Ex-NYC, Ex-D&H Heavyweight Diner "Lion Gardiner"
I was recently informed by Dakin Morehouse, Empire State Railway Museum board member and Phoenica Station Master, that the museum wishes to give away their Dining Car "The Lion Gardiner". This car is sitting on the CMRR main line east of Route 209 near Kingston.
According to Howard Pincus of the Railway Museum of New England:
"That car was D&H 154, originally built for NYC as number 519 by Pullman in 1914. It was air-conditioned in the late 1930s. D&H bought at least two NYC steel diners in the mid-50s, to replace composite (wood-steel) D&H cars. 154 was sold to Empire State Railway Museum, and operated on the 1966-67 HICO trips over the CNJ (powered by CPR G-5s 1278, 1286 and 1238 ). As I recall, William Whitehead and his family ran the diner and actually served "real" railroad diner meals to the passengers! Imagine THAT today! Bill Whitehead was one of the founders of the Black River & Western, and was instrumental in the acquisition of Dansvile & Mt. Morris 565 (AKA D&LW 565, 2-6-0).
Anyway, after the HICO use of the car, ESRM sent it to Essex, CT in 1969, where it joined other ESRM equipment as part of the newly-founded Valley Railroad Company. In 1971, the car was painted dark green and lettered "Connecticut Valley", numbered 154, and named "Lion Gardiner", after the early settler of Gardiner's Island (in Long Island Sound). An early use in that set-up was for a publishing party for Michael Koch's "The Shay Locomotive" book in 1972. I remember loading (by hand and ladder) block ice into the roof hatches over the kitchen ice bunker, before a charter trip!
The car was getting quite "crusty" around the edges, as early steel cars that had been air-conditioned tend to get. Also, it suffered from the usual "kitchen floor rot syndrome". While everything was there and intact, it was going to be a hell of a costly project to fix the old girl up, and she was shoved into the "woods" at Essex about 1976 or so. A frozen water pipe that had burst and wet down the interior didn't help matters.
The car was ultimately sent to the current ESRM at Kingston, NY, about 1986, as part of a negotiated (between ESRM, VRR and CVRM [RMNE]) "deal" for ESRM's various assets (not all of which were rolling stock)."
Last Saturday, November 18th, the Lion Gardiner was moved around a little, and I got a nice shot of the diner:
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... 617843.jpg
Here's one of the other side I took earlier this year:
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 528629.jpg
and a photo from better days:
http://www.trainweb.org/dhvm/images/dhr ... 154-01.jpg
I went inside and got this photo of the stainless steel kitchen:
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... 718181.jpg
Some more interior shots from earlier in the year:
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 209026.jpg
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 514251.jpg
The car moved around with no trouble.
As part of this the ESRM is researching the history of the car, and preparing a detailed report on the car for prospective "buyers". Howard Pincus' report above has been an excellent start. I plan to help by taking some more photos as soon as I get to the car on a sunny day.
As mentioned above, the ESRM would prefer to have this car sent to a new home rather than scrap it, and though there is no hard deadline, there is a feeling that there needs to be some resolution soon.
Though it is blocking the CMRR's main line, it can also be taken up the line to West Hurley when the other cars are moved and stored on the siding there to get it out of the way.
What is really needed is an independent assessment of the condition of the car, so prospective restorers could have some idea of what they would be getting into. Perhaps someone knowledgeable in this area could go to Kingston, see the car in person and make such an evaluation as part of the process of finding the car a new home.
Anyone who wishes to communicate directly to the ESRM should contact Dakin Morehouse who is in charge of resolving this issue. Dakin is the Station Master at Phoenicia and an ESRM board member. Please contact me privately for Dakin's email and phone number.
The ESRM wants to get the word out as widely as possible about the availability of this car so that if it has even a remote chance of getting restored, that chance is offered rather than the alternate of scrapping the car.
