013. Its paint scheme is the original 1923 factory appearance of a light gray body, with bright red-painted steel wheels.  |
The Museum's old Fordson is displayed outdoors alongside the main track, across from the 'Snack Depot'.
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
Vintage Farm Tractors
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
  |
The very first Farm Tractors were steam,and later kerosene-powered. These early machines symbolized the dawn of a revolution in farming, and signaled that the old way of farm life was coming to an end. The faithful farm horse was soon “put out to pasture” when the first of the newfangled tractors sputtered, coughed and kicked its way into life.
|
Just as the horse had been a partner in working the farm, the new tractor became almost like a part of the farm family. Farmers worked with their tractor from sunup to sundown, through rain, snow and heat. Many farmers all but invited their tractor to the table for supper.  |
 |
 |
Throughout the decades, the tractor farmed countless acres over time. There were also endless plantings, harvests, and threshings powered by tractors...and farmers spent many weary hours on the old cast-iron tractor seat. |
Today, vintage farm tractors may be ancient and obsolete, but through the hard work of tractor restorers their unique history lives on. Seeing antique tractors in action keeps the memories of our agricultural past alive for future generations to help them understand the blood, sweat and tears that built the family farm.  |
 |
 |
Within the walls of an Amish-built Barn, the Whippany Railway Musuem houses a fine collection of vintage, American-built, gas Farm Tractors manufactured between 1923 - 1952. Young and old alike will enjoy the sight of these antique machines, which help to tell the story of how the Railroads delivered the crops that fed a Nation, to market. Currently the Museum has five wonderful examples of “Old Iron” on display...four of which are currently operational.  |
NOTE TO OUR VISITORS: Our Tractors are Historic Antiques.
Please DO NOT Climb or Sit on them. Thank You.
Introduction | FORDSON Model 'F' |
International Harvester Farmall Model 'H' |
Ford Model '2N' | Case Model 'VAC-12' |
JOHN DEERE MODEL MT
1948 INTERNATIONAL Model KB-5 'Hi -Lift' (Scissors-type) Coal Delivery Truck
 |
A recent addition to the Museum's Collection of New Jersey-related equipment is this 1948 International Coal Delivery Truck. The vehicle was used by the Denville, NJ firm of L.S. Young & Sons from 1948 until the closure of the Young's coal yard in June 1987. |
| The truck is typical of the type that would deliver anthracite coal for home and business consumption during the Winter heating season. |  |
 |
With a full load of coal, the truck weighs approximately 8,200 lbs. The dump-body portion of the truck hydraulically lifts into the air, then tilts backward, |
| emptying its load of coal into containment areas or basement storage bins, via the use of long "coal-shutes". |  |
 |
If the delivery of coal could not be made in the traditional manner with the truck, the driver would have to hand-carry 100 pound sacks of coal upstairs or down, depending on where the storage area was located. |
| A typical load of coal delivered during the heating season could range anywhere from half-a-ton (1,000 lbs) to more than a ton (2,000 lbs) of coal. This gives a graphic idea of how strenuous the retail coal business really was. | 
|
 |
The Young's classic suburban retail coal yard was located on Route 53 in Denville, along the Rockaway Branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. |
| It was also close to the junction of the DL&W's Morris & Essex and Boonton branches. |  |
 |
For several decades, the Young's sold "Blue Coal", which was a product of the Lackawanna R.R. for many years. |
| "Blue Coal" was famous for it's coloring of blue paint on each lump of coal...a unique form of trademark that let consumers know they were purchasing the finest anthracite coal available, with superior heating qualities. |  |
 |
Lovingly maintained since 1948, |
| this coal truck is still operational...although now need of a tune up and paint restoration. It was recently donated to the Museum and restoration of this Historic vehicle from a beloved Morris County-based family-owned business will begin sometime in 2005. |  From left to right - Bob Heller, Lawyer S. Young Jr., William S. Young circa June 1989 |
UNION REFRIGERATOR TRANSIT LINES
VENTILATED REFRIGERATOR CAR NO. 50056
|
Behind every meal we eat there is a story of transportation. Imagine long strings of railroad refrigerator cars moving east from the Pacific Coast and north from Florida and the Gulf Coast, carrying fresh lettuce, grapes, vegetables, ripe oranges, grapefruit and peaches. From the heartland of America comes the bacon, ham and sausage processed at huge packing plants. Also traveling the rails is cereal, cream, butter, salt, pepper, sugar, and the grain from which bread is made. These are the products of the American Farmer, and they are just some of the items that make up the vast carloads of perishable commodities which move by rail each year and are transported daily to markets across the country. |
 |
 |
