I was reading John White's book on the American Passenger car when he discussed the New Haven's use of copper-clad passenger cars. Do any of these cars survive?

wilkidm@wku.edu

> I was reading John White's book on the
> American Passenger car when he discussed the
> New Haven's use of copper-clad passenger
> cars. Do any of these cars survive?

Railroad Museum of New England has two of these cars, another is privately owned in Grafton, MA, and another privately owned copper-clad is at Willimantic, CT (at CT Eastern NRHS).

One of RMNE's copper-clads was rebuilt to the original open platform configuration about 20 years ago. The other RMNE car, like the two privately-owned cars, have the enclosed steel vestibule ends that NYNH&H added in the 1929 rebuild of many of these cars for Boston commuter service. The surviving copper-clads were downgraded to work service after 1949, when NYNH&H rebuilt a large number of Pullman parlor cars to coaches, again, for the Boston commuter zone.

> Railroad Museum of New England has two of
> these cars, another is privately owned in
> Grafton, MA, and another privately owned
> copper-clad is at Willimantic, CT (at CT
> Eastern NRHS).

> One of RMNE's copper-clads was rebuilt to
> the original open platform configuration
> about 20 years ago. The other RMNE car, like
> the two privately-owned cars, have the
> enclosed steel vestibule ends that
> NYNH&H added in the 1929 rebuild of many
> of these cars for Boston commuter service.
> The surviving copper-clads were downgraded
> to work service after 1949, when NYNH&H
> rebuilt a large number of Pullman parlor
> cars to coaches, again, for the Boston
> commuter zone.
I believe there is a copper-clad business car at the National Museum of Transport at St. Louis. I'm pretty sure I recall seeing its unusual sheathing, in which each piece of wood siding is wrapped in sheet copper.

- Aarne H. Frobom
Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation, Inc.
P. O. Box 665
Owosso, MI 48867-0665

froboma@mdot.state.mi.us

I'm not sure what car you mean. We have two with scribed steel siding meant to simulate wood but I'm rather sure that neither has any copper involved. The two are D&H office car #400 (blt by Pullman, 1911) and private car "Colonial," built by Pullman for rental in 1905 and later an office car on several lines.

Museum of Transportation
rdgoldfede@aol.com