Hello all,

When the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania scrapped its MP-54 earlier this year - how did they do it? Was any effort made to document it as it was scrapped, a process the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel has described as archeological demolition - see http://www.crowsnest.bc.ca/soospokane/curzonstory10.html . Likewise were any parts and artifacts saved from the car? Moreover, is the museum interested in acuiring another MP-54. There is (hopefully still extant) a MPB-54 #16307 at an Amtrak MOW base which was modified to support wire maintenance operations. Adding this car to the museum would give it an example of the very significant MP-54 cars, allow it to interpret the adaptation of equipment to support maintenance operations, and interpret the equipment, tools and skills needed to build and maintain catenary.

Excellent question, Tom. The MP54 in question was a mess when I last saw it. It was rotten through and through, and really an unfit artifact to sink precious funding into. There are several ex-PRR MP54's still around, though it's difficult to imagine such a huge fleet reduced to just a few spare cars. There are several LIRR MP54's as well, and several could be rebuilt for operation if permission was given. I don't know for certain, but I'm sure the RRMofPA would have preserved any thing it could for future rehab of another car. These people are very conscious of the role of utilizing what is available. Documentation is another issue. Certainly plans still exist for the PRR MU car fleet.