Conrail 10 Observation Car

Railroad Office CarsConrail OCSConrail 10
Written By Wes Reminder

Conrail OCS 10 - Amtrak 800176 – Observation Car

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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

YIKES. All of those dates are from Conrail’s own documentation. Now add in the various outside sources and you can end up frustrated with so many conflicting dates. That is where it becomes important to do some research and end up with the right date. In writing this article on Conrail 10, I always thought that the updated Conrail Business Car Roster dated January 1, 1996 was correct. It seems that Conrail did some really great research on the cars and had their OCS booklets updated with the accurate information.

In addition, CSX issued a press release for their Santa trains and listed the histories of the cars that were on the train. The former Conrail 10 was usually included on the train and they also listed the build date as 1925. Based on that research and their agreement with the late Conrail roster, I feel it is safe to say that Conrail 10 was built in 1925.

The car was built by Pullman as a Parlor-Observation car with Drawing Room and was named “Queen Elizabeth” for use on the New York Central “Empire State Express”. During this time, the CSX press release says, “the large rear platform was constructed to accommodate President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wheelchair.”

In 1935, New York Central purchased the car from Pullman and renamed it to “Hudson River”.

In November 1942, the car was renamed AGAIN, this time to “Kalamazoo River” and provided service on the Twilight Limited. Conrail documents then say that the car was “replaced by new lightweight cars in 1947-1948”.

In 1947, the car was renamed for the fourth time to “Victoria Park” and used in “special service and as a backup car for regular equipment until converted to New York Central Track Inspection Car No. 30 in October 1952.”

On June 5, 1968 tragedy struck the nation when 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 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.

On February 1, 1968, the car was transferred to the Penn Central and became PC #30 before being renumbered PC #76 in February 1976. Conrail acquired the car on April 1, 1976. That is quite the history for a railroad business car. The car had four names and several numbers under different roads before finally reaching Conrail. The car hosted US presidents and participated in a high profile-funeral train.

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 was one of the original business cars that joined the fleet on Conrail’s first day, April 1, 1976. It first wore a special paint scheme for America’s bicentennial, a blue dark paint with American flag stripes and “76” on the side. When it came to Conrail it also had 6-wheel heavyweight trucks. Its exterior appearance had not changed much over the years and watching the video of the Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral train, the car was instantly recognizable.

Sometime before June of 1976, the car lost its Penn Central number 76 to become Conrail 10 and received the standard Conrail blue and black paint scheme that the initial office car fleet wore. The car underwent an interior rebuild sometime after early 1983, completely gutting the car at the Reading Passenger Car Shop. Mr. Fox, Conrail’s Manager of Special Equipment, oversaw the updates to the car which included:

  • Removal of the five-tiered seating platform

  • Installation of a full kitchen

  • Updated restrooms

  • A hollow interior with movable tables and chairs, similar to Conrail 12

  • A dip in Conrail OCS green paint with gold logos

  • 480-volt conversion from steam heat (Conrail 10 did not have a generator)

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 to eat. Browsing through trip booklets of all types you will often see directions that say that lunch was served on car 10.

CSX gave the car its fourth number, CSXT 994010, and its fifth name, “New York”. When I saw Conrail 10 in its last days in Conrail paint, the CSX crew was trying to figure out how to fill the cars water tanks with water. After a few minutes, they figured it out and filled it up…. all the way to the point it was flowing down from the roof. 

The car remained largely unaltered until around 2006-2007 when CSX made several modifications, including removing some windows, replacing the rear steps, updating the observation platform railings, and repainting the car to its YN3 style paint scheme. 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.

Conrail 10 has a long and complex history but has taken part in some historical events. Let’s hope it continues to find itself used well and if not, that it finds its way to a deserving museum or private owner.

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

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, CSX Santa train press release, Conrail Diagrams of Office and Research Cars, January 15, 1987.

All images are © copyright Wes Reminder, Chip Syme, Rod Miller, H.E. Brouse, Robert Palmer and may not be used in print, web or any other use without permission. Images used on this site are used with permission.

Wes Reminder

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