Hi guys; What is the current status and long term plans for Morris County Central, ex Southern Railway 385? Is she going to be re-built for operation or is she going to be stuffed, & mounted? Thanks - David Notarius, London UK, ex New Hope Pa

David,

This, like a lot of your inquiries of late, can be answered by looking up the information yourself on the internet. I assume Google and the other search engines work on that side of the pond.

For example, from the Whippany Railway Museum's website:

David, You can go to http://www.WhippanyRailwayMuseum.net/in ... ive-no-385 for info on 385. In the meantime, here's two images that were taken on Monday, Oct. 17th at Whippany.

Hi wilkinsd & everyone else. I have look up on the internet for any recent news/reports/info, but found none. Most of the news are from old post from over a year ago. I was not trying to get out of doing the research or leg-work, I was hoping to get fresh (and accurate) news from the people close to these various projects, such as the 385. A lot of old friends from my railroad days are on this site, and it's always great to get the news straight from the horses mouth! The 385 was responsible for some of my first railfan trips and being late for Saturday night dinner! Being about 10 years old and living in Livingston NJ, I found myself riding my old Schwinn 3 speed half way across town to see her cross the trestle over the Passaic River. That’s if my partner in crime, Tom Raynor (also about 10) didn't talk me into heading over to Roseland to Beckers Farm to watch the Centerville & Southwestern and the tall blond girl selling chocolate milk( maybe also 10). I am now living & working In London UK, and it's not as easy to pop over to Whippany, Ringoes or New Hope as it use to be for me to see for myself. Sorry if I seem to be fishing for info. Have fun – David Notarius, London UK, ex New Hope Pa

David, I thought the washout by Smokerise kept the MCC locked to the north end of Rte 23? Did they run down there before the wash out? She was really the first engine I remember when they ran them out by Newfoundland. My dad was a cop in Jefferson and he used to patrol the rail yard at night down by the engine house.

Just noticed the Horizon(?) coach painted for the Whippany RR Museum. Really like the maroon. Only horizons I've seen so far are in an ugly purple on a certain Boston-based commuter railroad...
Edit* Just saw it was a Comet I. Looks pretty similar to a Horizon. My mistake

The NJ Transit designation for these cars was "Comet I", but the cars were built for the NJ DOT for use on the Erie Lackawanna by Pullman. The early EL brochures refer to them as "Dieseliners" but I never recall them being called that. The maroon and gold scheme was done by WRM to replicate the EL long distance passenger scheme. The original scheme was a dark blue band (almost black - think PRR Brunswick Green) with a red pinstripe around them. ELDCPS has two of them and we will return them to the as delivered scheme. Our website calls them Dieseliners but I have been calling them "EL push-pull coaches". I try to avoid the Comet I name as that came later and was an homage to the CNJ train of that name.

I haven't seen anyone respond from the museum, but the museum's emphasis right now is on the restoration of the 4039 which also ran at MCC with the 385. That work is well underway and help is always needed either by volunteering or with funding.

The following link has some decent information:

http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.ph ... 49187072e5

J.R.

Please feel free to reciprocate with news of the vibrant preservation activities in the UK in return. There's a lot going on where you are we don't find out about over here, too.

dave

I note the eagle on the headlight, an affectation Southern used on PS-4 Pacifics. Is this historically accurate for this particular loco, or is she "duded" up?

Howdy; I was living in Livingston NJ at the time and only seen the the 385 in steam on the Morristown & Erie five, or six before years before the MCC moved to the NYS&W. I did see MCC 4039 run once out of Newfoundland, I think in 1977 or 78. I was then living in New Hope Pa. A group of us from the Black River & Western went on a Saturday Night Road Trip to see the 4039 on a evening run. The 4039 seem to waddle back and forth as she ran pulling a couple of ex CNJ coaches, hammering the track. Later on, some of the Morris County Central guys took us out to an old style dinner on Route 23. One of the MCC guys, sold me an old white metal CNJ HO camelback that had serious cracking issues that I'd later spent months filling in with auto putty. It never did run right. The MCC boys were filled with hope of future service expansion on the NYS&W to Sparta Junction. They talked about the 565 returning along with an ex CP 4-6-0, I think owned by O.W. Link, and new rolling stock. As everyone knows, none of this even came about, the NYS&W is running the line again, and to make a really long story really short, most of the equipment is back in Whippany. Have fun David Notarius, London UK, ex New Hope Pa

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Please feel free to reciprocate with news of the vibrant preservation activities in the UK in return. There's a lot going on where you are we don't find out about over here, too.

dave[/quote

I'll see what I can do. All request? Dave

Southern Railway was quite liberal when it came to an engineers preference to his assigned locomotive. They could use whichever whistles they wanted, and I've heard a story of a yard engineer who requested the Southern Crescent scheme applied to his engine. The former C&O 2716 ran with an eagle on the headlight when it was in excursion service in the Southern.

The 385 may be keeping in spirit, I suppose.

I believe Texas & Pacific 610 also ran with an eagle on it's headlight during it's Southern Railway Steam Program stint.

Thanks - a friend from Australia recently hung out in Wales for a couple weeks and sent out some beautiful pictures about the Welsh Highland completion and connection with Ffestiniog, which is roughly similar to the post in another thread about reconnecting CATS and D&S, except that it has proven possible by being done. I think that would be very interesting. I really can't expect any of us here to request information about things we don't know are happening over there, use your judgement about what would interest us since there's a lot more preservation going on where you are. I am envious....

dave