Some time in the mid 1980s, McHugh Bros. Heavy Hauling, Operator and Leasee of the New Hope & Ivyland RR was billing Grand Canyon Rwy. for storage of those cars. Later in the 1980s, one of them was sold to a private individual who wanted that car for its car number, which was significant to him. I think that the sale was applied against the outstanding storage bill.
NH&I did have 1 CNJ passenger car of its own. It was painted reddish brown, but didn't have an arch roof like the ex Reading fleet.

[/quote]NH&I did have 1 CNJ passenger car of its own. It was painted reddish brown, but didn't have an arch roof like the ex Reading fleet.[/quote]

I'm guessing this ex-CNJ coach was the 1 owned by several of the ex-Valley Forge Scenic RR people who came to the NH&I after the VFSR closed down. They moved the car to the Morristown & Erie RR's Whippany Toonerville steam tourist operation when the VFSR folks left the NH&I and some of them went to the M&E / WT operation. I believe that coach later wound up at the Conway Scenic Ry.

I remember seeing the ex-BR&W exx-DL&W wooden coach at Wycombe, first on the coal trestle and later on the station siding, slowly recycling itself. When it was at the BR&W, after the BR&W got the steel cars, the DL&W coach was part of a 3-car self-toured museum train consist that the BR&W had set up on the track across from the Ringoes station. Besides the coach, you walked through the Seafalls (the ex-CN business car) and one of the ex-BAR combines. In one car (I think the combine's baggage section) was the Black Diamond RR Museum display, which I THINK belonged to Rocky Rockafellow.

I haven't looked lately, but I believe the ex-B&ML RR wooden baggage-mail car that went from the BR&W to the NH&I is still stored on the Wycombe siding. The last time I saw it didn't look too bad, at least on the exterior.

As per the other topic on the BR&W wood cars, I'm glad to hear that the Seafalls is still around as is one of the BAR combines.


Regards,
Jim Robinson

I was one of the conductors for the first two seasons that the Whippany River operated, and can state that none of the CNJ coaches came from NHIR or Valley Forge. Three of the four came right from Naparano, while the fourth was leased from private owner. All four cars were complete, like with seats, while I remember a Santa train at NHIR with the CNJ (equipped with folding chairs) used as an overflow coach.

I believe the privately owned coach (1109? Its been almost 40 years-) did wind up at Conway. I'm not sure what happened to the other three, or the Stilwell 'snack bar car' (stationary) that the Morris County Central had left behind. The engine crews at Whippany River were for the most part Valley Forge guys, however.

The Black Diamond museum at BR&W was not Rocky's (although he was an LV fan-) but run by Bob Hess. He actually had two steel cars, a former PRR theatrical scenery car named Juliet, and IIRC a PRR RPO. I recall that the museum was in the RPO, simply because it had windows. I have no idea where those two cars went, either. The Belfast and Moosehead Lake RPO was used for charters; birthday parties and the like. It had an upright piano bolted to the floor in the baggage section.

The privately owned coach used by the Morris County Central (and later Whippany Toonerville) was No. 1109. It's owner gave it the name "Eugina" when it was painted into the MCC Whippany-era colors in the late-1960's. It kept that name and number while leased and repainted into the WT scheme, circa 1974.

The former Erie Stillwell coach (No. 2174) was acquired by the Morris County Central Railroad Museum (the non-profit entity that operated in the Whippany freight house during the MCC era) via a donation by the Erie-Lackawanna. When the MCC moved to Newfoundland, the Stillwell did not go along as it was then owned by the Mid-Atlantic Railway Museum (later an arm of Tri-State RHS), which operated a museum at Whippany during the WT years. MARM "leased" (or gave ?) the car to the Morristown & Erie for use as the WT Snack Bar Car. After the WT ended operations in 1977 when the M&ERR went bankrupt, the Stillwell was cut up for scrap.

A somewhat blurry image of WT coach 1109 "Eugina" on a 148-hauled WT excursion is attached. Other views show the Erie Stillwell No. 2174 still in the Erie scheme at Whippany, and also while serving as the WT Snack Bar.

Ex-CNJ 983 via Valley Forge Scenic RR. Still at Wycombe, in poor condition.

Alan Maples

I'm pretty sure the NH&I/CNJ car in question, also known as the "volunteers car" was number 1133, which is now at Conway as the "Mount Washington".....

I believe you're correct Junior, but I'll have to double check my facts. I do know that Conway Scenic has at least one other CNJ coach in operational condition in their "Valley" set.

Here's a shot of Whippany Toonerville coach 1133 at Whippany circa 1976 or '77 ...

