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Danbury Railway Museum 5/16/2010

Randy and I arose early and after a visit to Dunkin' Donuts, we went to the Danbury Metro-North station for our ride to New York City but stopped first at the Danbury Railroad Museum parking lot which is adjacent to the station, for the first picture of the morning.

Metro-North P32AC-DM 228, nee Connecticut Department of Transportation 228 built by General Electric in 2001, laying over at Danbury this weekend. We drove over to the Metro North Station parking lot and parked the car.

Metro-North Shoreliner III cab car 6303, built by Bombardier in 1991, bringing Metro-North Train 6813 into the station.

Metro-North BL20GH 112 built by Brookville Locomotive Works in 2008 would power our train to South Norwalk, which had a consist of coaches 6448 and 6353 with cab car 6303. We boarded Coach 6448 for the shuttle trip to South Norwalk, which would be new mileage for both of us. It made local stops at Bethel, West Redding, Branchville, Cannondale, Wilton and Merrit before arriving at South Norwalk, where we would cross-platform transfer.

Two views of South Norwalk. Never a train when you want one!

Our connecting train, Metro-North 6513, was very crowded when it picked us up and made local stops at Rowayton, Darien Norton Heights and Stamford before running non-stop to Harlem 125 Street. My new mileage here began at the point where Metro-North leaves the Northeast Corridor at New Rochelle and rejoined the Metro-North Line into Grand Central at Mott Haven. We arrived at Grand Central Terminal a few minutes early.

Our train at Grand Central Terminal.

Randy and I parted ways here as he was going to make a round trip out to Yonkers and back before going to Wassiac, where I would drive over to meet him later this afternoon. Now let uss enjoy this incredible station with these pictures.

Interior views. Grand Central Terminal is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan and is the southern terminus of the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines, serving the northern parts of the New York metropolitan area. The terminal also connects to the New York City Subway at Grand Central–42nd Street station. The terminal is the third-busiest train station in North America, after New York Penn Station and Toronto Union Station.

The distinctive architecture and interior design of Grand Central Terminal's station house have earned it several landmark designations, including as a National Historic Landmark. Its Beaux-Arts design incorporates numerous works of art. Grand Central Terminal is one of the world's ten most-visited tourist attractions. The terminal's Main Concourse is often used as a meeting place and is especially featured in films and television. Grand Central Terminal contains a variety of stores and food vendors, including upscale restaurants and bars, a food hall, and a grocery marketplace. The building is also noted for its library, event hall, tennis club, control center and offices for the railroad, and sub-basement power station.

It was built by and named for the New York Central Railroad; it also served the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and, later, successors to the New York Central. Opened in 1913, the terminal was built on the site of two similarly named predecessor stations, the first of which dated to 1871. Grand Central Terminal served intercity trains until 1991, when Amtrak began routing its trains through nearby Penn Station. It covers 48 acres and has 44 platforms, more than any other railroad station in the world. Its platforms, all below ground, serve 30 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower. In total, there are 67 tracks, including a rail yard and sidings; of these, 43 tracks are in use for passenger service, while the remaining two dozen are used to store trains.

I walked out on the street in front for these views then onto the platform for a picture of my train back to South Norwalk.

Metro-North 6522 waiting for its boarding time.

A picture of my web ticket which you get online at a discounted price and receive in advance in the mail. I walked back into the station and waited on the floor against the wall just watching the comings and goings here in this fabulous station and before boarding, talked with a Metro-North conductor and gave directions to a lady needing to get to the airport by rail. Once on board another very crowded train, a special stop was made at New Rochelle for someone who was on the wrong train and I relaxed for the duration of the journey before doing the down, under and up to reach Metro-North Train 6822 back to Danbury.

Metro North Train 6822 at Danbury before I drove the short distance to the Danbury Railroad Museum.

I walked in and introduced myself to the staff there.

The Danbury station was built in 1903 by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. Danbury also had a railyard, roundhouse with turntable, engine house and a freight house. Alfred Hitchcock's "Stranger on a Train" was filmed in and around the Danbury Station. Through the early years, Danbury was an important station for the New Haven Railroad. The railroad in the 1960's was in a period of decline and by the 1980's, the freight house was torn down and the engine house burned. Metro North closed Danbury Station in 1993 due the inner city in decline. The station building was crumbling. Not wanting to be a mayor of a city in decline, Gene Enriquez proposed that an organization be formed to develop and utilize the rail facilities to return people to the city.

