Can anyone tell me what happened to this heavyweight open-end observation car? She was owned privately and followed up at least two steam specials on the Jersey Central and the LIRR.

Aurora7@juno.com

> Can anyone tell me what happened to this
> heavyweight open-end observation car? She
> was owned privately and followed up at least
> two steam specials on the Jersey Central and
> the LIRR.
Refresh my memory: are you talking about CNJ Office Car 97 which had been on Ross Rowland's earliest Steam Safaris in 1966 ?

Electric City Trolley Museum Associa

Is this the one at Kempton, PA? I think that is #97 or #99. It was slightly damaged on the Allentown hump,a nd was vandalized a few years back. She is, as far as I know, for sale. Has to be trucked out, but is a great car!

Rob Davis

> Can anyone tell me what happened to this
> heavyweight open-end observation car? She
> was owned privately and followed up at least
> two steam specials on the Jersey Central and
> the LIRR.


inlinebob@aol.com

> Refresh my memory: are you talking about CNJ
> Office Car 97 which had been on Ross
> Rowland's earliest Steam Safaris in 1966 ?

Yup. She was eventually painted up blue with white lettering for the proposed Sag Harbor & Scuttle Hole Railroad", to be built out on Long Island. The railroad never made it, but the car was towed behind ex-CPR #127(8) on Rowlands first High Iron trip.


Aurora7@juno.com

Could this be the car called "Jersey Dawn", which I saw stored at the private car park in Ft. Lauderdale, FL at Roy Thorpe's about ten years ago?

Steve

> Is this the one at Kempton, PA? I think that
> is #97 or #99. It was slightly damaged on
> the Allentown hump,a nd was vandalized a few
> years back. She is, as far as I know, for
> sale. Has to be trucked out, but is a great
> car!

> Rob Davis


SZuidervee@aol.com

Jersey Dawn and the car at Kempton are #'s 97 and 99. I forget which is which.

Rob

> Could this be the car called "Jersey
> Dawn", which I saw stored at the
> private car park in Ft. Lauderdale, FL at
> Roy Thorpe's about ten years ago?

> Steve


inlinebob@aol.com

> Jersey Dawn and the car at Kempton are #'s
> 97 and 99. I forget which is which.

> Rob

The Kempton car is a "shortie" with four-wheel trucks. It looks like it was made from the standard CNJ-RDG-Harlan & Hollingsworth 70-foot coach design. CNJ Business Car 97 was (is?) a typical heavyweight office car, 80 feet long, with six-wheel "pullman-style" trucks.

hpincus@mindspring.com

Hi,

You might be thinking of the Reading & Northern's Queen of the Valley or the Jersey Coast at Whippany, which are four-axle shorties made from BSC coaches. The look like the Blue Comet cars.

The car at Kempton is a full size office car from the CNJ in the 90 series numbering. As I mentioned, I beleive it is #97 or #99. I could be wrong about the number, but not about the car. It is a big, 6 axle office car in pretty good shape (except for what I noted before).

It sits south of the Kempton station now, having been stored on the siding north of the station for a long time. It has been for sale and needs to be trucked out.

It is not one of the shorties.

Rob Davis

> The Kempton car is a "shortie"
> with four-wheel trucks. It looks like it was
> made from the standard CNJ-RDG-Harlan &
> Hollingsworth 70-foot coach design. CNJ
> Business Car 97 was (is?) a typical
> heavyweight office car, 80 feet long, with
> six-wheel "pullman-style" trucks.


inlinebob@aol.com

Just checked my old notes. The CNJ obs at Kempton is #97, a six axle business car.

Rob

> Hi,

> You might be thinking of the Reading &
> Northern's Queen of the Valley or the Jersey
> Coast at Whippany, which are four-axle
> shorties made from BSC coaches. The look
> like the Blue Comet cars.

> The car at Kempton is a full size office car
> from the CNJ in the 90 series numbering. As
> I mentioned, I beleive it is #97 or #99. I
> could be wrong about the number, but not
> about the car. It is a big, 6 axle office
> car in pretty good shape (except for what I
> noted before).

> It sits south of the Kempton station now,
> having been stored on the siding north of
> the station for a long time. It has been for
> sale and needs to be trucked out.

> It is not one of the shorties.

> Rob Davis


inlinebob@aol.com

> Just checked my old notes. The CNJ obs at
> Kempton is #97, a six axle business car.

> Rob

Nope, it's the #98, former CNJ coach 814, converted by the CNJ around 1928. It is classified a "shortie" and rides on two axle trucks. Sorry, Inlinebob, I think you are talking about another CNJ business car.

OK. My apologies. I thought for sure that it was not one of the coach rebuilds.

When I am wrong, I am wrong.

Sorry Howard!

So that begs the question, where is #97?
Rob

> Nope, it's the #98, former CNJ coach 814,
> converted by the CNJ around 1928. It is
> classified a "shortie" and rides
> on two axle trucks. Sorry, Inlinebob, I
> think you are talking about another CNJ
> business car.


inlinebob@aol.com

> OK. My apologies. I thought for sure that it
> was not one of the coach rebuilds.

> When I am wrong, I am wrong.

> Sorry Howard!

> So that begs the question, where is #97?
> Rob

No apologies necessary, Rob. I'm just glad to know that my mind is not gone yet. Although there are plenty of guys out there that would vigorously dispute that!

Yeah, and where IS #97?

I think the guy who owned it after the CNJ was Bob Havens, who was involved with Ron Ziel and George Foster on the Sag Harbor & Scuttle Hole Railroad (yes, that's what they named it!!)-- see the photo in Ziel & Foster's book "Steam In the Sixties". The caboose owner depicted in that photo went on to an interesting railroad career.

hpincus@mindspring.com