Rutland boxcar #9194 was released from the Strasburg Rail Road's car shop this morning just before noon. If the link works below it will take you to the Trainorders site and you can view the pics I posted.

R.Geiter
Lancaster, Pa

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?f=2&i=69914&t=69914
geiter3@comcast.net

beautiful job! It's kind of a cognitive shock when you see "RPKD 3-21-02" stenciled on the side of the car. It almost seems like it ought to be a typo. I'm sure the builders would be pleasantly surprised to see that it survived 55 years to be restored so nicely.

davew833@yahoo.com

> Rutland boxcar #9194 was released from the
> Strasburg Rail Road's car shop this morning
> just before noon. If the link works below it
> will take you to the Trainorders site and
> you can view the pics I posted.

> R.Geiter
> Lancaster, Pa
What a fantastic job! Typical of the work Strasburg does. What leaves me scratching my head is the business reason for it. Strasburg seems to have enough cars for it's passenger business and the freight cars aren't contributing to the bottom line. In fact they do just the opposite considering the costs of rebuilding. How does Strasburg justify the cost? I've never thought of Strasburg as a museum, but rather as a well run and sucessful operating tourist railroad. Help me out here. Thanks.

wrj494@aol.com

> What a fantastic job! Typical of the work
> Strasburg does. What leaves me scratching my
> head is the business reason for it.
> Strasburg seems to have enough cars for it's
> passenger business and the freight cars
> aren't contributing to the bottom line. In
> fact they do just the opposite considering
> the costs of rebuilding. How does Strasburg
> justify the cost? I've never thought of
> Strasburg as a museum, but rather as a well
> run and sucessful operating tourist
> railroad. Help me out here. Thanks.

The rebuilt freight cars at Strasburg are used for storage. Sometimes they are "rented" buy the stores at the SRC for their storage. The B&M baggage car #3214 is even used as storage space.


http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?f=2&i=69914&t=69914
geiter3@comcast.net

> beautiful job! It's kind of a cognitive
> shock when you see "RPKD 3-21-02"
> stenciled on the side of the car. It almost
> seems like it ought to be a typo. I'm sure
> the builders would be pleasantly surprised
> to see that it survived 55 years to be
> restored so nicely.

This car was originaly built in 1924.

RG

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?f=2&i=69914&t=69914
geiter3@comcast.net

> The rebuilt freight cars at Strasburg are
> used for storage. Sometimes they are
> "rented" buy the stores at the SRC
> for their storage. The B&M baggage car
> #3214 is even used as storage space.

First of all, the restoration proves something I have long thought; freight cars have charisma too!

Secondly, the reporting marks on the boxcars end is shown as simply "R". Is this correct? If so, is this the only case of a railroad reporting marks being only a single letter?

Third, many museums don't realize that a simple boxcar can also be thought of as a 10' x 40' (or whatever) storage shed and have turned down donations of such cars because such a car is "of no use to our museum." WRONG!!

Finally, maybe its time for Strasburg to have a "photo freight". Photographers have paid bucks for the opportunity to photograph vintage equipment riding behind vintage motive power on other lines. But perhaps Strasburg has already done this.

Thanks Strasburg for a job very well done!

midlandblb@cs.com

LSRX has the last Hersey cocoa bean car ... it ain't vintage but it is sealed and insulated and is packed full of railroad parts ...very handy and very portable on roller bearing trucks. The overhead tracks that were used for the bulkheads make a light capacity traveling crane to facilitate moving heavy stuff.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

I commend Strasburg for restoring the LAST wood-SUF example of the standard NYC 40' door and a-half boxcar, of literally thousands built. As a Rutland historian I had feared that R 9194 might be lost in the shuffle of Steamtown's current trend of down-sizing...

On a quick side not, another railroad, the Montour (sp?!) used the letter "M" for it's reporting marks, a single letter.

With all due respect to all on the board, Strasburg (and other museums) should be encouraged to continue the preservation and restoration of our freight car heritage. While typing does not always convey voice inflection, I say in the gentlest terms, I was disturbed that no one expressed concern about the possible loss of the two LNE boxcars mentioned earlier this year.

(the spell checker is inoperative, and my dictionary is not handy, please forgive the typos!)

shack_19@hotmail.com

> Finally, maybe its time for Strasburg to
> have a "photo freight".
> Photographers have paid bucks for the
> opportunity to photograph vintage equipment
> riding behind vintage motive power on other
> lines. But perhaps Strasburg has already
> done this.

They have run photo freights in the past. When the museum opened its addition in 1995, SRR ran photo freights the entire weekend. Even sold tickets for the caboose. Also, a group chartered #475 for a photo freight a while back. Relettered N&W and everything.

Strasburg truly is to be commended for restoring this Rutland and several other historic freight cars. Though not a museum, they have frankly done better than most at such restorations. Having watched a string of those cars rot away for years in Vermont only to be scrapped, it's nice to see one restored in Pennsylvania.


bobyar2001@yahoo.com

> First of all, the restoration proves
> something I have long thought; freight cars
> have charisma too!

> Secondly, the reporting marks on the boxcars
> end is shown as simply "R". Is
> this correct? If so, is this the only case
> of a railroad reporting marks being only a
> single letter?

> Third, many museums don't realize that a
> simple boxcar can also be thought of as a
> 10' x 40' (or whatever) storage shed and
> have turned down donations of such cars
> because such a car is "of no use to our
> museum." WRONG!!

> Finally, maybe its time for Strasburg to
> have a "photo freight".
> Photographers have paid bucks for the
> opportunity to photograph vintage equipment
> riding behind vintage motive power on other
> lines. But perhaps Strasburg has already
> done this.

> Thanks Strasburg for a job very well done!

Yes, the single letter for the reporting mark is correct. When I saw this for the first time, when we did the other Rutland boxcar #6081, I thought it was wrong too. Then I saw a picture of one of these cars and was abruptly silenced. I'll chalk that one up for experience!

R.Geiter
Lancaster, Pa

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?f=2&i=69914&t=69914
geiter3@comcast.net