If any of our readers live in or around Gulfport, Miss, there is a former Maine Central stainless combine car stored behind the pharmaceutical plant at 3600 25th Street. It's easily spotted on Google Earth. I would like a report on the car's status, perhaps a few photos at ground level.
I do not know how safe or accessible the location is, but a first hand report would be appreciated.

That would be the former Amtrak lunch counter lounge 8381, listed in the books as retired 1977 and sold to the Hancock County Port Commission. That car has probably been in that area for going on 30 years. It is the former MEC "Arundel", PS 1947. Later sold to the C&EI and later to the L&N before going to Amtrak.

That information absolutely checks out. I'd like to get a first-hand report on the condition and status of the car. Photos would be terrific, if possible.

I too am interested in finding out the current condition of this car. There are also (or were) 2 IC baggage cars in the KCS yard in Gulfport numbered 818 and 793. There was a discussion posted by Dean Levin on here a few years ago about one of the cars (818) being in danger of being scrapped. Recent satellite photos only show one car, which I believe is 793, still in the yard. It may have been mentioned on here already, but was 818 scrapped?

Here are a couple of links concerning these cars already posted on the forum:

IC heavyweight baggage car threatened: http://rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31807

Passenger Cars Owned by ANI Pharmaceuticals - Gulfport, MS: http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=21323

According to the Illinois Central passenger car roster pages (http://icrr.net/passenger.htm), the #818 was indeed scrapped in 2011.

Baggage #818 was originally baggage-express #685, one of ten such cars built in 1911 by Pullman in Lot #3907 as #676-#685. The car was renumbered circa 1955.

Baggage-express #793 was one of five such cars built in 1926 by AC&F as #790-#794.

Sources:

1. Illinois Central passenger car roster pages: http://icrr.net/passenger.htm (information for both cars is on page #3)

2. Illinois Central passenger car diagram folio, June 1952, which can be found on Tom Parker's Illinois Central website: http://www.illinois-central.net/

A link to check out regarding these cars:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 46&t=75338

Richard and the forum...

Per your request... I was able to obtain these current photographs of the Dixie Journey in Gulfport Mississippi. The car is presently land locked in a very secure pharmaceuticals facility. I was able to obtain permission from the company to go on their property to take these photographs. The ownership of this facility changed approximately two years ago, and because of the condition of the car, the car is no longer used for its intended lunch room purpose. The company uses the car as dry storage for air filters.

The photographs illustrate the overall poor condition of this car.

Hope these photographs are both interesting and helpful.


Dean Levin

addiitonal photograph taken March 2014


Dean Levin

additional photographs

additional photographs


Dean

Final images


Dean Levin

More than adequately illustrate the condition! Thank you very much for the excellent report back. Kind of a shame to see the car returning to earth, while the interior really looks quite good!

On June 13th, 1954, this car trailed Maine Central #470 on the final steam trip of that railroad. While New England Steam's mission to preserve 470 is our primary goal, just the existence of "Arundel" was a tease that deserved investigation.

Thank you for your primary research.

Dick

Very good job, Dean. Thanks for making a run over there and taking all those picture. It's really a shame that the car has survived all these years, but the interior appears to have been gutted. Yes, there is quite a bit of rust, which is to be expected for a car with that type of construction and in the humidity of the deep south, but the rust could be addressed if someone was so motivated. But with the interior appearing to be basically stripped, there really wouldn't be much point. At any rate, it's very interesting to see this survivor of the joint MEC/B&M P-S 1947 order.