See the link below.
http://thecrhs.org/news/CRHS-to-Acquire ... l-Camp-Car

Russ

Congratulations on your acquisition of an unusual piece of history. I am glad the CRHS is excited about this car as this is usually the kind of thing that is only ever remembered rather than preserved. Thanks for thinking outside the box.

Now, who do we campaign for an SD80MAC.............................!!!!

Wes

Thanks Wes. It's a big deal for us, and like you said, definitely a unique part of Conrail's history.

We think that it's going to make a great interpretive piece for us too on a number of fronts, so we're really stoked.

Now just to get it home safely.

It's a big deal for you, but is a BIG DEAL in the big picture, too, as you are actively preserving the environment of the railroad worker in recent times. That's unique and deserves praise.

Good on NS for recognizing the significance of the piece (and good on you guys for finding this forlorn relic).

Rob

And, done right, it could double as a place for volunteers to crash while working on future acquisitions.......... <:-)

Thanks Rob.

I'm not going to lie, spending time here has definitely changed my approach from "save it cause it's cool" to "save it because it has a story to tell". Sometimes I catch crap from folks for that someone non-railfan approach, but I think it's the right one for a preservation organization. I think my fellow Directors generally agree now (that I've brow beaten them about it), and that's the reason the car was so important.

Also, because it's our first major donation from the NS Foundation, which is a very important relationship for us.

Sandy, that's definitely one of the thoughts!

It looks like you're putting the building blocks in place for a nice organization. Congratulations.

Jim Barton

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. I will add that things like the camp car and our recently acquired gondola are part of our bigger plan to preserve Conrail's history. A lot of museums have a policy of preserving the more well known stuff (GG1s, one-off stuff, etc) and while this stuff is important and should be preserved, the CRHS intends to preserve more 'every day' Conrail artifacts. Consider our caboose (N7E 21165) it's really a relatively unremarkable piece. It does, however tell the story of how other railroads were folded into Conrail and it also can educate the general public about how Conductors and Brakemen lived in 'pre-EOT' times. Its the same with the camp car. You can go to almost any museum and see examples of how passengers slept on the rails, but not workers. We are filling that void. We're not out to collect fancy or famous 'one offs' (although I'm sure there will be some), we're out to tell the 'work-a-day' Conrail story. The story of the men and women who worked there and how they lived and worked at Big Blue and we're out to preserve equipment that you think of when you hear 'Conrail' SD40-2s, SD80MACs and C40-8Ws down to flat cars, Coalporters, gons and hoppers.
Thanks again for all your support. We couldn't do it without you.
Russ Swinnerton
CRHS President

Do you have any intentions of acquiring Conrail-operated passenger equipment like the soon to be retired Silverliners in Philadelphia?

The camp car set that I lived in was cold, hot, wet, smelly,breezy, & usually dirty. We had a cook & a kitchen/eating car but that guy could ruin a peanut butter sandwhich. Our cars were old WW-2 hospital cars & I don't think anything had been done to them since WW-2. These were cars on the old L&N - C&EI. They usually parked a switch engine next to us at about 2:00 am. If the wind was blowing very hard the oil heater would blow out & that happened often.
I quit the railroad & joined the Navy. Back in 1975 we did it all by hand on our gang. I hear that now on some roads they can't even use a spike maul as it is too dangerous. Who da' thunk back then.
Most crews stay in motels now. That would have been nice back then.
It's cool to see your car restored & as a place for volunteers to sleep in. Just so no one snores to much!!

Dave Huffman

Limejuice-

We currently have no plans for a SEPTA car. Unfortunately time, money, and a permanent home are not on our side right now. I think it would be a great addition, but we have to be able to care for it properly first. After this round of acquisitions, a home is next on our list.

Russ

Congratulations on your latest acquisition.
A word of caution: I don't know what the construction of the roof of the camp car is, but having had experience with truck trailers and mobile homes, MAKE SURE you pay attention to the roof! Maybe a full roof cover of some sort is in order. When they start deteriorating, they become a real pain.

There's nothing like getting that first piece of equipment--yeah, it's really ours! But I'd caution you to limit yourselves, lest you get more than you can manage. There's plenty of stuff out there, and nobody else seems to be preserving Conrail equipment. I would also suggest that you limit yourselves to equipment that was specifically built for Conrail. For example, one of the Fruit Growers Express-built bay window cabooses, or one of the "outhouse on a flatcar" transfer cabooses, among other things. One of the SEPTA silverliners would be a bit of a stretch anyway.

The newsletter explains that Conrail was in the process of installing new dry wall when the project was abandoned. How does dry wall survive the constant subtle and not so subtle motion of the structure of a rail car?

I'd guess not well, which is why I believe these weren't originally drywalled. When it was placed into its current location, I'm under the impression it was never intended to be moved again, so I don't think they were worried about it.

That said, I'm curious if anyone has any experience to share with regards to drywall and railcars.

Most camp cars I have seen had either ply
wood or wall board interiors. Some had cheap paneling in them also.

DBH