| The Railroad Refrigerator Car makes the transport of perishables possible. Prior to the development of these specialty freight cars, fresh fruit and vegetables were marketed only in or near the area of production. Supplies of fresh foods was very limited. Many people in the northern two-thirds of the country had never eaten an orange, or had even seen one. Vegetables came packed in cans, if at all, lacking any flavor or freshness. Lettuce salads, so common today, were an unimagined delight. |  |
|
Known as "reefers", these cars originated in the 1840's with the first use of ice in transporting milk and butter, as well as other perishable goods. Early reefers were of all wood construction and were usually 36 feet long. A refrigerator car of the late-1800's could only travel about 250 to 400 miles before it would need re-icing. Railroads built massive icing platforms and naturally-harvested their own ice at company-owned ice ponds and lakes. Ice was held in huge insulated storage houses at major terminals and other locations in order to quickly service the cars. In later years ice was artifically manufactured right at the icing stations. |
 |
 |
| Ice-bunker reefers were the mainstay of the refrigerator car fleet through the 1960's. Simple to maintain, the cars employed no mechanical devices that could break down. Ice bunkers were built into each end of the car and manually filled through hatches on the car roof. Salt was typically placed in the bunkers to enhance the melting of the ice and lower the overall interior temperature of the car. Following an initial icing, cars would be re-iced at roof-level platforms while in transit. The disadvantage was that, although the cars were easy to manage, they required a tremendous amount of ice. It took 9,000 to 11,000 pounds of ice to fill a car's bunkers, and each car on a transcontinental trip would require several stops to be re-iced. That, as well as the manual labor involved (each single block of ice could weigh as much as 400 pounds), the cost of making ice, and the numerous stops, contributed to the cars' downfall. | 
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Mechanical refrigerator cars of steel construction began appearing in large numbers in the 1950's for carrying frozen foods and produce. The new mechanical reefers marked the end of the "ice age". Most icing platforms had been removed by 1970, although many old, wood-bodied ice cars (like the Museum's URT No. 50056) remained in "top-ice" service, in which crushed ice was applied on top of the commodity itself when loaded. |
| The Museum's ice-bunker reefer is a 36-ton capacity car, built by American Car & Foundry (ACF) at its St. Louis plant for the Union Refrigerator Transit Lines (URT), circa 1928-1930. |  |
| Unfortunately, very little information is available on the origins of URT. Research suggests that it originally may have been formed in 1895 as the Union Refrigerator Transit Compoany of Milwaukee, Wisconsin by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company to own and operate a line of refrigerated railroad cars. Another source shows that URT was incorporated in 1903, with no indication that the company was ever started by, or was involved with the Schlitz Brewing Company. There was a Schlitz Refrigerator Transit Co., but apparently it was always separate from URT. In 1929 URT was acquired by General American Tank Car Corporation, one of the largest companies to build and lease specialty cars to railroads. In the early 1970s General American, by then known as General American Transportation Company (GATX) phased its URT subsidiary out of existence and divested itself of the aging wooden fleet of former Union Refrigerator Transit reefers. From that point on, the URTX reporting marks disappeared forever from the American railroad scene. | 
|
|
ACF built large numbers of wooden reefers for URT during the 1920's.The Museum's car was one of many under lease to the Minneapolis, Saint Paul & Sault Saint Marie Railway. Originally painted bright yellow with red-oxide ends and roof, the car carried the famous herald of the Soo Line throughout it's more than 4-decades of active service. After a late-1940's rebuilding which featured new, steel ends that replaced the original wooden ends, the car was painted orange with black roof and ends. Once restored by the Museum, the car will feature the earlier yellow paint scheme. |
|
Removed from service in 1972 by General American Transportation Corporation, the car found it's way to Whippany, and later Morristown, NJ where it was used for many years as a storage unit by the Morristown & Erie Railway. In July 2005, the car became part of the Whippany Railway Museum's Rolling Stock Collection. No. 50056 is quite a rare piece of railroad rolling stock in the 21st Century. It is amazing that it still retains it's four original roof-mounted ice hatches, as well as the original ice-bunkers at each end of the car. Even the outside drain pipes are still in place and functional. The wooden floor racks are still in place in working condition, as they can be lifted out of the way and secured to the well-insulated interior walls, as originally intended. |
| Unfortunately, the wooden exterior of the car needed extensive work. The Museum began a rehabilitation of the exterior in Spring 2007, as the photos show. All exterior wood was removed and replaced with new. | 
|
|
Museum volunteers worked long, hard hours to complete this exterior restoration, and by Fall 2007, the first coat of "Reefer Yellow" was hand-applied to the new wood, instantly turning back the pages of time. By Fall 2008, for the first time since the late-1940's, the old reefer was again proudly showing off it's, historic Union Refrigerator Transit Lines lettering. |
