"Dining" Car on Ebay

Brandi · **Posted:** Wed Mar 31, 2004 1:15 pm

Ebay has a listing for another ex passengar car used as a resturant in Danville, IL. Just from glancing at the photos inline, I suspect the seller is wrong on the age of the car, and with the door cut in the side, I would question that the "Car is movable by rail " Anyone know more about its history?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 2469660353

Pullman Dining Car - circa 1900-1920
Brandi_n_la@yahoo.com

mw · **Posted:** Wed Mar 31, 2004 1:56 pm

Looks more like something built in late '30's-1950's.
mw

> Ebay has a listing for another ex passengar
> car used as a resturant in Danville, IL.
> Just from glancing at the photos inline, I
> suspect the seller is wrong on the age of
> the car, and with the door cut in the side,
> I would question that the "Car is
> movable by rail " Anyone know more
> about its history?

>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 2469660353

p_michael_warren@yahoo.com

Don C. · **Posted:** Wed Mar 31, 2004 2:18 pm

> Looks more like something built in late
> '30's-1950's.
> mw

With the vestibule, it looks like a former coach to me. With the "slab" stainless steel below the windows I would guess that it might have been a Rock Island coach in its previous life. Anyone else care to venture a guess....?

Don C.

http://www.261.com
milw261@sbcglobal.net

tom klimczak · **Posted:** Wed Mar 31, 2004 2:59 pm

> With the vestibule, it looks like a former
> coach to me. With the "slab"
> stainless steel below the windows I would
> guess that it might have been a Rock Island
> coach in its previous life. Anyone else care
> to venture a guess....?

> Don C.

CRI&P #562 ring a bell ?

it's not listed on the RITS site.

tlk105@aol.com

Tom Cornillie · **Posted:** Wed Mar 31, 2004 3:06 pm

One of the e-bay photos shows "MP 562" on the side. This would be consistent with the porthole windows visible near the cut-in side door, which was a unique feature of Missouri Pacific post-war cars. Further investigation on the Missouri Pacific Historical society, which has an excellent passenger car roster online, says this car is Grill-Chair car MP 560 formerly MP 732. It would be interesting to know if any parts of the original grill are intact. From my experience, the owner should be lucky if he doesnÂ’t have to pay to have it scrapped, let alone setting a $100,000 minimum bid for it.

Tom

MPHS Passenger Car Roster
rrhistorian@hotmail.com

Steve Zuiderveen · **Posted:** Wed Mar 31, 2004 3:26 pm

> CRI&P #562 ring a bell ?

> it's not listed on the RITS site.

562 is not a legitimate CRIP lightweight car number.

This car is most likely on of the 323-349 series cars built in 1947. If you wade through his photo album long enough, a truck transom shows up with a cast date of 1946. I do not have a crip diagram book to look at, but I would take a wild guess that it is either 330 or 334.

Steve

szuidervee@aol.com

Tim Stuy · **Posted:** Wed Mar 31, 2004 4:45 pm

Take a look at this car in Sharon, PA. I think it is an ex-New Haven car. The seller has a fanciful idea of its age as well as its value.

Another ebay passenger car
tstuy-nospam@eldcps.org

Tom Cornillie · **Posted:** Wed Mar 31, 2004 5:20 pm

While the green stripe does look similar to those applied by the PC to former NYNH&H PS SS cars, the window pattern looks more like that used by AT&SF or CRI&P coaches. I would guess that it is an ex AT&SF car, since according to the RITS, all CRI&P cars of this type were scrapped. It would be interesting to know what the interior looks like. Were the AT&SF coaches of this type all stainless, or stainless over cor-ten?

Below is a link to the company that owns this car

Quaker Steak and Lube
rrhistorian@hotmail.com

Catalpa · **Posted:** Wed Mar 31, 2004 5:43 pm

Looks to be Pullman built, to me. That tends to suggest stainless over steel, or by now, probably stainless over rust.

Jon Clark · **Posted:** Wed Mar 31, 2004 8:16 pm

If that 562 on the car in Illinois is actually one of the former car numbers, then the MP theory could be correct as this would make it an ex-32 seat coach, 11 seat lunch counter, 16 seat lounge built by PS in 1947. Sold to the MP in 1960, and originally built for the MEC as the "Lumber King", a 36 seat coach, 8 seat smoker. (Info thanks to Dave Randall's Streamliner Cars Vol 1).

