Tyler B. Robbins! An acquaintance of mine as well. I remember when he had the Big Moose Lake in Collinwood just after purchasing it from Penn Central. I had helped him in redesigning the blind end so he could construct an open-end platform there. He wanted to eliminate the crash pillars and I told him that wouldn’t pass muster. I seem to recall seeing a photo of the car while in D.C. in Trains Magazine and it looked like he had accomplished the open-end conversion.
I guess I would go for a passenger car, with a kitchen/diner section. Perhaps in a “famous one”: that’s what Doug Harvey did. He was a Canadian hockey player. In the last few years of his life, he lived in a parked passenger car not too far from where I live. It was said to be the car used by a prime minister in the 50’s (John Diefenbaker).
Actually a couple of years ago it would have been fairly easy to acquire some vintage rail cars with modern updated living quarters. A lot of families lived on the red and blue units of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus trains that were discontinued when Field Entertainment stopped touring by rail.
I’d probably chose something like an Amtrak-Certified Budd RDC, And if possible keep the engines in it to move it around without paying approximately $470354804.39. I’d update the interior but keep the controls, and also mount some Nathan K5Hs on it.
I don’t think there is such a thing as an Amtrak-certified Budd RDC any more; they’ve banned shafted Spicer drives due to the risk of derailment if they come apart.
Be prepared for fun maintaining those 110s. My understanding was that 8V71 conversions were underpowered; 8V92TAs were what were used in the heavier SPV2000s. I said a few years ago that it might be interesting to see what the ‘best’ current engines that would fit in the original cradle packaging might be…
There were business cars that had them, so the car could be moved, or attached to the end of a move when no switch engine was handy.
You might consider a truck swap with something like one of those old New York Central MU cars (as at the Kentucky Railroad Museum at New Haven). Those are relatively high-speed trucks with 220-hp (I think) motors that are so small you have to look carefully to ensure the truck is motored.
If you could keep the mechanical drive, you could motor the outer axles, and use a genset for power. You’d use an electric rather than engine-driven air comoressor…
nice looks like im on my indoor ho tonight we have another huge thunderstorm and more tornado warnings and hail warnings. im hoping my outdoor does okay as far as buildings but if not a trip to dollar tree’s gnome and fairy section and i got plenty more houses to rebuild with (i just stick to the ones that look the most like houses and not mythical)
91908_interior-cupola by Edmund, on Flickr
Basin 1935 by Edmund, on Flickr
Cupola Brake Gauge Emergency Valve by Edmund, on Flickr
Cicero_Pullman-pillow by Edmund, on Flickr