| The Museum's plan for the interior of the car was to restore it and open it to the public, allowing visitors to examine the ice bunkers and view exhibits which would help tell the story of how perishable commodities traveled to market in the first half of the 20th Century. |
| The first task was to remove decades of patching material, grime and varnish to get down to the bare wood. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Because puddles of water from the melting ice were a common occurance, a removable, slatted wooden floor was installed in these cars to provide a dry surface for those working in them. Museum volunteers cleaned, sanded, refinished and reinstalled these panels. |
| With the interior finished, the final task was to create a display which would help visitors learn about this part of railroad history. Both cabinets which help explain why and how these cars were used as well as a representation of a worker and cargo were installed. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Our Ventilated Refrigeratior Car is also home to the Erie Railroad Light-Up Display. While we don't have the complete information about this artifact, it appears it was created by the Erie Marketing Department circa 1951, which was the year the railroad celebrated its 100th Anniversay. Prospective customers could see major Northeastern cities lit to demonstrate how advantageous shipping their products via the Erie could be. |
 |
| Special thanks goes to Don Ginter of the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin for his research and input on Union Refrigerator Transit Lines refrigerator cars. |
Our Handcars
The Pump Car | The Velocipede | The "Man-Power" Light Inspection Car | The Section Gang
The Pump Car
Return to Top |
The Velocipede
|
The 3-wheeled Velocipede Hand Car came into popular use on American railroads during the 1880's. It was specially adapted for the use of Road Masters, Bridge Inspectors, Telegraph Line Repairers, and Crosstie Inspectors. However, the Velocipede was useful for all types of rail work where one or two men wished to go over the line at will.
Return to Top |
The "Man-Power" Light Inspection Car
|
The Hartley & Teeter 4-wheeled railroad vehicle, which closely resembles a typical street bicycle, was quite common on railroads of many nations throughout the world in the 1880's.
Return to Top |
The Section Gang
|
Until fairly recent times, the jobs of laying track or maintaining railroad roadbeds was the responsibility of Section Gangs who performed the work by sheer physical labor.
Return to Top |
CENTRAL RAILROAD OF NEW JERSEY
CABOOSE NO. 91529
Caboose No. 91529 was one of 50 steel cabooses built by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) at its Elizabethport, NJ car shop during the first half of 1942. It is based on a Reading Railroad design (first built in the mid-1930's) that became popular among the railroads in America's anthracite coal region. With minor variations, similar cabooses could be found on the Reading, Lehigh Valley and Western Maryland railroads.
 |
These cabooses were numbered 91500 – 91549 and designated CNJ class 'NE'. They were constructed under authorization of Federal District Court – CNJ Order # 87 of 1941 at a cost of $3,345.62 each. The court order was required because the CNJ was in Section 77 Bankruptcy from 1939 until 1949. |
| No. 91529 was completed and placed in service in May 1942 with a gross weight of 43,400 lbs. At the time of construction each CNJ caboose had four windows on both sides of the car, but this was changed at a later date when the window behind the coal stove was plated over. |
| Since their construction, the CNJ's 'NE' – class steel cabooses remained basically the same, with a few minor exceptions. During 1944 and 1945 the original 'New Jersey Central' “ball” logo on the sides of these cabooses was replaced with the new 'Jersey Central Lines' Statue of Liberty herald. As an added safety precaution the CNJ painted all their cabooses with a large red fluorescent dot on a black background between the windows on the ends of the cupola. With the exception of the exterior paint scheme the only other modification made by the CNJ to these cabooses was the installation of new sanitary facilities. The 91529 was one of the first to get this improvement, which was installed in June 1956. |   |
 |
Beginning in April 1965 the CNJ modified their logo by replacing the words 'Jersey Central Lines' with 'Central Railroad Company of New Jersey' around the Statue of Liberty image. Shortly thereafter the 91529 received a new coat of red paint and sported the new CNJ herald in white. |
| Starting around 1972, the primary CNJ caboose color was changed to a bright fire-engine red, and a diagonal white stripe was added with the herald painted on it in red to match the new diesel locomotive paint scheme. This design was dubbed the 'Coast Guard Scheme'. In 1975, this was later simplified to eliminate the bold white center stripe and re-stencil the herald in its original white color. |   |
 |
In 1969 No. 91529 was assigned to the CNJ's Southern Division, operating on trains JS-1 and JS-2, which ran between Bridgeton and Jersey City, NJ. The scheduled running time of these two trains was 12 hours in each direction. |
