Greetings:
I am wading through old Valley Railroad Federal Depreciation Schedules and find that in 1990 we carried a "Coach PC 7564" on our books. I'm thinking that it is a car that we stripped for parts. Does anyone out there know anything about this car? Please share. Thanks!
J.David

Dave,

Penn Central 7564 was not a coach:



Regards,

Steve

Wow! She looks to be in wonderful shape in that photo. I hope she has retained her PRR appearance and integrity.

Thanks Steve!
I have this car listed as ex-PRR number 9284 on our roster. Was it renumbered by Penn Central?
J.David

Wait! Now I'm confused (what new?). Was the pictured Penn Central baggage car "stripped for parts"? Or does it still exist?

Les

Not stripped for parts; it's a storage car at Essex, painted in battleship gray paint. The car is in nice condition, like many B60s that survived into the 80s/90s.

Howard P.
ACS

Is it converted from a coach? Are those window panels riveted over?

No, it's a 60-foot baggage car, built as such. It was the "standard" PRR baggage car from the late 20s on. The PRR had hundreds of these things and dozens of them survived past the coming of Amtrak, tucked away in corners of the old PC system as storage cars for MOW, Mechanical Dept, etc. The VRR's specimen came from the old New Haven's Cedar Hill Yard in New Haven, CT, if I remember correctly. The PRR B-60 at the Pa State RR Museum in Strasburg was at Stamford, CT on Metro-North when a MNCR employee arranged for it to be donated to that museum.

Howard P.

According to the page 3 and 138 of the Penn Central Passenger Car Directory, issued by the Office of the VP Equipment (Philadelphia) and dated 5-1-1968. there was a new PC number series for the 127 former PRR B60b Baggage(Messinger) cars. They went from PRR 9200- PRR 9333 to PC 7500-PC 7630. The only cross-number I am sure of is the former PRR 9312 went to PC 7573 which is currently numbered RPCX 9312.

Interestingly enough, while carried on the roster as a baggage (messenger) car, the PRR 9312/PC 7573 retained only some of the messenger related accessories, such as the messenger desk and pigeon hole mail boxes above the desk, but was missing all of the lavatory equipment (sink, water tank, drop-to-the-tracks stool), and lavatory door. Also the roof vents, which provided a bit of ventilation for the messenger, were removed and plated over.

David,

I think you will have to look over the end doors from the interior and see if the original number is under the paint.

Steve

Dear George:
Thanks for info. in re-renumbering.
For those of you who keep track, former Pennsylvania Railroad Baggage (messenger) car number 9284 later became Penn Central number 7564, later sold to Valley Railroad (listed on roster as ex-PRR 9284) at Essex. CT and used as a parts storage car.
J.David