The topic header refers to heavyweight passenger cars, really old freight cars, cabeese, etc, either used as storage or MOW equipment on modern railroads. There seems a tendency for companies to divest themselves of now re-purposed equipment, generally as scrap. One man's trash is another's treasure. Some of it perhaps representative of railroads long disappeared.

What's out there?

There is a large number of old boxcars used in a welded rail plant in Russel, Ky, including a really interesting oddball car.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34769

Up until just a few years ago, I believe that there was a very large steam locomotive tender on what had been SP property in AZ. Sorry I don't have more details & feel free to correct me if I'm in error.

any steam cranes still out there active? Major steam may had left mainline but them cranes stuck around a while.

Ferromex was still using a steam Industrial Works wrecker as late as 2010.

http://photovalet.com/195742/print

Anybody know if it is still around? As far as I know it is the only railroad steam crane possibly still in commercial use in North America.

The LIRR as a matter of fact still has two ex-B&M American Flyer coaches stationed at Holban Yard for MOW storage along with what is believed to be an ex-RDG steam generator car used as an office. Norfolk Southern, CP and likewise CSX all have ancient vestiges here and here especially in the northeast. When I was doing my boxcar search for the RMLI I came upon these interesting oddities,

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mastadon4 ... bLx-zCSJ2z

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cesposito ... CoJ-361t1R

https://www.flickr.com/photos/n8myc/147 ... HsA-sfoMTQ

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9759010@N ... QKT-9hJjjp

https://www.flickr.com/photos/henrywagn ... UtvW-nRf1q

I know I've seen ex-PRR N5 cabooses in Amtrak MOW service on the NEC, but I have no idea how many may be left (fewer every year I'm sure). I think Metro-North may have a couple also; I've spotted them in Stamford, New Rochelle, and even inside Grand Central.

-Philip Marshall

Hi,

I recall that Southern Railway sold two 2-8-0s to the ET&WNC in the 1950's (I think). With the birth of Southern's Steam Program, two RS3s (IIRC) were traded to ET&WNC to get 630 and 722 back for the steam program.

UP 844/8444 was never dropped from the roster.

There was/is a single sheathed box car used as a crew shed at the Westbound Receiving yards of Enola (Harrisburg) that was still in PRR yellow MOW colors and faded lettering. Last time I saw it was in 2003/2004 just before I lost my job up near DAY Tower. With the downgrading of Enola, I do not know if it still there.

Doug vV

There is a Russell snow plow (ex-C&O) sitting on a yard track in Manistee, MI slowly rotting away......it should be saved.....but maybe hard to move due to its condition.

If you worked at Day, you probably remember Eddie Brouse, one of the yardmasters up there and a hard-core railfan.

I know he personally stepped in to attempt a rescue, but I can't remember whether it went somewhere or it was deemed far too derelict (like missing trucks, etc.) to rescue. Seeing that I can't remember where it went if it did escape, I'm afraid that one's long gone now.

The next obvious entry is three vintage PRR boxcar bodies along the former wye to the southeast of Penn Station in Baltimore. The "reason" they haven't been rescued (yet) is that 1) they're PRR cars in a town where the railroad museum is B&O-centric; and 2) the cars are missing trucks, have new doors cut into them, etc.

Amtrak used to have two or three ex-NYC baggage cars used as storage in the Lancaster, Pa. station; the Strasburg RR "rescued" them a few years ago for rolling storage.

A vintage "shorty" ex-Amtrak baggage car is similarly used at MARC's Camden Station in Baltimore, but I believe this specific car is owned by, and leased from, a railfan entity with MARC connections.

A great deal of the formerly vintage "museum candidates" along CSX tracks were claimed by the B&O Museum, to which CSX happily shipped most of them directly a decade or two ago. A lot of this stuff still clutters the tracks around their Restoration Facility, with a few duplicates scrapped.

10stewi -

There was some question about whether this C&O car actually existed in the Russell welded rail plant in a complete condition, or whether one (or more) sides had been cut out. There was a request that someone contact CSX to see if a visit to the plant could be arranged to check if one of these cars actually existed "intact", but if such a visit was ever made, no info was revealed one way or the other.

Les

Hi,

For many years, Clinchfield #1 4-6-0 hauled the Christmas train. It had a Diesel control stand in it and the second "Car" in the consist was a B-unit of some sort.

I do not know if Clinchfield #1 was an original CRR locomotive or something that was picked up for the Christmas purpose. I do not know the heritage of the B unit either nor their dispositions.

Doug vV

As for the comment of my having worked Day Tower, Sorry about the wording. I was working in computer electronic designs here in Atlanta until 2004.

Many of my relatives hired on to the PRR before the end in 1968 (some 13 people from about 1915 to the last retiring from Amtrak in about 1985). One uncle was a crew caller driving a jitney around Enola and on his day off, he would sometimes let me ride in the cab of his pick-up truck around the yards. I visited the Brick Office (now gone), Lemo Tower, and the westbound hump as well as got to see the eastbound hump from up in one of the switch towers. He died in about 2001.

I was very lucky to see many non-public areas around Harrisburg with my uncles.

I'm sure many here are familiar with Shenendoah Junction in West Virginia, I was up there recently and found an ex N&W gondola, with solid bearings, sitting on the interchange track. I forget if it said "MOW" on the side but it was a rough looking piece, one end had been cut out and the was beat like a rented mule.

In regards to the Clinchfield 1, the engine was built before the Clinchfield was formed. It was later absorbed into the Clinchfield in either the late 1800's or early 1900's where it served for some time.

It was then stored in the Erwin, TN yard where GM Tom Moore found it in the 60's. He had it restored and ran excursions along with the Santa Train, the 1 could only handle 1-2 coaches so the 2 B units did most of the work

I got to see her on the same trip I saw the N&W gon

I think this has seen been scrapped.

The three boxcars in New Hyde Park, NY shown in this picture are privately owned and not on the LIRR roster. They have Conrail markings under the graffiti and have been there since sometime in the 1980s. I've ridden past them many, many times and seeing them always makes me smile.

-Philip Marshall