With tracks in place along with connecting rail lines in four directions, a large turntable and a six acre railyard in place, Danbury would make an ideal location for a railroad museum. The Danbury Railway Museum was incorporated in 1994. A 1.5 million dollar grant was secured and the restoration of the Danbury Station began. On October 29, 1994, the station building was dedicated at a ceremony attended by over 1,000 people. By mid 1995, the station was ready for occupancy and the Museum was established in its present location. In 1994, the first excursion train was operated and has been running ever since. Restoration of the turntable was completed in 1998 and by 2005, was being used by the railyard local. Both the station and turntable are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Maine Central caboose 661, nee Western Maryland 1904 built by Union Bridge in 1940 and donated by Susan L. Jahnke in memory of Uwe Jahnke in 2000.

Reading coach 1547, ex. Housatonic 1547, exx. Connecticut Department of Transportation 1547, exxx. South East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority 1547, nee Reading Company 1547 built by Bethlehem Steel in 1925. It was donated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation in 1995.

This car was built as a commuter coach with an original seating capacity of 75. After some period, the air conditioning was reconfigured and the new equipment took the space that was occupied by a three-seat bench by one of the end doors, lowering the seating capacity to 72.

Pfizer SW8 1, nee Rock Island 838 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1953 and donated by Pfizer in 2002.

These would make up the 1:30 PM excursion train that I would be riding.

CDOT RS-3m 605, ex. Metro-North 605, exx. Metro-North 9905, exxx. Conrail 9905, exxxx. Conrail 5366 (assigned, not used), exxxxx. Erie Lackawanna 1050, nee Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 912 built by American Locomotive Company in 1952. It is leased from Connecticut Department of Transportation and arrived in 2001.

Electric Boat 44 ton switcher 1399, ex. Union Pacific 903999, nee General Electric 1399 built by the company in 1947 as a demonstrator. It was donated by Electric Boat in 2006 and was the second smallest locomotive, and only 44-tonner, operated by the Union Pacific.

New Haven RS-1 0673, ex. Danbury Railway Museum 400, exx. Green Mountain 400, exxx. Illinois Central, exxxx. Gulf Mobile & Ohio 1053, exxxxx. Illinois Terminal 1053, nee Illinois Terminal 753 built by American Locomotive Company in 1948. It was purchased from the Green Mountain Railroad in 1995 and spent most of its life hauling freight until it was purchased by the Green Mountain Railroad in 1976. It sat in storage till 1983 before spending several years in seasonal excursion service. Records indicate it was used in freight service as recently as December 1995. We purchased this locomotive in 1995, after we painted it New Haven, we renumbered it 0673, the last New Haven RS-1 was numbered 0671, and another organization had already created 672.

New Haven Budd RDC-1 32, ex. Metro North 19, exx. Amtrak 19, exxx. Penn Central 76, nee New Haven 32 built by the Budd Company in 1953. It was donated by Metro-North in 1995.

Metro-North cab car 1128, ex. Conrail 4701, exx. Penn Central 4701, nee New York Central 4701 built by Pullman-Standard in 1962. It was donated by Metro-North in 2005.

Museum scene.

Penn Central caboose 23662, ex. Conrail 23662, exx. Penn Central 23662, nee New York, New Haven and Hartford C-687 built by International Car Company in 1948. This car was originally a class NE-6 and was rebuilt circa 1970 to a class N-8A by Penn Central. The windows in the cupola were sealed, a water tank was suspended from the ceiling, and bay windows were added under the cupola. It was donated by United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey in 1997.

Sperry Rail Service detector car 135, nee Seaboard Airline Railroad 2023 built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1928 as a combination baggage/self-propelled railcar, sometimes called a "doodlebug". Seaboard used the car from Atlanta to Macon and Savannah, Georgia. Sperry acquired the car in 1945 and converted it to a rail flaw detector car. It was cut back 14 feet and modified to suit Sperry's purposes. It carried a crew of four (driver, two technicians and a cook) who could live on board the car. Sperry Rail Service donated it in 2004.

New York Central FPA-4 1390, ex. Penn Central 1390, exx. Windsor & Hantsport 6786, exxx. VIA 6786, nee Canadian National 6786 built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1959 and arrived at the museum in 1999.

New York Central FPB-4 3399, ex. Penn Central 3399, exx. Windsor & Hantsport 6867, exxx. VIA 6867, nee Canadian National 6867 built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1959 and arrived at the museum in 1999.

