I wish I had the deep pockets to bring it back to Illinois & restore it to the C&EI Mount Vernon. P pretty much grew up on the C&EI in Rosville & Hoopeston IL. My grandpa was a Blacksmith helper in the Danville IL shops in the early 1900's & may have made parts for the car.

DBH

Thanks for that bit of information, Walt. That explains why the car was Tuscan red instead of Pulllman green...although from the timeframe I thought it might have been a nod to NS with their Tuscan-colored business car fleet. Now we know it was probably more a matter of expediency!

An interesting comment by a former employee of the plantation was that when he was young he was responsible for keeping the brass on the 2 cars polished. He said the ASHBURN HILL had "a bunch more" brass than the MOULTRIE...he wasn't hurt when it left! Pidcock's book indicates there were over 400 pieces of brass in the car! I still hope someone has some information on the current disposition of the car.

And DBH, I think you can take comfort in the fact that the car is going to be cared for. It sold for more than it was valued because the family wanted to preserve the heritage of that little part of the plantation, and they are open to any input they get regarding its restoration. I don't expect them to spend a whole ton of money on it except to do some exterior rust treatment and such. The interior needs a good cleaning and that's about it.

That's good to here Steve!
We have a couple of ex C&EI cars at MRM but one is the John J. Shedd Aquariam car & another that was sold to the IC & is in IC colors to match our IC train. Sure would be nice to have a C&EI car or loco in originial colors. I know, TIME & MONEY. Not enough of both!

And so the question is this: What has happened to the ONTATIO/ASHBURN HILL since leaving the plantation? Does it survive somewhere, maybe as a PV or in a museum? The ONTARIO was sold sometime soon after the MOULTRIE was acquired in 1988 and moved to the plantation from Dothan, AL.



This car was acquired by the infamous Tom Payne and repatriated to Canada. It is currently located in his home province Alberta.

Thanks, Mr. Kennedy. Good to know the Ontario is still with us. Are there any recent photos of the car you are aware of?

Stephen ( and the forum )....

I recall this car being offered for sale ( I saw the information and photographs )...about 3=4 years ago....I believe it is now named "Mercedes" and was partially restored, painted dark blue and was stored inside a building up in Canada......

Not sure of the story after that.....I will try to find the photographs I saved from the sale listing.....


Dean Levin

Excellent, Dean! Thanks.

We purchased the 1901 Pullman private car(Moultrie) at the auction and may be purchasing the 1971 caboose named Ashburn Hill. Don't know the long term plans for either but do know they will be safe from Salvage. I am very interested in the history of both but am more interested in the 1901 Pullman. Past owners, etc. ?

Hi, Daniel,

I've not been able to get back down to Moultrie this month as I had hoped. PM or email me if you don't have my number. Between what I have in my research and what the Central of Georgia Railway Historical Society has in the Bill Pippin Collection, I think we can fix you up. The in-service photos we have will be a big help in restoring the exterior of the car. On a personal note, thanks for stepping up and preserving this significant piece of Pidcock Lines history. There are quite a few VERY relieved folks who are now resting easy knowing the car is staying at Ashburn Hill and is in good hands for preservation.