The Reading and Northern Railroad in Port Clinton Pa. is the owner of Atlanta & West Point buisness-observation car built by Jay Gould for his daughter Helen. Can find little or no information about this car. Sorry, do not have former car number or other info. R&N purchased car from former restuarant complex in Wilkes Barre, Pa. Does anyone know anything about this coach?

-- Edward D. Heck (traffic@readingnorthern.com), July 15, 2002

Answers

Edward,

The folks in the ACL and SAL RR HS also specialize in the West Point. There is overlap with us, but their Q&A Forum readers probably have more information on this car. I forwarded your post there. To read a copy go to:

http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a.tcl?topic=ACL%20and%20SAL% 20Railroads%20Historical%20Society

If that fails just use http://aclsal.org and follow link to Q&A.

Ron. Wright Moderator, CofG Rwy HS Web Site

-- Ron. Wright (rondywright@hotmail.com), July 15, 2002.

Old Alabama Rails of Montgomery, Alabama owns a set of blueprints for this car dating mostly from the 1902 rebuilding, but including one extremely fragile elevation of the side of the car prior to its rebuilding. It was indeed the Stranraer, and an exceptionally beautiful piece of rolling stock. Andy Muller of the Reading and Northern Railroad says it is the most beautiful private car he's ever seen. Of course, he's biased! :)

Apparently the car still has all its original brass, and if I remember correctly, some of the furniture that has been with it lo these many years, whether from Gould's day or later, I do not know.

-- Andrew Waldo (andrewwaldo@mchsi.com), November 09, 2002.

If this is the car 100 from the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, I may be able to share something.

-- Ondrea H. Simpson (OndreaFaye@aol.com), November 09, 2002.

West Point Route 100 was purchased secondhand jointly by the Atlanta & West Point Rail Road and The Western Railway of Alabama in 1908. The car had been rebuilt (according to my sources) in 1902 from a vehicle that had been traded to American Car & Foundry(ACF). Some sources say that this car was the "Stranraer", the PV of Ms. Helen Gould, daughter of Jay Gould. The West Point Route management was, in the clippings I've read, very careful not to say definitely that it was the "Stranraer", although the prevailing wisdom says that it is. The car received a steel underframe and steel sheathing circa 1921, and was air conditioned at a much later date. It was sold by the West Point Route in November of 1970.

When the car was being cleaned out for sale, several pieces of flatware were found aboard, bearing the name "Stranraer" on the handle. I am fortunate enough to possess a serving spoon with this marking.

Bob Hanson

-- Robert H. Hanson (RHanson669@aol.com), July 15, 2002.