Conrail 3 Office Car

Conrail OCSConrail 3Railroad Office Cars
Written By Wes Reminder

Conrail OCS 3 - Amtrak 800323 - Observation Car

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Conrail 3, a heavyweight observation car that was part of the Conrail business train (office car special), had a relatively short lineage when it was added to the Conrail fleet in 1976. Conrail 3 had the distinction of being part of the original business car fleet, joining Conrail on day one. A few other business cars joined the fleet on day one: the first Conrail 1 (not the Southern Railway office car), Conrail 2, the first Conrail 4 (also not the former Southern Railway office car), Conrail 10, and Conrail 11.

In Conrail’s office car booklets, their historical description of Conrail 3 is a short and sweet three lines. Compare that to the former Southern Railway Conrail 1 observation car, which is ten lines long and features a conflicting build date (1920 is the correct date). Conrail observation car 3 is also unique in that it was always an office car. Many other cars were built, rebuilt, rebuilt again, and ended up as an office car. Not Conrail 3. From the first days on the rails, its sole purpose was for official railroad use. We will look at the car’s history in a moment, but its life as an official railroad office car is now over. Its new service in private ownership ended its long life in pampered railroad service. I’m looking forward to seeing her back on the rails someday, in elegant service across the U.S.

Here is Conrail 3’s history:

Dallas Railroad Company Private ownership (still as CSX 994003) - (2/20/01)

CSX 994003 “Philadelphia” - (6/1/99)

Conrail 3 - (4/1/76)

Penn Central 2 - (10/1/70)

Penn Central 10 - (2/1/68)

New York Central 10 - (5/36)

Michigan Central 1 - (1/28)

Conrail 3 was built by Pullman (Lot #6109, Plan #7154) in January of 1928 as Michigan Central office car 1. The car became New York Central 10 in May of 1936. On February 1, 1968 it was transferred to Penn Central. The car was briefly renumbered PC 10, but it ended its career on Penn Central as PC 2. In a Penn Central memo dated October 1, 1970, car #2 was assigned to R.G. Flannery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On April 1, 1976, Conrail received the car in the merger and numbered it 3. Like the special equipment in the original Conrail business car fleet, it was painted Conrail blue with black trucks and black underbody, just like Conrail locomotives. It wasn’t until 1983 that the business cars changed their appearance with Stanley Crane’s disposal and acquisition of new OCS equipment. The office cars got new locomotives in the form of Conrail 4020 and Conrail 4021 and a new coat of dark green paint. It is important to note the office cars and locomotives were painted green roof to rails. The trucks and underbodies were no longer black. The green paint is a topic of conversation, proof that the green didn’t always look green!

The interior of office car 3 changed its appearance as well. Originally outfitted with navy carpets, white walls, white curtains, and a white buffet in the dining room. Its later appearance changed to a mix of white and tan walls, navy curtains, a floral carpet in the main areas of the car (also used in Conrail 10), and natural dark wood color on buffet in the dining car. The observation room also received cabinetry that had a lighter wood color. Photos in private ownership show at least one of the bedrooms with original navy carpets, leading me to believe the floral carpet was used in the hallway, observation room, and dining room only.

The bedrooms also featured the beautiful New York Central style cabinetry on the walls with leaded glass, a feature that exists to this day. A sister car to Conrail 3, New York Central 1 office car (traded by the NYC RR to the Southern, later becoming Norfolk Southern “NS 32” Research Car) has the same cabinet styles and I’ll post the photos from a visit of the interior of that car later.

Conrail 3 also had some internal modifications that are not shown on the diagram by the Conrail Mechanical Department. The observation lounge was enlarged, removing bedroom “A”. Also, the kitchen pantry was removed and there is just one large kitchen. Looking at the photos from the new owner, Doug Nichols, you can see the water tank in the ceiling.

After the Conrail takeover by CSX and Norfolk Southern in 1999, Conrail 3 went to CSX Transportation and became 994003 'Philadelphia'.  It was quickly repainted, displaying its new CSX paint scheme by at least May 19, 2000. Its executive service with CSX didn’t last long (neither did the CSX commitment to the city of Philadelphia and its employees) and was sold at auction on February 20, 2001 for a $94,600 bid. Did I mention office cars aren’t cheap? I’m sure neither railroad was actually committed to the city of Philadelphia the way Conrail and its predecessors were. Much like many Conrail executives (that probably rode on Conrail 3) the office car ended its executive service early after the takeover.

But Conrail 3 lives on, still in its CSX “Philadelphia” paint scheme, waiting for its turn on the mainline again. The new owner has been renovating the interior, painting the buffet white again. Two of the bedrooms have been refurbished and the master was on the list. With all of the regulations that Amtrak has for private car owners and the events that unfolded in 2020, Doug is working away with a commitment to get the car on the rails. As of August 16, 2020, the car windows were being worked on, which Doug mentioned can be problematic with these passenger cars. Once the car is operational, I will be sure to provide a link and instructions on how to rent out the car.

Conrail 3 was a beautiful car with a deep history. One day I hope to see her again.

For those interested in those heavyweight trucks found on Conrail 3 and many private cars today, here is some technical information found in my copies of the original office car data books.

  • Truck Class - K11XRNH - 6 wheels - Roller Bearing size 5-1/2” x 10”

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

  • Brake Cylinder - 7” x 9”

  • Outside Swing Hangers

Former Conrail 3 as CSX “Philadelphia” 994003

Former Conrail 3, former CSX business car 994003 “Philadelphia”, now Dallas Railroad Company 994003

Conrail business train invitation - CR OCS

Guests invited to ride the Conrail business train, such as the Conrail Keystone Special, often received invitations complete with an RSVP card like this one.

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, Penn Central Historical Society (for the Penn Central 10 information), Conrail Diagrams of Office and Research Cars.

All images are © copyright Wes Reminder, Rich Frey, Charlie Murphy, Jr, Rudy Garbely III, Rudy Garbely, Joe Jack, Doug Nichols, and Chip Syme and may not be used in print, web or any other use without permission. Photos with unknown photographer are part of my collection, contact me if it is your photo.

Wes Reminder

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