http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 9140325The dozen or so cabooses and passenger cars at Boonton, NJ will be scrapped, save for three. We had a thread here on this 2 years ago where all the cars were ID'd. Somewhere in my notes I have this.As far as the CNJ cabooses go, others of the class remain in preservation. Anyone who owns one and wants extra parts shoudl reach out now.Rob

Hi Rob,Only one caboose, wood, cupola?, CNJ #?, has been reported at the Station or anywhere else in Boonton, NJ. It is reported to be in poor condition, so it is likely the one the newspaper article refers to as "burned".What are the other cabooses?Thanks, RogerP.S. When I was in my early teens, a "few" years ago, we would travel from Oak Tree (Edison) to Boonton every once in a while so my mother could visit the Boontonware Outlet store.

I would be most interested in any details about the passenger cars that anyone could provide.Tom Cornillie

I tried digging in my archives to find info on these cars to no avail. Like the other poster, I know I have it SOMEWHERE! I do recall that these cars were placed at this location in the late 70's or early 80's. They have not moved an inch since that time, have friction bearing trucks, and have as the article stated, been vandalized. I don't recall that many cabooses and the article seems to allude to only one. In the years past, they were offered to most every rail group in the area without success. Several groups inspected them and passed on it. What troubles me here is the statement that they are relying on New Jersey transit and the town to absorb the costs of this move. I doubt that this will happen given the condition of this equipment. All these cars will need attention to things like new air lines, COT&S, and once again, those bearings. Hospital moves aren't easy to do on a 24 hr commuter line.

Many, if not all, of the passenger cars are LIRR round-roof "ping-pongs", of the same type that went to Steamtown and were later scrapped (both at Riverside, VT and Scranton). The cars were modified somewhat for the stationary Boonton use. There may be a DL&W round-roof bagg in that batch, too.

What galls me is that I'd gladly pay to have one of those cars moved to my property if I lived anywhere nearby. The article makes it sound like scrapping the cars is something everyone should be happy about!Geez, where's someone like this near where I live, huh?

And the car in the background of the photo looks like a CNJ coach-- that 1024 number is a clue, too: right in the CNJ coach series.

It's been several years since I've been up there, but memory says that there are two CNJ cars; one was at one time an air brake instruction car, the other had one end opened up ala Blue Comet obs, but without the bulkhead moved in a window length.The caboose, unfortunately, was kindling several years ago. The Ping-Pongs, maybe 9 in number, weren't all that bad, although they all needed some side sheet replacement.The problem would be in getting them out of there. There is limited room for crane and flatbed, too many buildings and I believe a power line in the way. I doubt if NJT would allow the main to be cut and swung over; there are cars on both sides of the main. Perhaps they could be jacked up and slid sideways over to the main, but again that would take NJT co-operation. I can't see those trucks and bearings on NJT, even as a hospital move, and I don't know what kind of working relationship Strohmier/Somerset has with NJT. (Is there still a Somerset Terminal? I recall that they went bankrupt-)As I said, its been several years, but I used to make service calls to a company just outside of Boonton, so I am familiar with them. It would be nice if a few of them got saved, but as has been posted before, you can't save everything. Now, I understand that Knox and Kane has their Ping-Pongs up for sale, and these are cars that have been used much more recently.

p51agreed. The cars are at least show their worth in parts. There has to be alot of tourist operations that might be able to use such cars, if they have the tools to repair them.But since they are eyesores, I guess its better for the 'community' to worry about derelict cars then anything else, having solved all the world's other problems.

Okay dumb question time.....What's a Long Island "ping-pong"?Are these the extremely short cars of an acient vintage? I am thinking of the 60 or 70 foot cars like Walkersville Southern has.

"Ping-Pongs" was the derogatory nickname given to the Long Island RR's round-roofed P54 fleet, basically an unpowered variation of the PRR's MP54 multiple-unit cars. They received the name in LIRR days because of their extraordinarily rough riding characteristics, which supposedly bounced the riders about like ping-pong balls.Below is a photo of a model of one of them.Not one of the greatest moments in rail passenger car history, I should think...... the fact that I have trouble findin photos of them online should speak volumes.

The LIRR car in service on Walkersville Southern right now, WS 14, is a "ping-pong"--Class P54D--semi-lightweight cars of late 1920s design. Not to be confused with the P72s, which are sealed-window lightweights of 1950s vintage (though the two classes have similar rooflines).

The Ping pongs got their name because of their riveted trucks and their tendency to make a "ping pong" sound as they rose and dropped (owing to speed and track conditions). They came into service around 1910 and died out around 1970. These coaches were hard riding, but used all over the Island and at high speeds too. They were featured in the cartoon satire "Change at Jamaica", a book from around 1958, which has become a collectible amongst LIRR fans. While sold to a variety of tourist operations during the mass extinction, none remain on Long Island. This all the worse given the resurrection of G5s, #39, currently underway. Open window coaches of the same heritage and historically correct, would have been a coup. As it stands today, Knox and Kane's fleet are the only examples that appear to be serviceable. Their friction bearing and riveted trucks make them poor candidates for interchange back to where they originated. How very sad.

I think the Knightstown Indiana tourist railroad has at least one of these cars Ping Pong cars in use. http://cksrailroad.homestead.com/index. ... d.jpgJames Kissinger

That obs is a "homemade obs" if I remember correctly, It just had the sides cut back at one end.Rob