New York Central FPB-4 3399 and FPA-4 1390.

Canadian National caboose 79462 built by the railway in 1971. It arrived in 1996 and was acquired from P. Lamson/H. Schueschner in 2003.

New York Central FL9 2013, ex. Connecticut Department of Transportation 2006, exx. Metro North #512 (assigned, not used), exxx. Penn Central 5026, nee New York, New Haven and Hartford 2026 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1955. It was leased from the Connecticut Department of Transportation and arrived in 2001.

PRR 15 ton scale test car 999951, ex. Conrail 80007, exx. Penn Central, nee Pennsylvania Railroad 999951 built by the railroad in 1909. This 30,000 lb. car was used to calibrate scales that weighed freight cars. Later test weight cars went to 80,000 lbs and today's scales are computerized. It was purchased from Conrail for scrap value and arrived in 1998.

DRMX track speeder 270302, nee Canadian Pacific built by Woodings Railcar Limited and purchased by the museum in 1996.

New York, New Haven and Hartford FL9 2006, ex. Connecticut Department of Transportation 2006, exx. Metro North 512 (assigned, not used), exxx. Penn Central 5026, nee New Haven 2026 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1955. It was leased from Connecticut Department of Transportation and arrived in 2001.

Museum scene.

Electro-Motive Division and American Locomotive Company engines share this scene.

New York, New Haven and Hartford FA-10 428, ex. Penn Central 1333, nee New Haven 0428 built by American Locomotive Company in 1947. It was purchased from a scrapper in New Jersey and arrived in 1999.

Vintage Locomotive Works RSC-2 1513, ex. Northern Central 1513, exx. New Hope & Ivyland 1513, exxx. Florida Power & Light 1102, nee Seaboard Air Line 1513 built by American Locomotive Company in 1949. It was leased from Ed Bowers and arrived in 2002.

Painted as New York Central E9A 4096, this is really Amtrak 417, exx. Union Pacific 912A, nee EMD Train of Tomorrow built by Electro-Motive Division in 1947. It was leased from Ed Bowers and arrived in 1997. As built, this was an E7 diesel-electric demonstrator unit which was labeled "The Train of Tomorrow", a four-car domed streamliner. This train made two visits to Connecticut - once in November 1948 and again in April 1949. In 1964, it was converted to an E8 by the Union Pacific which ran it for passenger service between Chicago and the West Coast. In May, 1971, they sold it to Amtrak, which, in 1974, replaced the two 1200 hp '567' engines installed by UP with two 1300-hp '645' V-12 prime mover engines making it an E-9A unit with 2600-hp

Amtrak first used it for service out of Boston and then out of Virginia on the AutoTrain run to Florida. It is said to have made the last run when AutoTrain was suspended. Before Amtrak resumed that service, 417 was sent to the boneyard in New Haven where it was rescued by the Connecticut Valley Railroad Club. Desiring to show the colors of something like it that ran in New England, they thought of New York Central's Boston to Albany run which was once an E8. They chose Number 4096 as it is the next number after the last E-series the New York Central ran (although this engine never ran as NYC).

New York, New Haven and Hartford box car 34537, ex. Amtrak, exx. Penn Central, nee New Haven 34537 built by Pullman-Standard in 1948. It was purchased from a scrapper in New London and arrived in 2001.

Conrail mechanical reefer 359020, ex. Conrail 359020, nee Erie-Lackawanna 5019 built by Pacific Car and Foundry in 1966 and donated by the Conrail Technical Society in 2000. This unit is a steel-sheathed, mechanical refrigerator car with a cushioned underframe. 5019, like others of its kind, most likely hauled fresh produce or meat. Mechanical reefers started into service in the 1950's, replacing the rolling iceboxes that preceded them. Car 5019 was also fitted with a GPS transponder for testing by Conrail, the first-ever use of GPS on a freight car. The transponder remains attached to the car.

Canadian National club-gallery car 660 "Empire Club", ex. VIA Rail Canada 660 "Empire Club", exx. Canadian National 660 "Empire Club", exxx. Canadian National dining car 1354, nee Canadian National buffet-sleeper 1016 "Valley Park" built by Pullman Standard in 1954. It was acquired from P. Lamson/H. Schueschner in 1993 and arrived in 1996.

