RPCX 4001 now in Lockport

[dj_paige]

Yesterday, I saw private dining car RPCX 4001 sitting in Lockport Yard. The last information I could find on this was dated 2007, it was formerly Maine Eastern and headed for a railroad museum in Kentucky. Further, several windows had been removed and replaced with painted steel, compared to Sep 07 photos. What's the latest info?

Photos from yesterday:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15947776@N06/3898306226/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15947776@N06/3897522053/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15947776@N06/3897518977/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15947776@N06/3898293602/

[erie2937]

I believe that this car is owned by the WNYRHS which also owns the ex-NYC coaches that are used on the Falls Road RR.

[Scott K]

Just saw and photographed this car on Saturday and wondered the same thing... Thanx for the ME photo, dj.

Scott K.

[dj_paige]

The WNYRHS web site doesn't list RPCX 4001 ... of course, it could be that the web page hasn't been properly updated.

[SimTrains]

The car is the latest purchase by the WNYRHS, the plan is to restore it and add it to the NYC fleet of cars that are used for the medina and lockport excursions. It features a bar where they hope to be able to sell chips and snacks and stuff during excursions. Should make a nice addition when it is done.

[Heritagerail]

The WNYRHS purchased this car this past June from Rails Journeys West. I was moved by the CP from Calgary where it had been used on the CPR Empress train. Although it carries the reporting marks RPCX 4001, it is not the former Maine Eastern car referenced in the earlier posting.

The car was built by ACF for the UP in 1955 as one of four Chuck Wagon lunch counter cars. The car was converted to a cafeteria lonuge by the UP in 1960. It was one of two cars that went into Amtrak and was renumbered to 8398. The car was purchased from Amtrak by the Indiana Railroad Museum in 1976 and was eventually acquired by Golden Age Rail Equipment in 2002. Rails Journey West acquired the car in 2007 and leased it to CP for use in the Empress train.

The car is in its' original configuration. The interior has a 40-foot lunch counter, a small galley, and seating for 16. Our plans are to upgrade the electrical systems, new paint and windows, and add it to our excursion fleet now in use on the Falls Road Railroad.

Joe Kocsis
President
WNYRHS, Inc.

[dj_paige]

I guess that explains why this RPCX 4001 has different window configuration than the former Maine Eastern unit.

Just to satisfy my curiosity, how/why did it get the same reporting marks?

[lvrr325]

Not sure what you mean, when someone purchases a rail car, they apply their reporting mark to it so it can be shipped and billed properly. If you mean it has the same mark and number as another car, they probably used the tags from the existing car on the new one to get it shipped and try to keep CSX from losing it. It's cheaper to just use tags you already have than buy new ones.

[Heritagerail]

The reporting marks RPCX are provided by the Railroad Passenger Car Alliance through thier UMLER reporting program as a service to its members. The RPCA acts as a clearinghouse to ensure that the correct car information is maintained in the UMLER database and matches the AEI tags. This can be a time consuming job and most of the RPCA members use this service

Our car was originally numbered 4001 by the Union Pacific and as is the practice common with many historical organizations, we maintain the original car numbers on the equipment. Rails Journey West maintained the original UP numbering when they had the car registered by RPCA and we moved the car using thier reporting marks to avoid any confusion when the car was processed by the customs folks when it re-entered the US at Fort Erie.

There was/or still is another RPCX 4001, a 48 seat diner orginally built for the British Columbia Ry in 1949 according to the Kentucky Railroad Museum website. As they are also an RPCA member, they apparently used the UMLER registration service when they acquired that car from the Maine Eastern and moved it to Kentucky in 2007 .

The WNYRHS has its own registered reporting marks, WNYX, and the RPCX 4001 will we reassigned to the Society's reporting marks in due course. We have just sent out the air brake valves to Pittsburgh Air Brake for rebuilding and they will be reapplied later this year as the restoration work nears completion.

[GojiMet86]

Well, this is quite a bump, but this same coach appeared in this YouTube video at the 18:25 minute mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD5PlD35Fwg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Same Lake Erie, but now GSR 2017. Any idea what it was doing in Canada in October?

[smph50]

Happy New Year Guys!

I'm very impressed that you caught the move GojiMet86! This link will answer why the car was seen in Canada.

http://www.trainweb.org/wnyrhs/passenge ... #lunch1117

Unfortunately, the lunch counter car never fit into the Medina Railroad Museums business plan with some leadership changes. We hung the for sale sign on the car in late 2016 and the Great Sandhills Railway in Saskatchewan Canada bought it in August of 2017. The WNYRHS made the car ready to move by March 2018 and on April 16th, 2018, CSX picked up the car from the Falls Road Railroad.

The video shows mid summer foliage so its anyone's guess why it was still in Ontario so long.

All the Best, Scott H.