A key point to take note of is no other P-54 coaches have survived on the Island. These were used by the hundreds in daily operations of the LIRR, so preservation of this single coach is an important contextual part of the railroad's history. Variations of these coaches worked as MU cars as well, and sadly, those that were preserved succumbed to severe corrosion or arson over the years. The OBRM found one which remained intact, undamaged, and worthy of preservation in the wreckage of the Knox and Kane. Match with their G5s, #35, this coach will give visitors a solid idea of what commuters rode between 1928 and 1955. The coaches continued as the backbone of the service until 1969!

This is really a great story and one that the general public can easily grasp. They can view this car and see how people commuted to work on the LIRR for a good hunk of the 20th century. It spanned the transition from steam to diesel so almost any motive power would be appropriate. What would be fun and easy to do is to have this car be place side to side with a current LIRR coach to observe the comparison.

I rode in those car on both the Oyster Bay and the Port Jefferson branches and now they are in museums!

I guess they will be putting me in a museum one of these days.

i was just back there and found the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum was only open on the weekends.

They have been working on the Oyster Bay depot. It is great to see it without all the blue paint and they have removed the ad posters that used to be all over the building. good for them!

Ted Miles

What is the car's history between the LIRR and the K&K?

I'm not honestly sure the path they took to get to K&K. When the cars were retired, many were sold off to tourist roads at bargain prices. They steam heated, had opening windows, and the famous 2 - 3 seating. Seats reversed for the return direction. Over the years they acquired plenty of road grime, dirt, salt, etc. Rain, ice, snow, simply trickled into the window gaps and the cars rotted out. They ran about 60 years in commuter service, daya nd night, in all weather, so perhaps that delayed the deterioration. A few wound up as greeting centers for communities, others became a shopping mall in New Jersey. Once they stopped moving, the rot began to move big time. The sills went first, then the exit platforms. This one car may be the only legacy of the passenger fleet for future generations to view. I am told that this single unit was the only of the K&K fleet worth preserving. One last thing, the trucks were riveted when originally assembled, and that doesn't pass muster anymore. I find that ironic, as they ran at 70 mph on some express trains to Montauk and the Hamptons! I don't know the colors this one will revert to, as there were three schemes during their service lives. Check out the Oyster Bay Rail Road Museum online and see what they are up to. If you want to be part of the restoration of a second G5s, send them a check. This museum has focus and they know what they are doing.

[quote="Richard Glueck"]I'm not honestly sure the path they took to get to K&K. When the cars were retired, many were sold off to tourist roads at bargain prices...

Great to hear that 7433 made it home!

LIRR 7433 became Steamtown Foundation 7433. In 1976 is was rebuilt by SF with the help of Vermont Bicentennial funds for the Vermont Steam Expedition. A total of nine cars were used, and each one was named for a person or place in Vermont from the Revolution. One of my "someday" projects is to roster the cars used and their names.

I would assume that the 7433 was sold by Steamtown (PA) in the late 1980's to the K&K during the frenzy to thin the fleet and raise some cash.

Romi Romano at U

30

"When the cars were retired, many were sold off to tourist roads at bargain prices. "

A very large block of these cars were sold to Steamtown Foundation as part of the Bicentennial project. I am not aware of any others that went to tourist railroads that were not part of this block. A few went to a steel mill in western PA or eastern OH for "interplant tours" directly from Steamtown, and the rest (operable and inoperable) were sold to Sloan Cornell as a block at the Steamtown Foundation auction. There may be others, but I think the Walkersville Southern, Arcade and Attica, and K&K cars all came from this group. I think a few were set aside for local (on the Island) preservation, were vandalized and scrapped. And the infamous group at Boonton that are downright junk!

"One last thing, the trucks were riveted when originally assembled, and that doesn't pass muster anymore.”

There is nothing inherently illegal about this, but these cars, with these rivets, were impossible to keep together. I was Car Foreman for Steamtown Foundation in Scranton, and after 1 1/2 years on the 1.75% out of Scranton, I cried "Uncle" and convinced management that we could not keep them together any more. We at that time received ten more Lackawanna trailer cars, and got four in service to retire the last of the Pongs. During the operating season, we would have to test the rivets with hammer blows on regular inspections, and when they cracked, they were replaced with a bolt. During the winter we would try to replace the bolts with new hot rivets. The quality of the original (or LIRR maintenance) riveting was very poor, and rivet heads would literally pop off in service.

Another problem with these cars are the couplers. They are a tiny shank Sharon type that are not even parts-interchangeable with any of the other (read CRRNJ) Sharon couplers out there, and there are NO new locks or knuckles available.

Steve Zuiderveen

Speaking of Ping Pong cars. I have several, 6-7, windows from what I think must have been Ping Pongs which I would love to get rid of, free to a good home.