Danbury Railroad Museum coach 2012, ex. Housatonic 2012, exx. Connecticut Department of Transportation 2012, exxx. South East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority 2012, exxxx. Reading Company 2012 (11-1948 Conversion to Class PBu Reclining Chair Car With Smoking Lounge), nee Reading Company 1348 built by Harlan and Hollingsowrth in 1922. It was donated by Connecticut Department of Transportation and arrived in 1995.

Danbury Railway Museum coach 2015 "John E. Flower", ex. Housatonic 2015, exx. Connecticut Department of Transportation 2015, exxx. South East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority 2015, exxxx. Reading Company 2015 (09-1949 Conversion to Class PBu Reclining Chair Car With Smoking Lounge), nee Reading Company 1355 built by Harlan and Hollingsowrth in 1922. It was donated by Connecticut Department of Transportation and arrived in 1995.

Danbury Railway Museum coach 2001, ex. Housatonic 2001, exx. Connecticut Department of Transportation 2001, exxx. South East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority 2001, exxxx. Reading Company 2001 (02-1948 Conversion to Class PBt Reclining Chair Car), nee Reading Company 1350 built by Harlan and Hollingsowrth in 1922. It was donated by Connecticut Department of Transportation and arrived in 1995.

Yard scene.

Electric Boat Company 44 ton switcher "Carol", nee New York, New Haven and Hartford 0814 built by General Electric in 1945. It is equipped with extended swivel couplers which allowed for operation on the former trolley tracks in New Haven and on the Seaview Avenue line in Bridgeport, both of which were also owned by the New Haven Railroad. The railroad sold the locomotive to Electric Boat in 1959 and they used it on their private trackage till 2005, after which they donated it to the museum in 2006.

New York, New Haven and Hartford RS-11 1402, ex. Martin Marietta Company (Georgia) 7589, exx. Conrail 7589, exxx. Penn Central 7662, nee New Haven 1402 built by American Locomotive Company in 1956 and acquired in 2001.

Maine Central caboose 664, nee Western Maryland 1837 built by Union Bridge from a 1924 Reading Company Mechanical Department design for a steel-bodied, eight wheeled cupola caboose. It was donated by Susan L. Jahnke in memory of Uwe Jahnke and arrived in 2000.

Danbury Railway Museum observation car "Tonawanda Valley", ex. Crown Metal Products, exx. Penn Central, exxx New York Central 100 (1947), exxxx. Pullman "Connecticut" (June 1938), nee Pullman "Tonawanda Valley" built by the company in 1929. It is the sole survivor of the 16 heavyweight "Valley" series of observation cars built by the Pullman Company and leased by the New York Central Railroad for use on their flagship train, The 20th Century Limited, which ran between New York City and Chicago in 17 hours and coined the term 'red carpet service'. The "Tonawanda Valley" was originally built as a sleeper-buffet-lounge-observation car and was fitted with one single bedroom, one drawing room, a buffet kitchen, a ladies (buffet) lounge, a solarium lounge and a six-foot deep observation platform.

In 1932, half of the clerestory vents were enclosed and converted to ducting for air conditioning. The car remained in service on the Century until 1938, when the train service was updated with streamlined equipment. In June 1938. the car's open platform was converted to a closed vestibule and it was renamed "Connecticut"; it was then used in mid-train service on the Boston & Albany Railroad's New England States. It is at this time we believe the end wall of the former observation platform was moved, shortening the original platform by three feet. In 1947, the car was sold to the New York Central Railroad when Pullman divested itself of its operating division. It remained in service until 1956, after which it was stored by Pullman for a year before being sold to Crown Metal Products of Wyano, Pennsylvania, and was used as an office. It was subsequently sold to a private owner who reopened the observation end of the car before moving it to Essex. It was then moved to our museum before being donated.

The interior of the car is remarkably unaltered from its 1920-30's appearance and through the preservation efforts of previous owners, it still retains much of its original furniture. It was donated by Dr. Diana Beardsley in 2008.

An unidentified box car.

Metro-North baggage car 057, exx. Penn Central, nee Pennsylvania Railroad built by the railroad in the 1920's. Sometime after the Penn-Central merger, it was modified for use on the wire service train, being equipped with a large roof walk for maintenance personnel working on the overhead catenary. It was donated by Metro-North and arrived at the museum in 1997.

Metro North P32AC-DM 214, nee Connecticut Department of Transportation 214 built by General Electric in 2001 in their yard.

