Had a phone call from a very distraught David Pankey today about 3 heavyweight sleepers in a former restaurant in Yakima Washington they are being demolished this week and they have had no time to raise the money to save them, they have a crane and truck ready to move them 20 miles to their museum but need help funding the move.
The cars are in exceptional condition and have complete interiors with seats, they are 2 heavyweight UP sleepers numbers or names unknown, the third car a NP heavyweight has already started to be cut today...if anyone can help please contact David at 509-249 2771
This is where they will be going ..... http://www.nprymuseum.org/
Mike Pannell

OK, I don't want to be overly critical here but there are some problems with the info you've been given Mike. First, they've had plenty of time to raise funds and get the cars out. We learned about it from publicly available sources 18 months ago. We contacted the folks who owned the equipment arranged to buy the car we wanted and get it out. I would hope the folks down the street would have known right along with the rest of us -- it was in the local papers. We knew about it from the other side of the country. If they didn't know about it when we did, they certainly knew about it when several of their members visited us as we prepped our car.

The cars are IMHO not exceptional nor complete. The restrooms are blown out of the sleepers, holes cut in the sides and various other forms of butchery. However, they do deserve better than to be cut. The real gem was/is probably the NP Solarium Obs, but it sounds like that's where they started. All 3 of the Pullmans are/were still fairly solid. I don't know where they are in the process but the two hospital cars at the day care were cast trucks and roller bearings.

I rather suspect they were counting on the owner giving them to them AND paying for the transport out. He's a good guy, but that's a bit much I'd say.

If anybody wants the FEC Budd bag dorm or an F unit hulk, I'd say now is the time to step up.

ETA

I do not recall these cars being spoke of here at RYPN, perhaps one of the other groups had discussion.
Apparently they are these cars at a restaurant with a few average and poor reviews.
http://goo.gl/maps/tAJ9S

Exactly, if the situation has been known about for months why haven't they ever been on here....

Mike

Looks like they were able to get a caboose.
http://www.yakimaherald.com/home/151387 ... of-station

Paul
Seattle, WA

I know the identity of one of the UP heavyweights...I didn't know about the other two, nor did I know they were part of the same property as the ex-ACL baggage-coach (named the "Fort Monmouth") and the ex-CofG observation "Fort Benning", which, by the way, is the car rescued by ETA and Hayneshopcat.

Sleeper "Pelham" constructed in 11/1926 by Pullman in Lot #6023 to Plan #3410A (12S-1DR). Sold to UP at the 12/31/48 divestiture and leased to Pullman until 5/31/62. To UP MofW in 1/64 as bunk car #906032. Retired by UP in 1974?? To the "Columbine Restaurant" in Yakima as "Cascade Pass".

Does anyone know the identity of the other two?? Is the NP car another heavyweight sleeper, or something else??

Info from Don Strack's Utah Rails website and from Tom Madden's Pullman Project CCR database.

Was "Fort Monmouth" the car's original name?

More on the caboose:

http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/latest ... from-track

Pertinent quote, which reveals this hasn't all been in a bubble:


More demolition photos along with a 1987 photo showing the top of a lightweight car or two:
http://www.yakimaherald.com/csp/mediapo ... galleryTop

See also http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/yhr/mo ... -good-idea

http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/109402 ... r-track-29

A noted casualty in this demolition was the third location of (Bert) Grant's Brewpub, one of the very first of what would be dozens of brewpubs scattered around the Pacific Northwest, and hundreds scattered nationwide. He had originally set up shop in the city's old opera house, then moved to the former NP station until he fell behind in rent to the railroad; after a reorganization he and the pub ended up here. He sold the company in 1995 and died in 2001. For all his financial bumblings and maverick troublemaking, he was a pioneer in American craft brewing.

If a caboose derails in the forest and it isn't reported on RYPN, did it really happen?

Nope.

ACL baggage dormitory 22 seat coach #106 constructed in 1947 by Budd in Lot #96811. Reconfigured to baggage dormitory (14 bunks, I don't know how many there were originally) in 1962. To SCL #5018. To Amtrak in 1971 as #1518. Sold to Melco Labs in 1980 as MELX #1518. Melco named the car "Fort Monmouth" to go with their ex-CofG observation "Fort Benning". Both cars ended up as part of the retail property in Yakima.

Thank you for the details. I found a neat picture here

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1968267


Fort Monmouth, NJ had a bit of a private car history in the 70's. Interesting to hear of a car named after it that had no connection to it.

OK, maybe I'm confused, but is this "FEC Budd baggage dorm" mentioned here actually the ACL car that became Melco's Fort Monmouth?

If not, was the FEC bag dorm in with the cars being scrapped and if so, has it been scrapped or not? Seeking clarification...

And what's the story on the F-unit?

Steve--

The combine reported as being of FEC heritage is indeed the ACL #106. The FEC did have lightweight cars with "Fort" names, but those were all diners. FEC lightweight baggage-dormitories and baggage-coaches were either named after towns in Florida or after rivers in Florida. The two named after towns were later renamed after rivers to go with the two additional cars that were named after rivers when built:

"Stuart" (Budd, 1939, Lot #96706) renamed "Indian River"

"New Smyrna" (Budd, 1939, Lot #96706) renamed "Halifax River"

"Banana River" (Budd, 1947, Lot #96811)

"St. Johns River" (Budd, 1947, Lot #9615-005)

<soapbox> This annoys me. Why do people when there are cars worth saving, why do they not share the word? Do they think they are going to hold on to it for themselves when they have not the resources to do such a thing?! An example local to me - there were several cars stored on the backroads of Kentucky, one of which was a TTI baggage turned obs. I only learned about it AFTER it was a pile of cut metal. I would have moved heaven and earth to move it to somewhere safer. </soapbox>

Rant aside, what all is left up there? What about contact / donation information? What is the timetable? It's too far for me to do anything much, but...

Last I saw, a gutted F-unit and two streamlined stainless steel cars were located about a block West of Track 29. They used to be part of the complex, until they were moved to make room for more parking spaces. The F-unit had a horn hooked up to it that the kids could blow. If you're interested in them, I'd say get on it Now.