Below is an account and photos of the Coach Inn cars and their move by the McHugh Bros. from the JC McHugh.

COACH INN RESTAURANT – two B&O passenger cars & PRR business car #90 Delaware, and how they got there.

The Coach Inn Restaurant in 1964 acquired the original farm house an adjacent property at a newly developing industrial park just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the Fort Washington exit. The newly devised railroad themed restaurant purchased two Baltimore & Ohio Railroad passenger cars and shipped them to a siding located in Ft. Washington, PA. The McHugh Bros. company was contracted to construct two track sections at the site, to load the two railroad cars onto tractor trailers with a crane, transport, and place the two railroad cars onto the track their new home with a crane.

In early 1973, the owner of the Coach Inn purchased Pennsylvania RR business car #90 “Delaware’ that was located on the abandoned Reading Railroad’s Warwick branch that ran from Elverson PA to St. Peters PA. The #90 was stored on a short section of track in St. Peters and was previously owned by a family that also operated a store in a building located adjacent to the track. The McHugh Bros. company was contracted to disassembled #90, transport it from St. Peters PA to Elverson PA by truck to the old Wilmington and Northern line, where #90 was reassembled for shipment by rail. The PRR #90 was then shipped by rail to New Hope PA and underwent a rehab to convert its interior for restaurant usage by the Coach Inn’s contractor, and the exterior was also repainted.

When the repairs were completed, PRR #90 was shipped by rail to a siding in Ft. Washington PA. The McHugh Bros. company was contracted to build a section of track at the restaurant for the #90, to load #90 at the railroad siding onto tractor trailers, transport it, and place #90 onto the track with a McHugh crane at the restaurant. The owner of the Coach Inn made quite a bit of fanfare for #90’s arrival, and the local television news and newspapers, covered the story. The job did not require the McHugh Bros. giant truck tractor that was converted from a 100 ton off road dump truck to transport railroad car #90. However, with all the free media coverage, why not!

The owner of the Coach Inn promoted that a guest could experience railroad car #90 “Delaware” just as President Dwight D. Eisenhower did during his 1952 campaign for president when he traveled aboard the car, while enjoying the establishment’s first class dining and spirts.
The Pennsylvania RR #90 had 4 axles and should not to be confused with Penn Central #90 that had 6 axles, both were stored at New Hope PA. Penn Central #90 arrived around 1972 and departed in December 1975. Penn Central #90 at some point was renamed “Philadelphia Star” by the owner whose last name was “Starr”. Penn Central #90 is currently located on the eastern shore of Virginia at Cape Charles and Pennsylvania RR #90 was scrapped at the Coach Inn many years ago.

In early 1980 the McHugh Bros. Company purchased, from the Reading Railroad Estate, two legs of the wye at Elverson PA and about a mile or so of track that was still in place that went towards Warwick. The rail was removed during March 1980 and the salvaged 90-pound rail was then reused and replace worn sections of rail on numerous curves at the NH&I between New Hope and Lahaska, during the summer of 1980.

I definitely ate at the Subway that these became on my way to train shows at the Fort Washington Expo Center.

It's nice to know the story behind them. I had always wondered.

Thanks Tom.

The car you refer to as Penn Central 90 was and is--assuming all the histories and stories are accurate--landlocked in Cape Charles, Va. (NOT "Eastern Shore of Maryland") with the recent removal of all rail trackage in the former PRR waterfront Cape Charles yard (the feeder to the carfloat operation to Little Creek/Norfolk).

At this point, unless someone with money needs a PRR business car and/or it gets somehow "adaptively repurposed," that thing is likely doomed.

That McHugh tractor is a monster.

The car in Cape Charles is actually a B&O car that made its way to the PRR as a replacement for PRR's 90 "Delaware" It was assigned to David Bevan and has somewhat of a checkered history of being sent into the Wilmington Shops for an expensive interior upgrade when the railroad was in bad shape.

The attached photo was taken at Philadelphia Penn Coach Yard just prior to the merger and is the only photo I've seen of it numbered 901 with Scotchlite keystones.

It was later sold by Penn Central and became the "Philadelphia Starr" but that's a story for another time.

As for PRR 90 at the Coach Inn the only components that survived are components from the A end truck, the complete B end truck and the platform railing that we purchased from the scrapper.

EBL

This just surfaced:
Vintage photo of PRR 90 when owned by Red Clay Valley Leasing:

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=174 ... 6389153624

Good evening folks,

Just wanted to pass along an update regarding these two passenger cars.

Former B&O Combine #1308 was permanently stricken from the roster of surviving passenger cars today. As many of you know, this car was heavily modified (i.e. butchered) over the years. A local scrap company made short work of removing this car from the property today.

While the majority of the 1308 took that final trip to SIMS Metal in nearby Bridgeport, PA, a number of parts from the car, including the car's trucks, couplers, draft gear, and a handful of other parts did survive. Hopefully these parts will live on to help restore other heavyweight rail equipment.

Former B&O 3301, the tail car to the Royal Blue was not butchered as badly. Due to very unique circumstances, the 3301 will live to see another day. It will be removed in the next 4-5 weeks from the site and taken to a secure location for eventual restoration.

More information regarding the #3301 will be provided in the coming weeks.

According to Wayner, B&O 3301 was the Buffet-Obs car on the third Royal Blue train, operating between Jersey City and Washngton.

The first train was a lightweight consist that entered service in 1935. B&O decided it didn't like lightweight cars and rebuilt heavyweight cars into a second train in April, 1937. [the lightweight train was banished to the Alton Route where it ran between Chicago and St. Louis] B&O rebuilt a third train (second heavyweight train) including 3301 in December, 1937. Three consists in 2 1/2 years has to be some sort of record.

The second train became the Columbian between Washington and JC, then became one side of a JC-Wash-Chicago Columbian.

The third train, including 3301, continued as the Royal Blue JC-Wash-JC until B&O discontinued Royal Blue Route passenger service in April, 1958.

If 3301 is successfully preserved, it will join 3302 at the B&O Museum as preserved B&O heavyweight Buffet-Obs cars.

Phil Mulligan

A bit of a reminder that long-time holdout sister 3303 was scrapped in Hyndman, Pa. in 2014, and also that 3302 at the B&O Museum had been heavily modified over the years of private operation.............. so which happens to be in the most original condition/configuration?

Stopped today to see the remains, picture attached

Here is a current GoFundMe for B&O 3301:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/bo-3301-christmas-fundraiser

Here are a few pics of the last rail car about to disappear.


Recent pics of the last train car going, going,...