Conrail 10 Observation Car

Railroad Office CarsConrail OCSConrail 10
Written By Wes Reminder

Freshly hand-washed the night before, Conrail 10 is ready for the Spirit of Massachusetts OCS trip.

Conrail OCS 10 - Amtrak 800176 – Observation Car

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Conrail 10 car was built by Pullman in 1925 to Pullman Plan #3957, Lot #4862 as a parlor-observation car (with a drawing room) and was named the “Queen Elizabeth.” In 1935, Pullman renamed the car to “Hudson River.” It originally saw service on the New York Central Empire State Express.

In November of 1942, the car was sold to the New York Central Railroad and was renamed again, this time to “Kalamazoo River,” where it served on the NYC’s Twilight Limited. Conrail documents say that the car was among those “replaced by new lightweight cars in 1947-1948.” As a result, in 1947, the “Kalamazoo River” was renamed for the fourth time to “Victoria Park” and was used in “special service and as a backup car for regular equipment.” In October of 1952, the car was withdrawn from passenger service and converted to NYC track inspection car 30. On February 1, 1968, the car was transferred to the Penn Central and became PC 30 before being renumbered PC 76 in February of 1976.

On June 5, 1968 tragedy struck the nation when President Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. A funeral train was assembled and took his body from New York City to Washington DC. Pulled by two shiny Penn Central black GG1 locomotives (4901 and 4903), New York Central 30 was the second from the last car on the train, platform facing forward and in the standard NYC grey paint scheme. The last car on the train was PRR 120 (now owned by Bennett Levin) and carried the coffin of the late Mr. Kennedy.

The Penn Central 76 was one of the original business cars that joined the fleet on Conrail’s first day, April 1, 1976. It first wore a special Penn Central paint scheme for America’s bicentennial, featuring a dark blue paint scheme with American flag stripes and the car’s number “76” on the side and became CR 76. When 76 came to Conrail, it still had three-axle heavyweight trucks.

Before June of 1976, the car lost its Penn Central number (76) to become Conrail 10. Around that same time, the car received the standard Conrail blue and black paint scheme of the early office car fleet.

Since being acquired by Conrail, its history has been much simpler. Before we talk about the Conrail years and beyond, the lengthy history deserves a simple listing:

CSX 994010 “John T. Collinson” - (2020)

CSX 994010 “New York” - (6/99)

Conrail 10 - (before 6/1976)

Conrail 76 - (4/76)

Penn Central 76 (2/76)

Penn Central 30 - (2/1/68)

New York Central 30 - (10/52)

New York Central “Victoria Park” - (47)

New York Central “Kalamazoo River” - (11/24/42)

New York Central “Hudson River” - (5/13/35)

Pullman “Queen Elizabeth” - (5/28/25)

Conrail 10 with the CSX OCS Train. September 1999. Video by Wes Reminder.

Conrail documentation states that car 10 was converted to a meeting/conference car on March 18, 1986. U. L. Fox, Conrail’s Manager of Special Equipment, oversaw the updates to the car throughout the late 1980s, which included:

  • Removal of the five-tiered seating platform

  • Installation of a full kitchen

  • Updated restrooms

  • An open interior with movable tables and chairs, similar to Conrail 12

  • Conrail Pullman Green paint with gold logos

  • 480-volt HEP conversion/removal of steam heat

And at some point after 1987 the 6-wheel trucks were replaced with 4-wheel trucks. The new trucks were tested on the Northeast Corridor with speeds reaching OVER 120mph! In another famous trip, Conrail 10 (in full green paint) was used on the first run of PRR K4 1361 in April of 1987.

Conrail 10 stayed relatively unchanged through the Conrail years. The interior was again updated with the same floral pattern carpet as Conrail 3. A TV was added to see out of the cab of the E8As. The car could often be seen on the rear of the Conrail Operation Lifesaver trains with an OLS banner hanging off the railing. A versatile car, it ended up going to CSX in the June 1999 takeover. Perhaps it was the versatility that saved it as CSX shed itself of some of the other former Conrail business cars.