| On April 1, 1976 No. 91529 was acquired by Conrail (CR). Seven months later, on November 1, 1976 No. 91529 was sent to CR's Reading, PA car shops where it was painted into the CR blue and white paint scheme and given CR number 18870, and designated CR caboose class 'N4B'. In addition to the painting, the coal-burning caboose stove was removed and replaced with an oil-fired heating unit and new sanitary facilities were installed. |  |
| No. 18870 / 91529 remained in service on the Conrail roster until 1985. In the Fall of 1985 CR offered 18870 / 91529 and other equipment for sale on a bid list. |
  |
The caboose was purchased by a successful bidder and the car was moved to Whippany, NJ arriving there on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, 1986. Shortly thereafter, the car was resold to three individuals who restored the car's exterior in the CNJ's 1945 paint scheme. The interior, however, was never completed. |
| In December 2009, CNJ Caboose No. 91529 was acquired by the Whippany Railway Museum. Museum members began working on the caboose in the Spring of 2010, and by mid-Summer, the interior had been restored. Once warmer weather returned in 2011, the restoration crews turned their attention to the exterior work, and by early July 2011, the caboose was fully restored to the CNJ's striking red and white 'Coast Guard' scheme of 1972. |   |
Morristown & Erie "Bobber" Caboose #1
 |
The humble caboose was a fixture on the end of freight trains for more than a century. The name may have originated with a French or Dutch word describing a deck cabin on a sailing ship, but railroaders, always inventive, called it by dozens of slang names: cabin car, crummy, shack, way car, bobber, brainbox, shanty, hack and many others. The purpose was to provide a sheltered vantage point from which trainmen could watch the cars ahead, cook and eat their meals, and where the conductor could do paperwork. |
| Standing on display in the Whippany yard is a truly significant item of Northern New Jersey railroad history: Morristown & Erie Railroad (M&E) Caboose No. 1. This unusual four-wheel "Bobber" was constructed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western R.R. (DL&W) as their No. 4 at the Keyser Valley, PA shops in 1899. |
 |
 |
The standard Lackawanna caboose of the 19th Century was a four-wheel car without a cupola on the roof. In the late 1890's, a four-wheel caboose design with a cupola was adopted. These little cars, numbered 1 up into the four-hundreds were built until 1910. Several saw work train service into the 1930's. |
| Beginning in 1933, DL&W Caboose No. 4 was leased to the M&E for use on its freight trains between Morristown, Whippany and Essex Fells, NJ. |  |
 |
On April 26, 1937, the M&E purchased the caboose from the Lackawanna for $100.00, |
| and it saw constant service until 1952, when it was retired due to its advanced age. |  |
 |
According to railroad historian Thomas Townsend Taber, III, the crew rarely rode in the caboose, preferring instead to travel in the locomotive. No. 1 was primarily a place to hang their rain gear and eat their lunch. |  |
 |
The diminutive car was very much a favorite of everyone on the Railroad. |
| Early in 1952, M&E management considered the idea of preserving their Steam Locomotive No. 7 and Caboose No. 1 on a special display track that was to be set up just west of the Whippany depot... but it was not to be. Instead, No. 7 was unfortunately scrapped, |  |
 |
and the caboose was tucked away in the Morristown enginehouse until 1960, when it was sold to William Whitehead, |
| who later started the Black River & Western Railroad (BR&W). The caboose later became the property of the BR&W corporation, and for over 25 years it was displayed at their Flemington and Ringoes, NJ sites. |  |
In the mid-1990's, the BR&W conveyed title of the caboose to the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey (URHS). In 1998, the Whippany Railway Museum and URHS formed an agreement that, after a 38-year absence, would see No. 1 finally return to "home" rails.
 |
Prior to its arrival in Whippany, the caboose first had to be trucked from New Hope, PA, its most recent storage site. On July 29, 1998 the caboose was delivered to the Morristown & Erie at its Eden Lane, Cedar Knolls, NJ crossing. |
| After it had been lifted off the trailer and placed on the rails, |  |
 |
the axle bearings were generously lubricated, and M&E locomotive No. 18 coupled onto the caboose and towed it eastward on its mile-long journey to the Museum site. |
| Once the caboose was on-site, the real work began. "M&E 1" was in dire need of some major repair: there was a large hole in the roof over one platform, |  |
 |
In addition to a variety of other damage that had resulted from an earlier, abortive restoration attempt that had to be attended to. |
| In an amazing 5-week period, Museum members succeeded in transforming a tired and worn-out veteran of the rails into what had become a unique addition to the Museum's display of local railroad artifacts. While the exterior of the Century-old caboose reflects its late-1930's M&E appearance, the restoration of the interior is an ongoing Museum project. |  |
 |
Along with our Morristown & Erie Railbus No. 10, Old "Bobber" Caboose No. 1 is a very welcome sight at Whippany, providing visitors an opportunity to examine two historic pieces of equipment which have actually operated in regular service at the site during the first half of the 20th Century. |
