I was able to assemble a semi-complete list of the Quakertown & Eastern's passenger coach fleet from Reading Company passenger car records dating from the late 1960s:

(Reading Co. passenger coaches 1290-1299 built June 1922 by Standard Steel Car, Hammond, IN, 63' length, 78 psgr capacity, avg. lt. wt. 117,533 lbs., $18,710.62 each new.)

(RDG Coach 1527 built April 13, 1927 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, DE, 63' length, 77 psgr capacity, avg. lt. wt. 115,996 lbs., $23,554.75 each new)

Q&E Coach Roster:
1290 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in March 1968
1292 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in March 1968
1295 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in March 1968
1296 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in March 1968
1298 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in March 1968
1299 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in March 1968
1328 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in March 1968
1527 Coach class PBr Sold to Q&E in March 1968
1715 Baggage Sold to Q&E in March 1968
300 CNJ combine Sold to Q&E in March 1968?
___? PRR P70 (I think it was privately owned by David York of Telford, Pa. Does anyone have the number of this car and its disposition?)

Some of these cars are now at Spencer Shops, while others went to PP&L. The CNJ combine went to the Kettle Moraine in WI. I think at least one coach (maybe two) of the Spencer set was scrapped at Southwest Virginia Scenic RR (is the name correct?), and the baggage car has since gone to the RCT&HS. I'm also looking for the car number and disposition of the PRR P70 coach leased to the Q&E by David York.

Does anyone have any additional Q&E coach roster info? Please speak up now or forever hold your peace.

My thanks to John W. Hall, RCT&HS, for supplying the primary sources.

Kurt Bell

I'm also looking for the car number and disposition of the PRR P70 coach leased to the Q&E by David York.

David York's car was PRSL 9935 a P70FB



jmack@enter.net

Very interesting--if David York's P70FBR was indeed PRSL No. 9935, it was later owned by Atlantic Central Steam Co., the former owners of Royal Hudson No. 2839 PRSL P70s Nos. 9935, 1682 and 9887 (as well as the 2839) were stored by Atlantic Central at the Wilmington & Western RR in Delaware for many years during the early 1980s. If I am not mistaken, these are the coaches now on the Cape May Seashore Lines operation in South Jersey.

> I'm also looking for the car number and
> disposition of the PRR P70 coach leased to
> the Q&E by David York.

> David York's car was PRSL 9935 a P70FB

Link to info and recent photo of RDG baggage car #1715:

http://www.readingrailroad.org/roster/r ... _1715.html


http://www.readingrailroad.org

Atlantic Central did not have 1682. A trade was made with W&W for junk cars and the junk cars ended being scrapped. The Atlantic Central also had a DL&W sleeper.

> Very interesting--if David York's P70FBR was
> indeed PRSL No. 9935, it was later owned by
> Atlantic Central Steam Co., the former
> owners of Royal Hudson No. 2839 PRSL P70s
> Nos. 9935, 1682 and 9887 (as well as the
> 2839) were stored by Atlantic Central at the
> Wilmington & Western RR in Delaware for
> many years during the early 1980s. If I am
> not mistaken, these are the coaches now on
> the Cape May Seashore Lines operation in
> South Jersey.


jmack@enter.net

The Atlantic Central equipment was stored at W&W for a long time. Included in this stuff was a DLW sleep "Pequest" which ended up being cut up.

Atlantic Central also owned a snack bar car that was converted from a coach. This was used in the late 70's by the W&W when the W&W leased Southern #722 and ran some trips on the Octoraro's former Reading W&N branch.

Tom Gears

> think at least one coach (maybe two) of the
> Spencer set was scrapped at Southwest
> Virginia Scenic RR (is the name correct?)

Yes, that was the tourist line's correct name (c. late 1974 and 1975).

I forget just how many ex-RDG cars were at the SVSR, but I'm thinking there was the baggage car and 5 coaches (correct Jim Wrinn??). IIRC one SVSR car had one end vestible made into a open (observation) platform. The SVSR also had an ex-CNJ coach and another carbody (I think an ex-PRR MP54) sitting on the ground. These came from elsewhere--a wild GUESS would be from the Southern Appalachia (tourist) Ry. of NC (c. late 60's)--they had a CNJ coach and a PRR MP54.

Jim Wrinn should know if any of the ex-Q&E exx-RDG coaches were scrapped at the SVSR--but I thought all had went to Spencer.

Regards,
Jim Robinson

> The Atlantic Central equipment was stored at
> W&W for a long time. Included in this
> stuff was a DLW sleep "Pequest"
> which ended up being cut up.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no DL&W sleeping cars left, either the 1949 Phoebe Snow era cars or earlier heavyweights. I would love to be proven wrong. Does anyone know if any exist?

