The idea for forming the Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society in spring of 2001 was to purchase and restore former Lackawanna/Erie Lackawanna Phoebe Snow Diner 470/770. Several of us on the list had become aware that the car was for sale, and our goal was to organize a nonprofit to purchase 470/770, restore it to its former appearance, and operate it on today's Delaware-Lackawanna out of Scranton. We were highly motivated by the idea that this car could perhaps once again run over the restored Lackawanna cutoff in gray, maroon, and yellow. Years of service at Strates Shows had taken its toll on the exterior of 470/770. We knew the car would take a lot of work, but we were confident that we could succeed. Many Lackawanna fans at the time were ready and willing to assist our new organization financially with the asked for donation of $200.00 per person to meet the purchase price of $25,000. In a truly nonpartisan show of support, the Erie fans also showed their enthusiasm for the purchase and restoration of this very historic stainless steel Budd built Diner.

As we were forming ELDCPS as a nonprofit organization, and working on fundraising to save the car, events moved faster then we were able to. The owner of 470/770 sold the car to American Orient Express before we could conclude the deal. Of course, we were very disappointed, but their was little we could do. Larry DeYoung came to our rescue, and pointed out that their might be a former Erie heavyweight Diner for sale in PA. The Erie car thus became the only former EL diner available, and we moved quickly to purchase Erie/EL 741.

As we moved forward with 741, ELDCPS realized that our mission and goal would slightly change. We would embrace the concept of acquiring and restoring enough former EL cars, and other related equipment, to sponsor a recreation of an EL thru line passenger train. We have appropriately named this project "THE LAKE CITIES PROJECT."

Since that time, ELDCPS accepted the donation of former NKP 10/6 Pullman built sleeper "City of Lima." This car is in excellent condition, and operated over the Lackawanna/Erie Lackawanna during the thru passenger years. Erie Lackawanna Equipment Leasing has assisted this effort with the acquisition of 6-6-4 Pullman "American Way II," and former DL&W/EL Phoebe Snow coach 1318. We are on our way to achieving our goal.

ELDCPS is proud to announce that we have signed a contract to purchase the Lackawanna Diner from American Orient Express. We are indebted to AOE, their President, the Chief Mechanical Officer, and to John Suscheck at Ozark Mountain Railcar for their efforts in assisting ELDCPS with this very important acquisition.

The purchase price for 470/770 is $10,000.00. AOE has a lot more than that in the car, so we are very fortunate to purchase the car for that price. John Suscheck informed us last week that AOE had just placed the Lackawanna Diner up for sale. ELDCPS took quick action to negotiate and secure a contract to purchase 470/770. Our position from the very beginning is that this very historic car should be owned by ELDCPS, and be made available for all to enjoy once the car is restored to service.

However, we want to make it clear that we will finish restoration on Diner 741, before any work will begin on 470/770. NKP City of Lima also has priority, as we would like the car to be finished for an event we have planned for October 2005. We continue to solicit donations for the NKP paint job for this very nice 10/6.

The Lackawanna Phoebe Snow Diner will be a very important addition to our growing fleet of historic and authentic equipment. Many of you originally wanted to donate funds for the acquisition of 470/770, and we are going to ask all of you again to consider assisting us with this great purchase. We must raise the funds and complete the purchase price by the end of March 2005. We will be updating our website with current exterior and interior photos of 470, as well as information on how to donate. Details can be found on our website at: www.eldcps.org

ELDCPS has made a preliminary decision to restore the car as Lackawanna 470. We want to restore the interior and exterior of the car as it was during the time it operated in Lackawanna service on the Phoebe Snow. We can thus portray with 470 the Phoebe Snow era, as well as the early E-L era. Lackawanna Diner 470 will return to the "Road of Anthracite," and again serve excellently prepared meals by waiters in historically accurate Phoebe Snow jackets.

At ELDCPS, our mission and vision is moving forward, and soon we will be able to offer an authentic and historic Erie Lackawanna thru passenger train. Lackawanna Diner 770 will proudly join E-L Diner 741, NKP City of Lima, and Erie Lackawanna Equipment Leasing's cars to offer a truly authentic train set.

Why not join our growing membership? Become a member today and participate in a very important historic project!

The Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization.

This is great news - thanks for posting it to RYPN. Did AOE do any work to the car? As I understand it, when it left Illinois Transit Assembley its kitchen was largely intact from its EL days.

This is great news - thanks for posting it to RYPN. Did AOE do any work to the car? As I understand it, when it left Illinois Transit Assembley its kitchen was largely intact from its EL days.

The kitchen is still mostly intact as is the dining area and that neat bar at the non-kitchen end of the car. All of it is a little beaten up but in decent shape. The work AOE did was to make the car interchangable. This Budd diner never went to Amtrak so it has avoided any big changes, it really is a 1949 car.

By the way in addition to financial support, we would really like to record the history of this car from when the Erie Lackawanna sold it in 1970 until now. The 470 and sister car 469 got around, but I'm not such who owned them and where they went over the last 34 years.

Tim Stuy
Secretary - ELDCPS

While Lynn Moedinger was taking refuge in the fire house in Wilkes Barre during Agnes, and watching the water go down the stack of CNR 89; there was another unusual movement going on in the same yard. The Strates Brothers Show train was there and it got flooded too (a complete loss). EL took Strates up to the dead line in Susquehanna, where they picked up the remaining ex DLW 10-6 sleeping cars and the two Budd diners. The 769 ended up being sold to Bill Butterworth from Strates, he sent it up to Boise (Morrison Knudson) for overhaul and use on his special operations on the Rock Island; but when the RI went belly up, Bill couldn't pay for the work, they took the car over and eventually sold it to the folks who presently have it in Memphis.

I am not exactly sure, but I think a broker on the west coast got the 770 out of Strates much later; it ended up in a three way deal traded to Kasten Railcar Service, who in turn traded it to DL&W Car Company in exchange for some money owed them. DL&W had originally been formed to operate a dining car on the Steamtown Foundation as a charter operation back in 1986; but SF went out of business and nothing ever came of it. It was still the intent to restore a DLW car, but times got tough, the owner of DLW had to get a real salaried job after several years of trying to make a go of it as an intinerent passenger car repairman, and Kasten arranged for AOE to purchase the car to help DLW pay off some of its business debt. ELDCPS was originally scheduled to look at the car the day after AOE bought it, and after AOE decided they did not want to make certain repairs to make the car Amtrak legal, the car came available to ELDCPS at less than half the cost it went to AOE. And I certainly hope that everyone lives happily ever after!