Sunday, November 7, 2021

John Greenleaf Whittier

Roger Kramer shares these pictures with us of the John Greenleaf Whittier, a Pullman heavyweight car that he has purchased.  It is currently located in Alamosa, Colorado, and he will be donating it to IRM as soon as it can be made ready for shipment, along with an ex-C&NW E unit.  For many years this car was at ORM in Worthington.

Who never wins can rarely lose,
Who never climbs as rarely falls.
                                              - Whittier


All photographs copyright by Victor Humphreys.

 





We'll let you know when we have more news about this project.

13 comments:

Will Knogl said...

I wonder when that CB&Q heavyweight baggage car that the museum owns in Colorado will be moved.

Raphael said...

what is the number of the E Unit?

Randall Hicks said...

I don't know the number, but I'll try to find out. And similarly for the baggage car.

I must admit that we sometimes post information about projects that we have little direct knowledge about, and when questions come up, we don't have a clue. Sorry. I would encourage anybody who can answer these questions to do so. But when that doesn't happen, silence is probably better than misinformation.

Anonymous said...



I'm assuming that this is the locomotive - Iowa Pacific 515 E8A
supposedly arrived at IRM in 2021; Iowa Pacific 515, ex AZER 6070 < Metra 515 < RTA 515 < C&NW 515 < nee C&NW 5029B. My info is from: from:https://www.thedieselshop.us/IRM.HTML

A confirming post on the IRM Facebook group by Harold Krewer identifies the loco as C&NW 515. If this is accurate its a very very beautiful acquistion. A stable mate of IRM's CB&Q 9911A and C&NW 411 at Spencer.

R. Miller

Ted Miles said...

I believe the Pullman is a 12-section and 1 compartment sleeper that spent its life on the Pennsylvania Railroad. In recent years it was at the Ohio Railway Museum.

I believe a report here says they gave up on the heavy weight baggage car in Colorado, due to a lack of funds to ship it to Union.

Ted Miles, IRM Member

Randall Hicks said...

Thanks for the information on the locomotive. And Ted is correct that the Whittier is a PRR 12-1 sleeper. I was also told that there are relatively few 12-1's in preservation, but I may have misunderstood.

We ought to start holding regular poetry readings in the car. "Snowbound" could take quite a while.

Tim Fennell said...

John Greenleaf Whittier was part of Lot 6220, a group of 16 cars built for service on the PRR in January-February 1929. Other cars in this lot named after famous authors included: Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Whittier was sold to PRR and leased back to Pullman in 12/1948. PRR numbered it 8836. Withdrawn from the lease 6/67 and soon after it went to the Ohio Ry Museum. It was sold to Iowa Pacific in 2012. Now their folly is our opportunity. The 12-1 configuration was very common, though most were modified as open sections fell out of favor with the riding public.

Roger has already been stocking up on PRR paint and I’m looking forward to getting to work on it.

Tim Fennell said...

Also, a quick point of clarification. The 12-1 is 12-section and 1-drawing room, not a compartment. The Drawing room has a sofa and separate bathroom annex were as a compartment has the toilet and sink as part of the room.

Anonymous said...

When the money is donated to move it; estimate is $14k Please help us with a donation Thanks Roger

Anonymous said...

CNW 515

Randall Hicks said...

I believe the last cryptic comment was also by Roger, answering the question about the number of the E-unit, which had already been answered. These threads can sometimes become rather tangled. Of course, the E-unit arrived on the property several months ago, while I believe the poet is still waiting for his Pegasus.

Tim Fennell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tim Fennell said...

JG Whittier made it home! Link is to photos of it at the interchange.

https://imgur.com/a/xTVtKuv