Part 1 -- New-Old Passenger Car Trucked and Unloaded at the Virginia and Truckee Railroad

[mortie806]

very nice work ground crew and operator

[intercityrailpal]

As you might know this car is from the commuter service of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. It has it's own history. Thomas Edison the inventor of the electric light bulb rode this car to work. Orange, NJ is MP11 on the DL&W. He also ran the first electric train out of Morristown NJ. This car I believe is 1912 so it is pre electric service. I hope the V&T people respect the history of the car and not paint it purple and V&T!!

[virginiatruckee]

Very interesting, thanks for the info. I have passed this along to Tom Gray of the V&T.

[virginiatruckee]

I got this response from the V&T Railroad: The car was 1917 and he may have ridden on the car but his firm did design the new electrics on the car when they motorized it and maybe even before. No confirmation but thats what a brochures says that was inside the car.

[intercityrailpal]

Remember, working in Orange, NJ. and New York day after day, year after year. Riding trains to work, meetings, home, for any kind of out of town travel. I'm sure one time or an other he rode it. I can't tell you how many times I've ridden in the same sleeping car (viewliners) on the "Lake Shore Limited" on Amtrak to the east coast. Sometimes I even know when they don't fix things and it's still a problem on the next trip. Water in the shower is cold, curtains don't fit etc.

[virginiatruckee]

Agreed on all points, esp Amtrak breakdowns that don't get fixed. I think the V&T point is that it's one thing to use logic to assume Edison rode the car, it would be quite another to find a photo at a historical society showing Edison on the car or standing in front of it where the number shows clearly. I wonder if such a photo exists? Where's the Edison photo archive, the Smithsonian? It's one thing to say "virtually certainly rode this car" and another to say definitely with proof.

[CoastStarlight11]

Wow!