Conrail 10 could be set up as a dining room allowing use of the kitchen and tables for meals. Browsing through trip booklets of all types, you will often see directions that say that lunch was served on car 10.

CSX crews water Conrail 10 in September 1999, while an executive detrains. Video by Wes Reminder.

Conrail 10 was conveyed to CSX on June 1, 1999. CSX gave the car its fourth number, CSXT 994010, and its fifth name, “New York.”  

The car again stayed relatively unchanged until sometime between 2006 and 2007, when CSX removed the two windows behind the kitchen and extended the kitchen, replaced the steps, updated the observation platform railings, and repainted the car. Around 2010, CSX installed a restroom and kitchenette at the platform end of the car, requiring the removal of the platform end windows and two windows next to the platform.

In 2020, CSX continued its homage to railroad history by giving a B&O inspired paint scheme to their entire business train. By September 2020, the former Conrail 10 was repainted and renamed "John T. Collinson" in tribute to his presidency at the B&O from 1979 to 1983. CSX began these repaints in anticipation of the 200th anniversary of American railroading in 2027. A special thank you to the gentleman at CSX for opening up the car for a visit.

Conrail 10’s Confusing History

Railroad business cars can have a complex and sometimes confusing history, and Conrail 10 is no exception. Looking at Conrail documentation you can find no less than three build dates for CR 10.

If you were to use nothing other than Conrail documentation on the build date of Conrail 10, here are the dates you will find:

  • 1922 (Lot 4862) - Conrail Office Car Diagram version “A” 4/25/1983

  • 1922 (Lot 4862) - Conrail Office Car Diagram version “F” 11/22/1986

  • 1924 - Conrail Office Car Diagram book history pages

  • 1925 - Conrail Office Car Special booklets from the late 1990’s

  • 1925 - Conrail Business Car Roster updated on 1/1/96 and included in OCS booklets

However, based on extensive research, including referencing The Pullman Project database record 8663, it is clear that Conrail 10 has an in-service date of May 28, 1925.

For those interested in those 6-wheel heavyweight trucks found on Conrail 10 before it was converted, here is some technical information found in my copies of the original office car data books.

  • Truck Class - PK-3-AXR - 6 wheels - Roller Bearing size 5-1/2” x 10”

  • Brake Type - Clasp 2-1/2” Comp. Shoes

  • Brake Cylinder - 18” x 12”

  • Inside Swing Hangers

Former Conrail 10 , now CSXT 994010 “John T. Collinson” with an updated interior. CSX uses this car as a dining car on the CSX OCS fleet.  

A quick tour of the interior of CSX 994010. Video by Wes Reminder.

Conrail OCS Santa Fe Business Train Trip Mug

Conrail, Santa Fe, and IHB Business Train Mug

The Conrail Industrial Development Department hosted many business train trips with the hopes of finding new rail customers. Many of these trips had giveaways, like this Santa Fe, Conrail, and IHB trip mug.

Collection of Wes Reminder

If you are interested in Conrail passenger operations, read about how Conrail operated their OCS train, including stories from those with first hand knowledge. Check back soon for other Conrail Office Car articles by Wes Reminder.

Sources:

  • Conrail trip booklets

  • Conrail Diagrams of Office and Research Cars

  • CSX Santa Train press release

Special thanks to the photographer contributions on this page:

Charlie Murphy, Jr. • Chip Syme • Frank Rovder • H.E. Brouse • Joe Jack • Rod Miller • Rob Palmer courtesy of the Conrail Historical Society • Steve Sullivan

All images are © copyright Wes Reminder and each photographer listed on the image. Usage of these images requires explicit permission for reproduction, distribution, or any other use. For inquiries, please use the contact button.

© Wes Reminder 2025. All rights reserved. No part of this text may be copied, reproduced, distributed, or used in any form without explicit written permission from Wes Reminder. This includes, but is not limited to, use in AI models, digital databases, and electronic formats.

Wes Reminder

https://www.the-boring-the-adoring.com/
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