With all the talk of failed museums (and the mention of the Reading cocao bean hopprs at Magee), does anyone have a full roster of what was there at the museum?

Rob

trains@robertjohndavis.com

If Wayne doesn't follow through and answer your request, I know where I can find a complete disposition list later today. It focused primarily on the electric stuff, but did have most of the stuff that was sent elsewhere or didn't survive the 1972 flood.

lner4472@bcpl.net

I would be very interested in a list of equipment at Magee. Below is a link to a horribly incomplete list of Magee cars (although it does have current information on the cars that are there); just off the top of my head I can tell that LVT 801 is missing from this list, as are the Rio open cars that I haven't really been keeping track of.

Frank Hicks

http://www.bera.org/cgi-bin/pnaerc-query.pl?sel_allown=Magee+Trolley+Museum&match_target=&Tech=Yes&pagelen=200
fullparallel@wideopenwest.com

Numerous electric cars were at Bloomsburg, PA at the Magee Museum and here is a list. Wayne Laepple may be able to confirm all of this or add any addional comments as I know that he worked there in the late 60's.

In looking through my slides that I have acquired of Magee, some of the first cars on the property were the body of Hershey # 4, one of the Epharta & Lebanon cars and the Danville and Bloomsurg car # 1. Other cars on the museum property early in the history of Magee were the Scranton cars from Rail City. Electromobile car 505 and sweeper 107. Car 107 had been stored in doors at Rail City so it condition was good. 505 on the other hand had suffered from outdoor storage and was immediately disassembled upon arrival at Bloomsburg. This was before the open cars from Brazil were in the collection. Once the open cars arrived the restoration priorities shifted to getting two of those cars operating. Sweeper car 107 arrived in Bloomsburg on May 22, 1966 and was the first car to operate at Bloomsburg on Thursday May 26, 1967. This car is now at the Rockhill Trolley Museum in Rockhill Furnace, PA and in operation. Car 505 is also at Rockhill in very poor condition.

The open cars arrived in September 1965 and the first car to be restored was Rio 1779, which was restored as Magee open # 2. This was the open car with closed ends. It was operational in mid September 1966 in a mostly restored condition. Details continued to be finished on the car until the entire car was completed. This car is now at Mt. Pleasant Iowa and operating at the trolley museum there.

Open car # 3 (Rio 1758) was the next car restored and this car was restored with open ends with castings produced by Ed Blossom and Magee. The car was under restoration in October 1966 and was being painted and having it first trips in the summer and fall of 1968. This car is in Memphis I believe and has been converted back to a closed car from what I understand. (can anyone confirm all of this?) This car was formally at a Lionel train museum in Sarasota after Magee closed and then was in Orlando for the proposed heritage trolley there. It was stored (and operated unsuccessfully I believe) on the former Grand Cypress trolley line.

The last restored, operable car at Magee was Pittsburgh 4145. This car arrived in the fall of 1968 (November I believe) and work began on the car immediately. I recall from a conversation with Ed Blossom that when Harry Magee saw the Pittsburgh car he drove off very upset at the condition of the car and the amount of work it would require. This is why work began on the car right away to show Harry that something could be done with the car. Regauging of the car was handled in-house at Magee and the first trips with the car took place in October 1970 in primer paint. The car was finished and placed in service by May 1971 for the TrolleymenÂ’s Meet at Bloomsburg that year. The car is now at Trolleyville in Ohio.

Other cars at the Magee museum included the following:

Rochester Horse car 55 - John Stephenson Co. Back in Rochester somewhere I believe

Rochester ST car 243 - At the New York Museum of Transportation.

Danville & Bloomsburg 1 - Mentioned above, this car was one of the early cars at Magee, the body having been found in Williamsport PA. This was going to be one of the first cars restored at Magee until the open cars arrived. The car is now privately owned under restoration and stored indoors in eastern PA.

Hershey 4 – The body of this car was at Magee. After the flood the car was stored near Middletown, but privatley owned. Its condition was poor and the car body no longer exists.

Philadelphia 2282 - This car body was acquired by Magee in 1967. It was stored inside a building and displayed for the public. One end and side was cosmetically restored. After Magee the car was stored at the Philadelphia Woodlawn carbarn and 2282 was nearly lost in the fire there in 1975. Later stored at Dushore PA The car was owned by Ed Blossom and has been donated to the Scranton trolley museum.

Lehigh Valley Transit 801 - This car was acquired by Magee from Neola PA in 1967 where it was being used as a summer home. The car was cosmetically painted at Magee and after the flood the car was to be restored for use in Philadelphia and the bicentenial. The car was taken to Dushore PA, where the bulk of the restoration work was done. Car 801 was moved to Topton, PA for the restoration to be completed. The restoration work (mainly interior, running gear) is still waiting to be completed and the car is now at the Electric City trolley Museum in Scranton.

Lehigh Valley Transit C-15 - This car was acquired to supply the mechanical parts for 801. It was acquired from the Broad St. Subway, where it was in use as a trash car after LVT sold the car to PTC.

Reading Birney 509 - A body only. I have heard that this car is now in Detroit. Was cosmetically restored to authentic Reading colors at Magee, but before it left Magee it was painted in a yellow scheme with large numbers (124 I think) Anyone know why?

The Mineola - Private subway car of August Belmont. Was a body only but has some interior furnishing I believe. Now at Shoreline Trolley Museum.

Elmira Corning & Waverly 107 - This was a late arrival at Magee. The car was sitting on trucks at Magee but I do not know where the trucks came from or if they are correct for the restoration of the car. Now at the New York Museum of Transportation near Rochester.