Pennsylvania Railroad baggage/Railway Post Office car 6563, ex. Housatonic, exx. Penn Central, exxx. Pennsylvania Railroad 6563, exxxx. Pennsylvania Railroad 5463 (rebuilt November 1937 into class BM70m), nee Pennsylvania Railroad 6507 built by the railroad in 1910. It was donated by the Housatonic Railroad in 2005.

New York Central wooden caboose 19322, ex. Connecticut Railroad Historical Association 19322, exx. New York Central 19322, nee New York Central & Hudson River Railroad 19322 built by Merchants Despatch Transportation Company in 1909. It was donated in 2002.

Pennsylvania Railroad "Cushioned" box car 112432 built by the railroad in 1964. It was donated by Conrail and arrived in 1996.

Museum scene.

New York, New Haven and Hartford box car 33732, ex. Amtrak, exx. Penn Central, nee New Haven 33732 built by Pullman-Standard in 1947. It was purchased from a scrapper in New London and arrived in 2001.

Pennsylvania "Cushioned" box car 45924 built by the railroad in 1941 and refitted in 1963. It was donated by Conrail and arrived in 1997.

Museum scene.

New York, New Haven and Hartford sleeping car 525 "Stratford Point", exx Long Island Railroad 2067, nee New York, New Haven and Hartford 525 built by Pullman-Standard in 1949. It was one of 27 "Point" series sleepers and was configured with 14 roomettes and four double bedrooms. At the vestibule end was a berth for the porter and a general lavatory for the roomette passengers to use when their beds were lowered over the individual facilities. It was later used by the Long Island Railroad in the 1970's in their Parlor Car service. While the ownership changed hands three times, all roomettes and two double bedrooms were removed, greatly altering the original interior of the car. After sitting in a siding in New Milford the car was vandalized before being transported to the museum in 1998.

New York, New Haven and Hartford caboose C-627, ex. Berkshire Scenic Railroad, exx. Conrail, exx Penn Central, nee New Haven C-627 built by Pullman-Standard in 1944. It was acquired from the Berkshire Scenic Railway in 1996.

Central Vermont flat car 7625, ex Bullard Company 6, nee Central Vermont 7625 built between 1923 and 1925. It was privately donated and arrived in 1998.

New York, New Haven and Hartford drop bottom gondola 60521, ex. Housatonic (plow), exx. Penn Central, nee New Haven 60521 built by the railroad in 1937. It was donated by the Housatonic Railroad in 1995.

Grand Central Terminal wrecker/double-ended crane GCT-1, ex. Metro-North 001, exx. Penn Central 50021, nee Grand Central Terminal GCT-1 built by Industrial Crane Works in 1914. Built as Crane 2281, it is 90 feet long and capable of lifting 100 tons. Grand Central Terminal Company was owned 58.057 percent by the New York Central and 41.94 percent by the New Haven. This unit was built specifically for the tunnels in and around Grand Central Terminal and has lifting booms at each end such that it does not matter in which direction it is headed into a tunnel - it will be in a position to work at re-railing cars. It is powered electrically from the third rail in the tunnels; nevertheless, it requires a large number of sizeable storage batteries which are ganged up in series in the ceiling of the wrecker to provide constant power. For a time toward the end of its working days the crane was known as the "Wellington" in honor of Ed Wellington Whitney, the longtime wreckmaster in Metro-North's White Plains yards. Of the three that were built, this is the only one that remains. It was leased from Metro-North and arrived at the museum in 1998.

Rutland Rutland wooden box car 8085, ex. Green Mountain Railroad 8085, nee Rutland 8085 built by Youngstown Car Company in 1924. It was donated by Green Mountain Railroad and arrived in 2000.

Metro-North flat car 011, nee New York Central 498099 built by the railroad. It is leased from Metro-North and arrived in 1998, accompanying wrecker GCT-1.

Boston & Maine 2-6-0 1455, ex. Cape Cod 1455, exx. Edaville 1455, exxx. Edaville 100, exxxx. Boston & Maine 1455, nee Boston & Maine 100 built by American Locomotive Company in 1907. 1455 was the sole survivor of the B-15 class Moguls, considered the symbol of the light and backwoods branch lines of the Boston and Maine. In 1956, it still ran on commuter trains out of Boston's North Station to Clinton, Massachusetts. Thereafter, it was displayed at the Edaville Railroad in South Carver, Massachusetts and then sat by itself in Hyannis and Rochester, before we acquired it in 2000 from George Bartholomew.