Rob -

I was talking about the Ironton double sheathed wood boxcar in the Forgotten Scranton section originally referenced. In the PREVIOUS FEATURES section of that website under the IRONTON RR AT COPLAY is a photo of the said car including a closeup photo of the Ironton Railroad herald on it. Admittedly, this photo feature goes back to 4/25/03 which is now over 4 years ago, so who knows if the Ironton boxcar is still there. This thread gets a bit confused in the fact that Rob Davis (is that you Rob?) on 4/25/03 mentioned ANOTHER "red wooden boxcar that had been put up on stones" and was "not the same car as in your (Dave Crosby's) pics, but quite similar."

So now my question to you Rob is, what Detroit, Toledo & Ironton double sheathed boxcar are YOU talking about?

Les

Les.

I have investigated that car. It is under the Coplay/Northampton bridge, at the foot of Bridge Street in Coplay. It most likely sites on the property of General Supply Co. It is indeed a boxcar. However, upon close inspection, it rests on cribbing, with the trucks removed, along with virtually all the brake rigging. It appears to have been used for storage as there appears to be shelving installed on the interior. The wooden sheathing is in poor condition and might not be original. Other than the black diamond that appears in the photos you refer to, there is little in the way of evidence of reporting marks, car data, etc. It also has sliding doors and steel ends and has a steel underframe. I would not assume that the black diamond is an Ironton RR insignia. I am not aware of any "official" IRR logo/insignia. Both the Reading and the Lehigh Valley RR used that logo on their boxcars and the LVRR mainline was directly east of the IRR tracks in this area. The IRR was jointly owned by both RR's. The car would make an interesting restoration if some actual history could be obtained. As far as creating and "Ironton RR" train, the closest piece of equipment that could be moved on rail is the IRR Tool Car located on the WK&S RR in Kempton, PA, about 25 miles west of Coplay. That car has housed a model RR club for at least 30 years and rests on trucks, though not the original trucks.

My comment about a DT&I car was because many people confuse the 2 railroads. I know of no such cars. My mistake for the confusion.

As far as further preservation of the Ironton RR, the caboose that sits on Whitehall Township property is an excellent restoration candidate. From what I've been told, that car had been used as a "cabin" and was obtained thru the efforts a rail-preservation oriented Whitehall Township employee. It is relatively intact, rests on trucks, and has been stabilized. It was decided to locate the in an area "out in the open" in an effort to stave off vandalism. Hopefully, some local rail preservation groups may take that car "under it's wings" and give it a good restoration. While there are many of these "northeastern" style of cabooses in existence, the local IRR connection makes this car worthwhile. Also, the IRR General Office still exists in Hokendauqua and is currently used by a local Legion post.

In other local Lehigh Valley railway preservation info., the former Fullerton LVRR station was demolished earlier this summer. It was a standard LVRR masonry depot that had been modified for use as storage by Tarkett, the adjoining industry.

Rob

Hi Rob!

Thanks for the report, and the clarification of the status of the "Ironton Railroad" boxcar at Coplay.

As for the Ironton RR caboose that you state "sits on Whitehall Township property", I agree that it sounds like a possible preservation/restoration candidate. Perhaps if someone submitted a photo of the car, it might generate some interest from museums.

Les