Had some business in the Wycombe area and made a stop at the NHI siding to see exactly what is stored on site?
1 – Wooden Combine - no road markings, middle of car is falling down below frame, friction bearing trucks with steel center frame.
2 – Coach - Reading company markings showing through several other markings. Marked #6. Unit has Hyatt roller bearings.
3 – Coach – 1366 showing through several layers of paint, not able to determine any markings. Marked #7. opened up, fitted with bench seats
4 – Coach – Reading Company, marked #16 in spray paint.
5 – No markings except #983 spray painted on trucks, marked #10 in spray paint.
6 – 4 dome tank car – did not walk back to check for markings, not in bad shape from a distance
7 – Box car did not walk back to check markings

All of this equipment in in interesting condition with Sill rust, missing steps and windows in all cars. One car has springs removed with wood blocks inserted in their place. Seats in some as best as I could see.

The wood "combine" is actually a Baggage (RPO maybe?), formerly B&A and used as the NHSR gift shop in the 80's after the CNJ steel RPO, which now sits on the back track at New Hope, was retired from this same use. I believe the wood car is/was still owned by NHSR when Buzzard took over in 1991.

The 4 dome tank is the one acquired from an individual in Chalfont, and was used on the last Photo Freight along with a couple other cars acquired at the same time. The box car is the one that sat on the Union Camp siding with NH&I lettering from 1991 on and was used more recently on the same Photo Freight (2010?)

I believe the NH&I was taking those roller bearing trucks out from under the "junk" equipment (coaches in Grenoble were flipped on their sides at one point) and putting them under their current operating fleet. As of the Willow Grove trip, all but one RDG in service coach has roller bearings under them now. The 1202 is the only car yet to receive them... I think.

If the roller bearing car has air conditioning slots in the ceiling, it's one of the 3 "King Coal" air conditioned roller bearing cars from the beginning in 1966. 2 were converted to open air cars. I think that 1 is on its side in Grenoble now. If 1366 has a railroad roof, it's the Jersey Central Lines car from Valley Forge Scenic Rwy.

The equipment in Grenoble that is on its side or otherwise destroyed is the work of a neighbor that took it upon themselves to start scrapping everything on the siding including the rail without permission. The NH&I had nothing to do with the scrapping and it was quite a shock as there were possible plans to make the coach into an open car.

The coaches that still have plain bearings that see general use are the 1430, 1220 and 1202. All roller bearing conversions were done in house and no other rolling stock was harmed in the process. I think the change (to the coaches) that brings a smile to my face is that we haven't used steam heat since 2010 as cars are being retrofitted with electric heat.

Oh also the last photo charter that occurred on the NH&I was in 2008 for what it's worth.

#2 was Reading #1536, blue paint.
#4 was Reading #1113.
The Grenoble car is also blue, Reading #1542

Yes, #1133 is ex-CNJ coach I was refering to in my post. #1133 was owned by around 10 or so people from the Valley Forge Scenic RR. Besides the RDG coaches, the VFSR had 2 ex-CNJ coaches, 983 (owned by the RR) and 1133 (privately owned). Both went to the NH&I in 1970 when the VFSR more or less merged into the NH&I following the closure of the VFSR. I'm sure most know, but for those who don't, the VFSR's RDG coaches and its French Creek Station (a new bldg. put up by the VFSR) also moved to the NH&I as well, with the station becoming the NH&I's Buckingham Valley Station.

I was pretty sure coach 1133 followed the VFSR folks to Whippany and was later sold to the Conway Scenic. During the "Buzzard Era" at the NH&I, a few of the old VFSR folks (Bruce S. and I think Ronnie S.) returned to New Hope for a while. Today these guys are still very much into steam railroading--ride-on live-steam that is--at the Pennsylvania Live Steamers club.

I don't believe the present-day NH&I owns the ex-BR&W exx-B&ML wooden baggage-mail car (which, yes, was the orange-painted New Hope ticket office/gift shop car for the New Hope Steam Ry.) or the ex-CNJ steel baggage-mail car. I know the NHSRy. continued owning these 2 cars for a while. I don't know who owns them today. From the photo, the wooden car looks a good deal worse off than I remember from some years back.

Yes, I did get confused about the Black Diamond RR Museum at the BR&W during the early 1970's. I thought Rocky had something to do with that. A side-note: a google search turned up the ex-PRR Theatre Scenery baggage car "Juliet" at the Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati at Covington, KY. This museum also has an ex-PRR RPO which may have been the one at Ringoes.

Regards,
Jim Robinson