The car in Sharon is most likely an ex-ATSF 44 seat coach built by PS from either the 1947 or 1950 order. Note the small windows in the coach section for each seat, and the lift window in the aisleway. Probably an ex-Amtrak car, hence the painted pier panels to cover the Amtrak stripes.

Is anybody actually buying any of these passenger cars on eBay? Forget about the outrageous prices and complete ignorance of the cars heritage, but who do they think is going to buy one of these things without seeing it in person?

End of editorial comment.

domeliner@hotmail.com

Rick · **Posted:** Thu Apr 01, 2004 3:05 pm

Although I can't help identify the original owner of the "dining car" in Illinois, I did look at all the photos and couldn't help feeling fully informed when the seller described the water fountain as a spitoon.

bakerst@best.com

JimBoylan · **Posted:** Thu Apr 01, 2004 3:22 pm

D I really want to eat in a diner that labels a photo of a drinking water dispenser "Spittoon"? Is this a hint of why the car is for sale?

104577.651@compuserve.com

Rick · **Posted:** Sat Apr 03, 2004 8:16 pm

It is an ex Amtrak car and legend has it that it was used in the Freedom train. This car was bought and moved by truck to a restaurant in Brookfield, OH where it was gutted and turned int oa dining car. My father was a woodcarver and made up the tables for the car and engraved various images in the tops of each table. The restaurant went belly up and the car was moved again by truck to Sharon, where it rests now. I wonder if my father's tables are still in the car.

jrowland3@neo.rr.com

Rainier Rails · **Posted:** Sat Aug 30, 2014 8:51 pm

Brandi wrote:

Ebay has a listing for another ex passengar car used as a resturant in Danville, IL.

This P-S diner didn't move far, as it is now located in Kennekuk County Park, which is northwest of Danville, next to the C&EI depot from Bismarck.

The diner was formerly part of O'Leary's Pub in Danville, which was moving to a new location when the car was listed for sale back in 2004; the pub just recently closed--here's the article from the Danville News Gazette, which mentions the car: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-07-10/danville-restaurant-closed.html

Does anybody know the identity of this diner? Thanks in advance!

Pictures found on Flickr:

Note the door cut into the hallway side, June 12th, 2004: https://www.flickr.com/photos/erikcoleman/2949549075/sizes/l (Erik Coleman photo)

C&EI depot, October 7th, 2010: https://www.flickr.com/photos/23711298@N07/5142031154/sizes/l (Earl C. Leatherberry photo)

Stairs added, March 30th, 2013: https://www.flickr.com/photos/zaruka/8686640715/sizes/l (Raymond Cunningham photo)

Rainier Rails · **Posted:** Sat Aug 30, 2014 9:12 pm

Tom Cornillie wrote:

One of the e-bay photos shows "MP 562" on the side. This would be consistent with the porthole windows visible near the cut-in side door, which was a unique feature of Missouri Pacific post-war cars. Further investigation on the Missouri Pacific Historical society, which has an excellent passenger car roster online, says this car is Grill-Chair car MP 560 formerly MP 732.

Jon Clark wrote:

If that 562 on the car in Illinois is actually one of the former car numbers, then the MP theory could be correct as this would make it an ex-32 seat coach, 11 seat lunch counter, 16 seat lounge built by PS in 1947. Sold to the MP in 1960, and originally built for the MEC as the "Lumber King", a 36 seat coach, 8 seat smoker. (Info thanks to Dave Randall's Streamliner Cars Vol 1).

I think we have a winner!

Pictures located via Jerry LaBoda's website:

http://trainweb.org/screamingeagle/other/r_merrick/merrick_012-096/85_17MAY.jpg

http://trainweb.org/screamingeagle/other/m_cafferata2/mpgrillcoach.jpg

Built in 1947 by P-S in Lot #6778 to Plan #W46353 as MEC baggage-36 seat chair-8 seat smoker #540 Lumber King, 1 of 4 such cars built in that Lot; 2 cars were owned by MEC as #540 and #541, 2 cars were owned by B&M as #3800 and #3801. MEC sold #540-#541 to MP in 1960, and the cars were reconfigured to 32 seat chair-11 seat lunch counter-16 seat lounges #761-#762, which were renumbered in 1963 to #562-#563. #562 was retired and sold in 1971 to Bayless Building Material in St. Louis.

Source:

1. "Streamliner Cars Volume One: Pullman Standard" by W. David Randall (RPC Publications, 1981)

"Dining" Car on Ebay

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