Anyone out there know: does any museum or historical society or private collector(s) have preserved any pieces of the CNJ 800 series pacifics ?

What a durn shame one of these beauties didn't survive the torch. They rank right up there with Jim Wrinn's Crescent PS-4's.

For 20 years I have been asking around if anyone has a whistle off one. Folks fortunate enough to have experienced them describe the whistle as a deep chime, sounding almost like a pipe-organ. One description is: "like a Reading 6-chime, but taller, sounding an octave lower".

It is at the top of my RR wish - list to see (and hear) one of these whistles. Getting to see one up close, take a few pictures and measurements to build a repro.
- or even acquire one outright !!

A good alternative would be a good clear DRAWING of the WHISTLE, from CRR of NJ, as applied to these engines.

Also, are there any other surviving bits from this long - gone but beautiful train? I know that all 3 obs cars still exist (and maybe some coaches ??). I'm interested in anything from the Blue Comet, right down to the handle off the oil can ! And not necessarily to buy, . . . just to get a look at 'em would be fun.

Thanks in advance for any leads.

> Anyone out there know: does any museum or
> historical society or private collector(s)
> have preserved any pieces of the CNJ 800
> series pacifics ?

> What a durn shame one of these beauties
> didn't survive the torch. They rank right up
> there with Jim Wrinn's Crescent PS-4's.

> For 20 years I have been asking around if
> anyone has a whistle off one. Folks
> fortunate enough to have experienced them
> describe the whistle as a deep chime,
> sounding almost like a pipe-organ. One
> description is: "like a Reading
> 6-chime, but taller, sounding an octave
> lower".

> It is at the top of my RR wish - list to see
> (and hear) one of these whistles. Getting to
> see one up close, take a few pictures and
> measurements to build a repro.
> - or even acquire one outright !!

> A good alternative would be a good clear
> DRAWING of the WHISTLE, from CRR of NJ, as
> applied to these engines.

> Also, are there any other surviving bits
> from this long - gone but beautiful train? I
> know that all 3 obs cars still exist (and
> maybe some coaches ??). I'm interested in
> anything from the Blue Comet, right down to
> the handle off the oil can ! And not
> necessarily to buy, . . . just to get a look
> at 'em would be fun.

> Thanks in advance for any leads.

Was CNJ combo 303 a Blue Comet car? It was air-conditioned when it ran in Phila-JC service and had an axle generator and battery lights. It is now at Steamtown.

Electric City Trolley Museum Associ

Only CNJ steamer is the Atlantic at the B&O museum.


joshuakblay@hotmail.com

Hello All

Two thoughts. The CNJ combine at steamtown, after exhaustive research, was determined NOT to have been a Blue Comet car. It may or may not have subbed for the 300 and 301 cars, but the 302 and 303 coaches were not used regularly on tis train. When restoring the car restoration shop employees at Steamtown were excited to find blue paint under the many layers of green, then disappointed to learn that the underlying coat was only applied in the 1960's by the High Iron Company. This car has a real neat history (including being involved in a rear end collision at Bound Brook New Jersey), unfortunately the Blue Comet was not part of that history.

Oh yes, by the way, there are 2 former CNJ steamers left. There is of course the Magnificent Atlantic at the B&O museum and an 0-6-0 at Minersville PA that has been placed next to the station there after an aborted restoration attempt.

Dave Crosby

Scrantontrains
bing@epix.net

> Only CNJ steamer is the Atlantic at the
> B&O museum.

There is another. Robert Kimmel's ex-CNJ 0-6-0 113 is stored along the Reading & Northern at Minersville, Pa.

Regards,
Jim Robinson

I apologize for my error. Nice to know there's more then one!!

Joshua

joshuakblay@hotmail.com

> Hello All

> Two thoughts. The CNJ combine at steamtown,
> after exhaustive research, was determined
> NOT to have been a Blue Comet car. It may or
> may not have subbed for the 300 and 301
> cars, but the 302 and 303 coaches were not
> used regularly on tis train. When restoring
> the car restoration shop employees at
> Steamtown were excited to find blue paint
> under the many layers of green, then
> disappointed to learn that the underlying
> coat was only applied in the 1960's by the
> High Iron Company. This car has a real neat
> history (including being involved in a rear
> end collision at Bound Brook New Jersey),
> unfortunately the Blue Comet was not part of
> that history.

> Oh yes, by the way, there are 2 former CNJ
> steamers left. There is of course the
> Magnificent Atlantic at the B&O museum
> and an 0-6-0 at Minersville PA that has been
> placed next to the station there after an
> aborted restoration attempt.

> Dave Crosby

Thanks for the explanation. 303 was for several years the regular combine on R-JC route train 614 from Phila to JC. I've also seen a consist report showing it in trains 301/306 which served Scranton (CNJ station) between Binhgamton (DL&W) and Phila (RDG).

CNJ 592, the B&O Museum engine, is shown in one book at the (then) new PRSL Atlantic City station, indicating it may have handled the Blue Comet from JC to there.

Electric City Trolley Museum Associ

> Oh yes, by the way, there are 2 former CNJ
> steamers left. There is of course the
> Magnificent Atlantic at the B&O museum
> and an 0-6-0 at Minersville PA that has been
> placed next to the station there after an
> aborted restoration attempt.
> Dave Crosby

Although the restoration is moving slowly, it is still moving, not hardly aborted.

You can see #113 in the soft-cover "Steam on the Anthracite Roads" by Mike Eagleson. C.N.J. sold #113 to the Reading Anthracite Company who used her to shift their trackage at the Locust Summit Central Breaker near Ashland, PA. The breaker shut down in (I think it was) 1956.

#113 sat there derelict until she was donated and moved to the Wilmington & Western around 1982. Then, around 1991 when W.&W. was "thinning" their collection, the 113 was purchased by the Kimmels and moved to a siding next to the Minersville PA station, which the Kimmels have also restored. This is ironically, just down the track about a mile from the Reading Anthracite Company's "New Saint Nick" Breaker! (same company, still diggin' after all these years).

Bob Kimmel has had great luck in rounding up many of the 113's parts which "disappeared" while she sat outside for almost 25 years, such as bell, number plate, gauges, even some of the rods!!
And although the job is moving slowly, he has high hopes of putting her back in steam !

B-T-W: I'm still looking for leads (see top of this thread).

The following nine messages I will be posting are going to be photographs of the manificent Blue Comet units!



Norfolk_Western_611@hotmail.com

Norfolk_Western_611@hotmail.com

Norfolk_Western_611@hotmail.com

Norfolk_Western_611@hotmail.com

Norfolk_Western_611@hotmail.com

Norfolk_Western_611@hotmail.com

Norfolk_Western_611@hotmail.com