Saw this on Trainorders. I was hoping someone had posted about it here but it doens't look like anyone has yet. It was in Pennsylvania for years and now it is on it's way to Sacramento to the California State Railroad Museum.

http://www.wtrf.com/story/23915506/100- ... nia-museum

-JE

Scariest line in the whole article, IMHO:

"Once it arrives in Sacramento, the State Department of Parks and Recreation will move the car to storage in order for professionals to restore it."

Previous thread(s) from March:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34795

The same CSRM that is arguably the finest in the country in terms of the quality of its interpretive displays and quality restoration of its artifacts? Have you BEEN there? COCHITI is an example of what they can do with a passenger car....I'd be very pleased to see the same care and quality of results produced anywhere in the country, but very few are actually done as well.

dave

It was the STORAGE part that frightened me, seeing as how certain significant items in CSRM's collection have been in "storage" since acquisition in the mid-'80s with no end in sight and are slowly succumbing to vandals and the elements. Hopefully, they have immediate plans for the restoration of this car, because, yes- the rolling stock they have that IS restored and installed in interpretative displays is quite impressive. I've been there twice.

I will second Dave's question... Have you seen what CSRM has done, and how it displays and interprets its collection... See what they have restored...

Yes, they ended up with too much stuff... (and which museum hasn't) but they have been responsible in disposing of extra, surplus stuff... probably better than any other group/museum/agency...

And, for each piece restored, there is a restoration report... for pieces not restored there may be a restoration feasibility study... They probably defined the process of restoration reports and museum restorations while ramping up in the 1970's... Nevada State has followed (with many of the same people) and have even better defined how a museum should restore and document an artifact...

You can visit the CSRM library (arguably the best railroad research library in the country) and ask for the restoration documents for any piece in the collection...

This while a part of a state park system which has seen 20 years of budget cuts, and is generally in crisis.... Staff just keeps moving forward... they are volunteer friendly...

Rant concluded...

Randy

Is it reasonable to believe the car weighs 100 Tons without the trucks ?

Could the car weigh 100 Tons with the trucks ?

Perhaps we should phrase it thusly:

"If and when CSRM fully restores this car, it will be done in a first-class manner."

The car is UP business car 107. It originally came to PA in the 1970s for display at The Meadows Racetrack along with a wood NKP caboose. Both went to Meadowcroft Village, Avella, PA around 1990. The caboose is still available on a "move it and it's yours" basis. As for the quoted weight of 100 tons, such cars with their concrete floors often did get into the 180,000 lb range (with trucks, of course) so it could be close to 100 tons. No wonder heavyweight trains required some serious big locos.

I do not doubt the historic value of this car, but I have to ask why the CSRM is acquiring a UP business car in Pennsylvania and hauling it across the country when there are business cars closer to home that better represent California railroading. It sounds like this car spent most if not all of its life on the east coast. Am I missing something here?

If they wanted a business car why didn't they look closer to home? All they have to do is ask and the PLA will give them the SP 121 "Western". I'm not speaking for the organization but we have discussed finding it a new home. With some wheeling and dealing the PLA could probably also be convinced to part with the SP139 "Sacramento" that was once assigned to the GM of the Sacramento division (Donner Pass).

Uh, because it's a UP car? Where would you suggest it go? The railroad museum of Pennsylvania?

Granted, the car was used on the East Coast but the heritage is Union Pacific. In fact, I think it's interesting that the car was assigned to the New York office of the UP. I never thought about a biz car being used in that manner, but it makes sense. It's sort of like it's the predecessor to a corporate jet.

As for why the chose to acquire this car instead of various other candidates, I would strongly suspect the price was right and that this organization probably contacted them?

Why NOT send it to Strasburg? It's just as much a UP town as Sacramento, which is to say, not at all. Or rathre moreso than that, being the headquarters of the competition.

Now, Sacramento once was to UP as Gibraltar was to the German navy, as in, not one of theirs, but still darn well important to their business. That importance had long faded by the time this business car was built. So the logic seems to be "UP operated in Southern California therefore it's relevant to a California museum." But I think the fact that UPRR operated in New York is far more interesting still.

It's a bit like the Learjet, tail number N844UP, which certainly deserves a destiny hanging by cables from the ceiling of Carhouse 5 at one rail museum or another. Inside UP's service territory preferably, but it wouldn't be altogether wrong in DC or London.

In any case, I find it amusing that as this car crosses the country, it will pass the other car from Utah to the Smithsonian.

Uh, what car from Utah????

Photo:

Found a photo on Flickr of the #107 after being loaded onto TTX flatcar XTTX #142429 at Weirton, WV, on November 8th, 2013: https://www.flickr.com/photos/n8myc/10757444816/sizes/l (Bob McGilvray, Jr. photo)

Car History:

Built by Pullman in March 1926 as UP #102 (1st), with the name Overland, renumbered in May 1952 to UP #107 (2nd), stored in 1970, donated in May 1971 to the Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, donated to CSRM in May 2013.

Other thread: http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34795

Source:

1. Don Strack's UP passenger car pages: http://utahrails.net/pass/pass-index.php