Our "solution" to this problem is NKP 10-6 sleeper 211, the "City of Lima". Since the NKP sleepers ran through on the DL&W and EL until 1963, they are appropriate with our EL diner.

Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society

tstuy-nospam@eldcps.org

The CNJ Combine that went to the Kettle Moraine was sold to the Santa Fe Southern Railway in Santa Fe New Mexico in 2002. The car is now in service there.

Jason Midyette

> I was able to assemble a semi-complete list
> of the Quakertown & Eastern's passenger
> coach fleet from Reading Company passenger
> car records dating from the late 1960s:

> (Reading Co. passenger coaches 1290-1299
> built June 1922 by Standard Steel Car,
> Hammond, IN, 63' length, 78 psgr capacity,
> avg. lt. wt. 117,533 lbs., $18,710.62 each
> new.)

> (RDG Coach 1527 built April 13, 1927 by
> Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington,
> DE, 63' length, 77 psgr capacity, avg. lt.
> wt. 115,996 lbs., $23,554.75 each new)

> Q&E Coach Roster:
> 1290 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in
> March 1968
> 1292 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in
> March 1968
> 1295 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in
> March 1968
> 1296 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in
> March 1968
> 1298 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in
> March 1968
> 1299 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in
> March 1968
> 1328 Coach class PBm Sold to Q&E in
> March 1968
> 1527 Coach class PBr Sold to Q&E in
> March 1968
> 1715 Baggage Sold to Q&E in March 1968
> 300 CNJ combine Sold to Q&E in March
> 1968?
> ___? PRR P70 (I think it was privately owned
> by David York of Telford, Pa. Does anyone
> have the number of this car and its
> disposition?)

> Some of these cars are now at Spencer Shops,
> while others went to PP&L. The CNJ
> combine went to the Kettle Moraine in WI. I
> think at least one coach (maybe two) of the
> Spencer set was scrapped at Southwest
> Virginia Scenic RR (is the name correct?),
> and the baggage car has since gone to the
> RCT&HS. I'm also looking for the car
> number and disposition of the PRR P70 coach
> leased to the Q&E by David York.

> Does anyone have any additional Q&E
> coach roster info? Please speak up now or
> forever hold your peace.

> My thanks to John W. Hall, RCT&HS, for
> supplying the primary sources.

> Kurt Bell


amjm@indra.com

1290 - 1299 were modernised by R.Co. in 1948 with high-back walkover seats, mirrors on the bulkheads and ceiling fans. They were NOT air conditioned, possibly in deference to the multiple stops on the Bethlehem Branch and inability to generate enough electricity.

5 of the 10 cars did not have water and had dry hopper toilets. They were fancy in appearance, but spartan in amenities.

Electric City Trolley Museum Association

See below link for a postcard view of the Southwest Virgina Scenic Railroad--from the APBR files at railfan.net

It features ex-Quakertown & Eastern nee-Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 4 and one of the ex-Q&E nee-Reading coaches, plus a bit of the RDG baggage car (which offered up snacks and souvenirs). Ol' Slobberface is wearing her round number plate so the photo has to be from 1974--she sported a rectangular plate for the time she ran in 1975.

Regards,
Jim Robinson


SVSR postcard

See below link for another SVSR postcard view, also from ABPR files at railfan.net

Regards,
Jim Robinson


SVSR postcard #2

> The Atlantic Central equipment was stored at
> W&W for a long time. Included in this
> stuff was a DLW sleep "Pequest"
> which ended up being cut up.

Anyone know the reason the DL&W sleeper was cut up and what year it happened?

According to W&W records, "Atlantic Central's ex-PRSL P70 coaches Nos. 1682, 9887 and 9935 plus a boxcar were still on the property in October 1985." Thus, No. 1682 was in existence with the other AC cars at that time. As Tom Gears mentioned, No. 9887 was equipped with a lunch counter and was used on at least one off-line trip on the Octoraro Ry's ex-RDG W&N branch in the 1980s. The seats had been removed and a long lunch counter was along one side of the car and the windows behind the counter were blanked out with steel plates.

K.R. Bell

> Atlantic Central did not have 1682. A trade
> was made with W&W for junk cars and the
> junk cars ended being scrapped. The Atlantic
> Central also had a DL&W sleeper.

Jim R., yep, there were five ex-RDG coaches at Spencer. 2 had been gutted and had longitudinal benches replacing the coach seats. One was in very bad shape and was scrapped at Spencer in the early 1990s. Other car was rebuilt and sees some use. The other two coaches and the one with the obs cut into it are used regularly (I was shoving them around the property with a SR GP30 about five hours ago). Jim W.

http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com