Has anyone heard what's left?
What's still for sale and what got scrapped so far?

Good evening folks,

I'll leave it to someone else to compile the now fairly long list of asset sales from the Heritage Rail Leasing bankruptcy estate. So far, most of the successful buyers have been parties who are well known in this forum.

Most of the railcars and locomotives in better condition have been sold already. There are still a few rough diamonds remaining. The basket cases obviously remain. Lots of LIRR and Chicago area bi-levels remain.

For those of you who are on the Trustee's official notice list for asset sales, you may have seen the following language that appears in the notices you have been receiving:

"It also now appears that Heritage owns 7 additional railcars located in Alamosa: SLC 1203, 1204, 1205, 1240, and 1259 and CBLX 1229 and 1259."

I've looked through just about every online resource I can find trying to track down what exactly these seven railcars might be. To date, I have no clue what these 7 railcars are. I can find no references to these cars anywhere. SLC is the reporting marks for the San Luis Central RR. I can find no reference as to who owns the CBLX marks. In short, these cars remain a bit of mystery.

Does anyone have any information they can share on these 7 railcars?

Thanks in advance!

I suspect these are boxcars. The SLC had a whole fleet in the 1200 series.

- Alan Maples

I saw a comment on Facebook a few days ago stating that the former Illinois Central business train E9 in Kokomo, Indiana has been acquired by the Aberdeen, Carolina & Western. I'm not sure if this is true, however. I'm curious to know if any homes have been found for the passenger equipment stored with it.

As posted earlier on RYPN, E8 No. 515 went to the Illinois Railway Museum.

Thomas

I’ve seen photos of a former Iowa Pacific E unit (I believe the compliment unit to 515, being 518) along with a hybrid blue and yellow B unit being shown in AC&W reporting marks

As for the Silver and black IC set, no idea.

One Heavyweight will bite the dust. Former Pullman 6-6 Sleeper "Poplar Summit" (from Lake Shore in North East, PA) will be scrapped. Car is essentially a skeletal frame with a roof off of its original trucks. The interior furnishings from the car however, which more or less make up a 6 section 6 double bedroom sleeper, have been saved and are for sale as a lot.

Does anyone have an update one of my 2 favorite basket cases? Im curious on the whereabouts and condition of Pullman 12-1-1 Sleeper "Eupolis" (Might be in MOW markings) as well as New York Central Dining Car #450 "Lion Gardiner." Both cars I've mentioned before and I'd argue left and right for their preservation as they are both the last examples of their kind. 450 is the last NYC Heavyweight Diner out there, and Eupolis is the last remaining unrebuilt 12-1-1 Sleeper.

I understand that they may be basket cases, but I still believe that these cars should have a bright future in preservation as opposed to becoming scrap metal due to their condition.

The Lion Gardiner has been at the Colebrookdale Railroad since 2015, awaiting a full restoration.

I don't think that's accurate. Gardiner was moved to Bensenville, Iowa and is reportedly off its trucks. Colebrookdale has been on a roll with new items, yes, but there is no mention of Gardiner anywhere except for one random tab that you gotta hunt for.

If I remember right, the Colebrookdale had stated interest and begun to fund raise when the LG was still stored outside of Kingston, NY on the Catskill Mountain Railroad. After Iowa Pacific swooped in to acquire and truck it out of there, it appears that Colebrookdale went off to pursue other interests.

Good evening folks, ...

Happy New Year to everyone!



I figured I would pass along an update on the two railcars.

The Euopolis, University Club, and Lion Gardner are, by far, almost certain to be scrapped unless you decide to step up and make an offer to the Trustee. Only one person had submitted an offer to the Trustee for the Euopolis and the University Club. However, after seeing the challenges associated with getting those two railcars out of Buffalo, that offer was subsequently withdrawn.

The Euopolis and University Club currently reside in a Genesee and Wyoming controlled freight yard in Buffalo. Unless a successful purchaser is prepared to immediately remove those cars after closing, G&W will not give any buyer any amount of reasonable time to relocate those railcars off their property. Basically, once you "close" on the sale with the Bankruptcy Trustee, you will be expected to immediately to remove the railcars. Allegedly the G&W wants those railcars removed with 10 business days (or less) of the closing date with the Trustee.

Given what my friend discovered when he made his initial offer to the Trustee for the two railcars in Buffalo, even I have been reluctant to make an offer for the University Club (which I was contemplating doing in order to strip the car for parts for its sister car, the Country Club). Unless you are prepared to immediately remove those railcars upon closing of the sale, those cars will likely end up being cut up right where they sit!

While the Lion Gardiner sits on a more friendly property, it too has its own set of challenges. The car is a long term project and will require a ton of work to restore. But it will not happen unless someone actually steps up and offers the Trustee a few dollars for the car.

It should be noted that the Colebrookdale RR has offered to acquire a number of railcars from the bankruptcy estate of Heritage Rail Leasing. However, they passed on Lion Gardiner when they had the chance to do so. I would suggest that if they walked away from acquiring the car, you should be asking yourself; Why did they do that?

As to the locomotives acquired by the Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railroad, the AC&W did acquire two E-units and the former IC E8 B-unit. In fact, those locomotives were among the very first pieces of equipment sold by the trustee.

I believe the Trustee has sold around 70 pieces so far. I have noted that the Trustee filed a formal Plan of Reorganization with the Bankruptcy Court now (Docket Entry 617, filed 12/30/2021). I am not sure what the document contains yet, but it appears that he has sold enough equipment to justify filing a final action plan with the Court. I would expect that the end is near for the remainder of the equipment.

That's all for now.

We used the Gardner on several HICO steam excursions in the late 1970's and it was in rough structural shape then. I can only imagine what it must be like today nearly 50 years later.

My guess is that you're looking at a total rebuild from the center sill up. A major, major effort to be sure.

Ross Rowland

Odd, I never knew Gardiner was used on those excursions. Any stories? What'd she look like then? Tell me please!

It was painted in classic NYC two tone gray, lettered New Your Central. It's interior was a standard 48 seat diner. The fully functioning kitchen was standard issue in configuration and still used presto logs and charcoal for cooking.

IIRC the crew were able to prepare and serve about 160, 3 course luncheons all by reservation.

At that time ( 1968) the car was showing signs of extensive body rust and clearly needed tons of TLC.

Happy New Year, Ross Rowland
Founder, CEO and Sometimes Hogger HICO ( 1966-73)

A couple of us took a hard look at the Gardner back in the 2010 time frame and I had the car inspected in November 2010. If anyone is interested, send me a PM and I can provide some detailed photos and such. In truth, I am shocked it survived the trucking out west as I really expected the roof and walls to collapse over the center sill. We had a plan to restore the car, or really build a near replacement over the center sill and trucks. Anything is possible with enough money and talent. My dad loved dining cars and I suppose that has stuck with me, so I still have a soft spot for the Gardner.

Again, if interested, send me a PM and I can provide some detailed photos and such.

J.R. May