Didn't the P70s at Texas State Railroad also spend time on the Adirondack Railway?

Four of the cars that operated on the Austin & Texas Central were cars that spent time on the Adirondack Railway. Cars 1684, 1699, 1726 and 1731. None of these were painted green however and were sold at auction still in PRR colors.

I've tracked down the post Adirondack history of all the P70s with the exception of three: PRR 1720, 1729 and 1730. All were painted green (renumbered 77, 92 and 73 respectively) and sold to private owners or defunct business and the paper trail goes cold.

I recall that when the Texas-Mexican RR operated its short-lived, unsubsidized passenger service between Laredo and Corpus Christi in the mid-1980s, much/most of irs car fleet were--inexplicably--PRR P70s.

Were these the cars that migrated to the Texas State RR? If now, what was the story behind how they got to Texas and where they went?

Juniata Terminal purchased 8695 from Amtrak along with a B60b November 2004. Both were in MW service at SSY. The car was former PRR 6595. The class was BM85. It originally built as a PLB85R baggage/lounge/Bar and converted to a baggage mail car at the PRR Wilmington Shops in 1964.

The car had a unique interior as elements of the PRR Raymond Lowey "Tumbelhome" style interior still existed. By and large the RPO pigeon holes and rack and drawers were all intact.

We sold the car in 2006 and the new road number was the purchasers idea. It is shown departing the JT facility on a two car NS39G.

EBL

Hey Ned,

Its up by the wrights ferry bridge on the north side of the yard. Draw a line between the bridge/water front to Gordon's waste. The two box cars and RPO are sitting in that little maintenance area. The RPO is just sticking out of a tree line, and really blends in on the map.

Is there a list of currently surviving P70s and B70s and all of their variations? I would be curious to know how many still exist.

The Tex-Mex had three P70s from the Chessie Safety Express, two clerestory cars and one arch roof car. One of the clerestory cars ended up in New Jersey and was scrapped. I don't know the disposition of the other two.

The Texas State cars are both arch roof, one converted to an open car (TSRR 71) and the other still in faded Penn Central paint with a barely legible number 17_3. I have not been there since 2014 and can't vouch for the current status of either car, nor do I know their history.

- Alan Maples

I heard a story a number of years ago that there were some PRR P70s purchased in the 1980s by a private individual for the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona to be used as a passenger consist with PRR K4s No. 1361. Instead they were re-sold to the Austin Steam Train Association. Are these the former Adirondack RR P70s perchance?

K.R. Bell

Another obscure P70 that is presently for sale is said to be ex-PRR 3917, most recently part of the dinner train set at the Fillmore & Western Railway.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/79009322@N04/7910094882

Alan Maples

The Pennsy P-70s formerly owned by Austin Steam Train Association came from the Midwest Railway Historical Society (now, Midwest Railway Preservation Society) after MRHS ceased operating trains in the Cuyahoga Valley. IIRC, they were sold directly from MRHS to Austin Steam Train. I had the opportunity to pull them in the consist on both railroads.

Ted Krumreich

Ted:

You are mis-informed regarding the P70fbr's that went from Cleveland to Austin. There was a purchase agreement and deposit tendered and accepted between MRHS and Juniata Terminal for the purchase of what I recall to be six coaches. At the last minute MRHS reneged on the deal and Juniata Terminal went to court and received judgement in our favor. Juniata Terminal did agree to pay for the legal cost incurred by MRHS as part of the judges order. We proceeded with litigation with no intent to harm the non-profit other than to enforce our right of purchase and we thought the judges order was reasonable.

The intent of our purchase was to lease the equipment for $1/Yr to the Altoona Museum for operation with the K4s. The "visionary" president of the museum at that time was not in favor of operating the K4 and did not accept our offer.

We had a long standing relationship with Dr. Henry Renfert and Arthur Boone at Austin Steam Train Association and we sold them the cars for what we paid and retained the first right of refusal if they were sold.

We were more than gratified to release that right to my former coworker and our good friend Henry Posner at Iowa Interstate.

EBL

Bennett, thank you for the correction. This transaction occurred after I had moved away from MRHS. When I saw the cars in Texas and recognized/was told they were the ones from Cleveland, I believed the transfer had occurred directly between those two entities. I did not realize that Juniata Terminal had also been involved in their sale.

There may be another P70 that has flown under the radar if it hasn't collapsed yet. The Gilbert power plant in Milford NJ had the former P70 club car used on NJT until the GG1’s were replaced. It was in the URHS collection but there is nothing on their website now. If nothing else, its worth checking into.

I recall reading that URHS of NJ leased a PRR coach to IPH, along with the E-L Comet cars and three GN coaches and the two "Lehigh Valley" F7s, and that they were selling off the PRR and GN cars to triage the Comet coaches to get them home after IOU Pacific imploded. Would that be the PRR coach?

The URHS car stranded in Wolfforth, Texas is not a P70