Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (Friends of the 261) have been awarded a generous $10,000 match grant by the John H. Emery Foundation for upgrades to "Lake Pepin", a 76 seat Budd coach that was acquired from Amtrak in 2003. The match grant will require RHMA to solicit a matching $10,000 in donations in order to qualify for the grant money.

The grant monies will be used to upgrade the air conditioning, replace carpeting and install new windows in "Lake Pepin". Delivered in late 1951/ early 1952 to the Pennsylvania Railroad as sixty coach seat - fourteen seat smoker 1596, the Budd-built car was intended for"Senator" service. With the advent of Penn Central, the car retained its PRR number and was conveyed to Amtrak where is was scheduled to become 7426. This number was never applied and the car became 7615 when it was rebuilt for "Clocker" service between New York and Philadelphia. It was also reconfigured to seventy six coach seats when it was upgraded to HEP standards. In 1996, 7615 was named "Glen Falls" for service on Amtrak's "Adirondack" service. Retired by Amtrak in 2003, 7615 was purchased by FO 261 and placed in service as "Lake Pepin".

Capable of carrying 76 revenue passengers in comfort and equipped with a generator for HEP, this car is an important part of FO 261's excursion fleet and has become a fixture on the annual North Pole Express. The attached link will direct you to the FO 261 webpage for additional information and an electronic form that may be e-mailed in conjunction with any donation.

Thank you for your interest and support.

Railroading Heritage of Midwest America / Friends of the 261

https://261.com/lake-pepin-fundraiser/