What is the heritage of the steel passenger cars that the Nevada Northern uses in their tourist train?
They look like Erie-Lakawanna or Illinois Central.

Thanks for your help.

Bob

I'm pretty sure that they started out as Erie or Lackawanna (sp?). They served the Crab Orchard & Egyptian during their tourist days before coming west, where they hauled tourists on the Lewis & Clark and Willamette & Pacific/Portland & Western railroads before going to the NNRy. As of not too long ago they still had LINC stenciled on the trucks indicating their last bearing repack.

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

"they hauled tourists on the Lewis & Clark and Willamette & Pacific/Portland & Western railroads".

Really?

I didn't think I'd been gone from Oregon that long. When was there excursion service on the W&P/P&W?

Scott

Willamette & Pacific had the pair...perhaps I used the wrong words there, as they never really had classic tourist-type service there, but they did get used in shipper/employee specials as well as some occassional public trips.

I took a picture of these cars sitting in the yard at Albany, OR in March 1995. Within a few months they would be on their way to the desert.

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV

The Nevada Northern Railway Museum has coaches No.'s 1433 and 1439 (now the 07 "Ely" and 08 "Nevada," respectively). Here is some information I've gathered about them including that from Mr. Edward Bridges of Granger, Texas, unofficial historian of the Crab Orchard & Egyptian Railroad and former CO&E employee.

Built 1928 by Pullman (builder's lot #6193) for the Illinois Central as trailers for suburban electric commuter service near Chicago. These cars came from series ICRR 1431-1440. All steel, 33" multiwear steel wheels, 50 ton friction bearings, 34 walkover and four bench seats. Contain vintage electric lighting fixtures. They had some restoration performed in 1965.

These two cars served the ICRR until 1972, when they were sold to American Rail Heritage, Ltd. of Marion, Illinois for use on the then tourist railroad called the Crab Orchard & Egyptian Railroad. The CO&E used these cars from May 29, 1973 until October 29, 1978 in tourist train service (the CO&E went freight-only October 30, 1978). These two cars were part of the Whistle Stop Special for the reelection of incumbant Governor Jim Thompson that the CO&E ran on the Illinois Central Gulf mainline from Cairo to DuQuoin, Illinois on September 23, 1978. Both cars were fully lettered for the CO&E (not all of the cars they had wore this scheme). Car 1433 was named "Williamson" and car 1439 was named "Franklin", both named after local Southern Illinois counties.

The cars sat unused from October 29, 1978 until March 12, 1981 when they were sold to the Magnolia State Railroad of Amory, Mississippi. The cars left the CO&E on their own wheels and still fully lettered COER. Operated c1983-1986 behind Mississippian Railroad No. 77 locomotive.

Sold April 1989 to the Lewis & Clark Railway in Battle Ground, Washington for partial restoration and service.

Subsequently moved by Railmove, Inc. to the Williamette & Pacific Railroad in Albany, Oregon July 1993 and used occassionally.

The Nevada Northern Railway acquired these cars with the help of Magma Nevada Mines Co. and operated them for the first time August 12, 1995. They replaced the Nevada Northern's two coaches damaged in the June 1995 collision with a freight car. Coach 1433 was redesingated No. 07 "Ely" and coach 1439 redesignated No. 08 "Nevada" for their trip to Heber, Utah for the 2002 Olympic Games. Both cars are currently in service on the Nevada Northern Railway.


IC 1433
COER 1433 "Williamson"
MISS 1433?
NNRX 1433
NNRX 07 "Ely"

IC 1439
COER 1439 "Franklin"
MISS 1439?
NNRX 1439
NNRX 08 "Nevada"