Cincinnati & Lake Erie 117 - Body only, in poor condition in 1972 when I saw the car as a kid in Bloomsburg after the flood. Had been stored in the Bloomsburg area until just a few years ago when it was moved to Scranton and stored there somewhere.

Rio 1718 - An arch roof open car. Unrestored at Magee. Now at the Mt. Pleasant trolley museum and restored.

Rio 1889 - The fourth open car at Magee. Owned by Ed Blossom and donated to ECTMA in Scranton. Unrestored, but complete. Was stored for many years in Dushore PA, but is now in Scranton.

New York State Railways 157 - Acquired by Magee in June of 1970 this car was cosmetically restored and place on display near Interstate 80. It sat on a pair of Red Arrow broad gauge centerdoor trucks that had been acquired by Magee. Now at the New York Museum of Transportation near Rochester.

The Loretto - Private rail car of Charles Schwabb. Now at Altoona Railroaders Museum.

I may be missing some cars, but these are the cars that I know of.

There were still many sign of the museum on the property at Bloomsburg the last time I visited in 1999. The maintenance pit, which was inside the one building is still covered over. The concrete floor is visible with the rails still there. Rail is at various places and steel overhead poles are scattered occasionally. One of the buildings even had a sign “Trolley Museum” over the doorway. The station building from Turbotville was still there as well as the restoration shop. The old stone home and barn near Rte. 80 are still there. These buildings were there before the museum. The property is an antique dealer right now. During one visit years ago, I even found and bought some old Magee souvenirs in the old stone house.

Ed Blossom has told me recently that A book is being assembled on all of the Magee Museums. Someone from the carpet company is working on the book. He did not tell me any time frame when it would be done but I do hope that it is published someday. I'll be one of the first in line to get a copy.

Joel

> I would be very interested in a list of
> equipment at Magee. Below is a link to a
> horribly incomplete list of Magee cars
> (although it does have current information
> on the cars that are there); just off the
> top of my head I can tell that LVT 801 is
> missing from this list, as are the Rio open
> cars that I haven't really been keeping
> track of.

> Frank Hicks


Rockhill Trolley Museum
jdstrolley@enter.net

You covered it perfectly, Joel. No need for me to add anything. I can tell you the body of the LVT freight motor is slowly rusting and rotting away about a half mile from the museum along the banks of Fishing Creek. In fact, if you stop while eastbound on I-80 and look to the south from the bridge over Fishing Creek to the west of the Magee site, you can see its remains. There isn't a whole lot left, as the body was stripped for parts for 801 in 1973 or 74 and then stripped a second time about two years later when I scavenged whatever I missed the first time. Last time I saw the car, a portion of the roof had collapsed.



K4s1361@hotmail.com

PRT 2282 DT semi-convertible and Rio 604 open are both under cover in Scranton.

Electric City Trolley Museum Association

Joel,

Pics of New York State Railways 157, which is now at the New York Museum of Transportation, are available on their website at the link below. The car was recently jacked up and had its wide gauge trucks replaced with a set of standard gauge trucks in hopes of someday operating on the museum railroad.

The Rochester horse car is part of the collection of the Rochester Museum and Science Center. It is currently in storage and not on display.

Until later,
Chris Hauf



Virtual Tour of New York Museum of Transportation
crhauf@frontiernet.net

LVT #801's history has been pretty well charted here. Does anyone know the story of the other wood LVT 800 series car stored near Allentown. A few years back she was under a blue tarp near Route 22.

Yes, it is the Lehigh Valley Transit car to be restored for a proposed transportation museum in Allentown. The only thing done so far for the museum was to clear the land, which required demolition of the Lehigh Valley Transit freight house, complete with it's painted brick wall still advertising the LVT.

Rob

trains@robertjohndavis.com

Rob are you talking about the that was moved to Scanton last year?

jmack@enter.net

We moved 801 to Scranton during the ARM Convention in 2000.

There's another 800 out there; somebody said it's 805; we saw it under a tarp next to an auto dealer off of US 22.


Electric City Trolley Museum Association

I believe the car you are referring to is 805. It had been in the New Smithville area for years after it was sold by the LVT until it was advertised for sale in the Allentown paper in the late 1980's. It was moved to various places, along old rte 22 in Fogelsville, Lehighton, Rothrock Car dealer lot along Rte. 22 and now it has disappeared. I have heard that it was moved from Rothrock's to an indoor location somewhere in the Bath and Nazareth area but this has not been confirmed.

While at Rothrock's at Rte. 22 the car was owned by an Allentown attorney who I spoke with several times about where to look and who to contact for parts for the car. I don't believe that he ever did contact anyone and I do not know if he still owns the car.

The car was/is not in very good condition. The baggage end was cut off at the bulkhead and the window sills were filled with concrete patching. Most of the stained glass was in the car but do not know if it still is. Much of the interior wood was also still inside. I guess the car would be restorable if you had a boxcar full of cash.

Joel

> LVT #801's history has been pretty well
> charted here. Does anyone know the story of
> the other wood LVT 800 series car stored
> near Allentown. A few years back she was
> under a blue tarp near Route 22.

> Yes, it is the Lehigh Valley Transit car to
> be restored for a proposed transportation
> museum in Allentown. The only thing done so
> far for the museum was to clear the land,
> which required demolition of the Lehigh
> Valley Transit freight house, complete with
> it's painted brick wall still advertising
> the LVT.

> Rob


Rockhill Trolley Museum
jdstrolley@enter.net