[b]PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE AND
TWO CABIN CARS WILL BE ON DISPLAY AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
IN THE HARRISBURG TRAIN STATION
MAY 19th & 20th from 10 am to 4 pm[/b]


It’s been a long time since most of us have seen a cabin car on the tail end of a freight train gliding down the railroad. While a handful remain in service, most have been replaced by technological advances. Some of these cars have been preserved by museums and other historical preservation organizations.

The National Railway Historical Society and the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society have teamed up to bring examples of vintage Pennsylvania Railroad rolling stock to the Harrisburg Transportation Center the weekend of May 19th and 20th. The Rivanna (Charlottesville, VA) Chapter of the NRHS will be bringing their metal clad Type N5B cabin car to Harrisburg where it will be on display along with the Harrisburg Chapter’s wooden Type N6B cabin car. Both will be open to the public providing a rare opportunity to see the inside of these historic cars and see what it was like to ride the rails at the tail end of a freight train.

The N5B was built in 1941 and has been fully restored as a working cabin car. The N6B was built in 1937 and was submerged in the flood waters of Hurricane Agnes. The Harrisburg NRHS assumed ownership and has completely restored the car.

Also on display will be the Harrisburg NRHS Chapter’s Type GG1 electric locomotive. This particular locomotive (#4859) was built in 1937 and was the first electric locomotive to pull a passenger train to Harrisburg in 1938. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is The Official Electric Locomotive of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Although tours of the interior of the locomotive are not possible, it will be available for up close inspection and photographs.

Through the courtesy of Amtrak, all three of these classic pieces of railroad history will be available to the public on Track 5 of the Harrisburg Transportation Center on May 19thand 20th from 10 am to 4 pm.

As an added bonus, Harris Switch Tower Museum - only two blocks from the train station, across from The Forum at the corner of 7th & Walnut Streets - will also be open to the public both days. Harris Tower once controlled all rail traffic through downtown Harrisburg, at one time handling more than 100 passenger trains every day! The tower is now owned by The Harrisburg NRHS and has been fully restored to its early 1940’s appearance.What makes Harris Tower special is that it is a fully interactive, hands-on museum. All of the tower equipment used to control the railroad has also been fully restored and connected to a computer system that simulates the actual rail traffic through Harrisburg in the year 1943. Visitors actually operate the equipment, throwing the control levers to route trains to their proper destinations. Meanwhile, trains from Norfolk Southern and Amtrak pass by right outside the tower’s windows! Kids love it!

- Admission to both the cabin cars and Harris Tower Museum is free!

- Metered parking on the streets in downtown Harrisburg is free on weekends.

- Free parking is also available in the lot adjacent to Harris Tower.

We hope to see you the weekend of May 19th and 20th!

Thanks for sharing!

I think that's the first time I've heard the term "cabin car" in reference to a caboose. Well, I learned something today! Now, I know and according to G.I Joe, "Knowing is half the battle." LOL!

Randy,

A conductor I knew for the LV use to call his caboose a "Gig Top".

Scott

"Cabin car" was heavily, if not exclusively, a Pennsylvania Railroad term.

To the extent that real ex-PRR guys look at you quizzically if you refer to one of their cars as a "caboose." I'm serious.

The term was known to have spread to a couple short lines in PRR turf as well. The terminology appears to date from the extreme earliest days of the railroad, the 1840s to 1860s. The word "caboose apparently predates railroading; http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=caboose says


Knowing the PRRT&HS as I do, I'm fairly certain there's a Keystone article in preparation showing how and why "cabin car" is the correct terminology for all such cars....... >;-)

Hey! That's a great little lesson! Thanks for the info!