About 20 years ago, I had the chance to visit Guilford's wreck train in Deerfield, Massachusetts. That train retained a heavyweight diner with an original, 1920's or earlier interior. Anyone know what became of that car?

It was (is) a wood bodied, steel underframe B&M cafe-diner, which is now at IRM. IRM obtained the lightweight passenger car that is currently on Pan Am/Guilford's wreck train, and swapped it for the wood cafe-diner.

IRM has the car under cover and it is being worked on.

Howard P.

That's a great story. It's a bit amazing that they still have a wreck train in 2010.

Guilford actually has two wreck trains. One based at East Deerfield MA and the other at Waterville ME.
Zog
DFS
Bronx NY

Video of East Deerfield Wreck Train heading to Maine in April 2010:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri5T8qtP3q8

Very cool!

That is an amazing train. I think we discussed wreck trains here before. It seems to me that they are all gone from most railroads and services from Hultcher type companies are standard.

For a time after the 1972 Agnes flood, the D&H ran its trains from Taylor Yard, Scranton, to Northumberland over the E-L's Bloomburg Branch, as the PC's Wilkes-Barre branch was out of service. The D&H was responsible for picking up its own messes, and when a coal train derailed in the old E-L interchange yard just east of Northumberland late that year, the Carbondale wreck train was dispatched. In addition to the usual 250-ton crane, flatcars and other interesting equipment, two arch-roof wooden coaches with roller bearing trucks accompanied the train. I was told later these cars had been used on the Scranton-Carbondale commuter trains before being downgraded to wreck train service. As I recall, one car was a kitchen-diner car and the second was an office and bunk car.

Here is a bit of history on that Guilford wreck train diner at IRM. There are actually two cars, cafe-coach B&M 1094 and diner B&M 1090 at the museum. When they came about 1992, the canvas was hanging off in strips on the 1906 cafe-coach 1094 (original number) sending it inside. The 1907 B&M 1090 was thought to have a tin roof, which it does not, and has been outside all these years. Cost even of track space is quite high, higher still for barn space, and it is fortunate one of them went inside otherwise it would be gone today. A number of donors have paid off the track space ($6000) but there are some thousands of dollars yet to go on barn space for the two of them. I worked on them as I could over the years. Progress on 1094 keeps it from getting booted out. However, I got involved in the Pullman Library to get it operational again and to work on collating many thousands of wood car drawings (very far along) toward documenting the wood cars. Recently Jack Biesterfeld, another volunteer at IRM, got involved and now it is really happening! The interior of the cafe section, most original part, has been stripped, painted and re-varnished. The coach section is painted and varnished, and has nearly-authentic seats, H&K 194 versus the original H&K 94 seats. He has been working on other interior details including new mahogany windows to replace junk windows and is starting to return it to the original Pullman Green exterior color. You will find it prominently displayed as you enter Barn 3. You can find B&M 1090 in Yard 11 in the 1940's B&M maroon, needing lots of attention but at least I have periodically coated the roof to slow the deterioration. A B&M native, I wish these cars had stayed in N E but to look at the sad fate of the Tyngsborough car with the B&M Historical Society Archives just down the block, maybe it was meant to be. Years ago I had a rough educational experience back there and it taught me to be confident - just go save that car and damn the torpedoes on the rail! What's wrong in Massachusetts? I admire all those who can get a group together in my old stomping grounds, Howard P for instance, and make things happen. Support us with those scarce extra dollars!
Ted Anderson, IRM volunteer and Pullman Library curator, hanging in there.

Ted,

You hit on a sore spot with many interested in equipment from New England and the Northeast. While there are great exceptions (RMNE, RCT&HS and others), much equipment was had to leave the area to survive. I am not discussing equipment that migrated out in regular service (like the Rutland RS-1's or the LNE 0-6-0), but that which had to leave in the "preservation era" to find a home.

Fortunately, we are starting to see some of this equipment working its way slowly back home. I'd like to believe part of the reason is a greater sense of purpose among preservation groups, and part of it has to do with private owners and operators (Scott K, the GVT team & SRR of NJ) bringing pieces back "home" for use.

Rob

And, of course, of what was saved in the 1950's and early 1960's went to Baltimore or St. Louis because there weren't viable options in New England or the northeast at that time.

And for many reasons, it seems cities in the region were not as likely to plinth a steam locomotive.

Rob

Since you asked, I have some pictures taken today of the progress that's being made by Jack Biesterfeld in restoring the interior of the diner . I'm really envious of the job he's doing!

Visit Hicks Car Works!
http://hickscarworks.blogspot.com/

No one seems to know that there are railroad organizations here, how many people know of the Old Colony & Fall River Railroad Museum? Hell when I mentioned keeping some historic MBTA equipment in a Massachusetts trolley museum someone thought I was talking about the operation in Lowell. It also dosen't help that all our steam locomotives keep going to Connecticut, a state that already has lots of steam locomotives even boasting running steam. Also at the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum we do have a Guilford wreck train car or some kind of MOW car take a look http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z5XdCkYNn_c/S ... 040197.JPG