Ernie Hunt
Member, Empire State Railway Museum
Volunteer, Catskill Mountain RR
I was recently informed by Dakin Morehouse, Empire State Railway Museum board member and Phoenica Station Master, that the museum wishes to give away their Dining Car "The Lion Gardiner". This car is sitting on the CMRR main line east of Route 209 near Kingston.
According to Howard Pincus of the Railway Museum of New England:
"That car was D&H 154, originally built for NYC as number 519 by Pullman in 1914. It was air-conditioned in the late 1930s. D&H bought at least two NYC steel diners in the mid-50s, to replace composite (wood-steel) D&H cars. 154 was sold to Empire State Railway Museum, and operated on the 1966-67 HICO trips over the CNJ (powered by CPR G-5s 1278, 1286 and 1238 ). As I recall, William Whitehead and his family ran the diner and actually served "real" railroad diner meals to the passengers! Imagine THAT today! Bill Whitehead was one of the founders of the Black River & Western, and was instrumental in the acquisition of Dansvile & Mt. Morris 565 (AKA D&LW 565, 2-6-0).
Anyway, after the HICO use of the car, ESRM sent it to Essex, CT in 1969, where it joined other ESRM equipment as part of the newly-founded Valley Railroad Company. In 1971, the car was painted dark green and lettered "Connecticut Valley", numbered 154, and named "Lion Gardiner", after the early settler of Gardiner's Island (in Long Island Sound). An early use in that set-up was for a publishing party for Michael Koch's "The Shay Locomotive" book in 1972. I remember loading (by hand and ladder) block ice into the roof hatches over the kitchen ice bunker, before a charter trip!
The car was getting quite "crusty" around the edges, as early steel cars that had been air-conditioned tend to get. Also, it suffered from the usual "kitchen floor rot syndrome". While everything was there and intact, it was going to be a hell of a costly project to fix the old girl up, and she was shoved into the "woods" at Essex about 1976 or so. A frozen water pipe that had burst and wet down the interior didn't help matters.
The car was ultimately sent to the current ESRM at Kingston, NY, about 1986, as part of a negotiated (between ESRM, VRR and CVRM [RMNE]) "deal" for ESRM's various assets (not all of which were rolling stock)."
Last Saturday, November 18th, the Lion Gardiner was moved around a little, and I got a nice shot of the diner:
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... 617843.jpg
Here's one of the other side I took earlier this year:
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 528629.jpg
and a photo from better days:
http://www.trainweb.org/dhvm/images/dhr ... 154-01.jpg
I went inside and got this photo of the stainless steel kitchen:
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... 718181.jpg
Some more interior shots from earlier in the year:
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 209026.jpg
http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 514251.jpg
The car moved around with no trouble.
As part of this the ESRM is researching the history of the car, and preparing a detailed report on the car for prospective "buyers". Howard Pincus' report above has been an excellent start. I plan to help by taking some more photos as soon as I get to the car on a sunny day.
As mentioned above, the ESRM would prefer to have this car sent to a new home rather than scrap it, and though there is no hard deadline, there is a feeling that there needs to be some resolution soon.
Though it is blocking the CMRR's main line, it can also be taken up the line to West Hurley when the other cars are moved and stored on the siding there to get it out of the way.
What is really needed is an independent assessment of the condition of the car, so prospective restorers could have some idea of what they would be getting into. Perhaps someone knowledgeable in this area could go to Kingston, see the car in person and make such an evaluation as part of the process of finding the car a new home.
Anyone who wishes to communicate directly to the ESRM should contact Dakin Morehouse who is in charge of resolving this issue. Dakin is the Station Master at Phoenicia and an ESRM board member. Please contact me privately for Dakin's email and phone number.
The ESRM wants to get the word out as widely as possible about the availability of this car so that if it has even a remote chance of getting restored, that chance is offered rather than the alternate of scrapping the car.
Ernie Hunt
Member, Empire State Railway Museum
Volunteer, Catskill Mountain RR