Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati

The Railway Museum of Greater Cincinnati is a railroad museum in Covington, Kentucky.

Collection

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The museum owns and maintains a collection of 80 historic railroad equipment located on a 4-acre (16,000 m2) site.[1]

The museum was founded in 1975 when a club of local railroad enthusiasts decided to run passenger cars on Amtrak trains. Several local members purchased cars for this goal. In the late 1980s, Amtrak tightened its restrictions on passenger cars, making it too expensive for most private citizens to keep them up.

Though the Amtrak excursions ended, the cars remained as the core of the present collection.[2] At that point the goal of the museum changed and now focuses on the preservation of the equipment. Tom Holley, former chairman of the board, stated "Now the primary purpose of the museum is the collection of the equipment that belonged to the seven railroads then entered Cincinnati."

Pennsylvania Railroad E8 locomotive #5888 has been undergoing restoration for the past few years. A "theatrical" baggage car (the Juliet, one of 47 built by the Pennsy between 1917 and 1922) sits on the track beside the locomotive and will serve as a mobile staging area for the renovation. The museum also has a large collection of Pullman-Standard cars including the Metropolitan View built in 1938 for the PRR's Broadway Limited, and a BM70nb railway post office (PRR #6518) modernized for the same train.[3]

Some of the other equipment includes former PRR #9408, an EMD SW1 switcher,[4] a preserved Dinky, Brookville BMD 15-ton switcher,[5] former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad modern lightweight coach the La Paz, a preserved troop sleeper, an early Southern Railway business car, and former RI #428 (El Comedor) dining car.[6]

The museum is located at 315 Southern Avenue in the Latonia area of Covington.[7]

Rolling stock

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Diesel locomotives
Image Operator Road Number Class Model Date Notes
  Pennsylvania Railroad 5888 EP-22 EMD E8 1951 Undergoing restoration
  Pennsylvania Railroad 9408 ES-6 EMD SW1 1950
Passenger cars
Image Operator Road Number Class Type Manufacturer Date Notes
Pennsylvania Railroad 6518 BM70nb Railway Post Office PRR 1912 Fully equipped with sorting racks
cancellation tables, parcel bins
Pennsylvania Railroad 6062 Juliet B70A Baggage car PRR 1928 Used for the transportation of Theatrical scenery
Pullman Company
Pennsylvania Railroad
Waltersburg Plan 3410A 12-1 sleeping car Pullman 1924
Pullman Company
Pennsylvania Railroad
Cascade Gardens Plan 4072B 10-5 sleeping car Pullman-Standard 1939
Pullman Company
Pennsylvania Railroad
Cascade Heights Plan 4072C 10-5 sleeping car Pullman-Standard 1940
Pullman Company
Pennsylvania Railroad
Metropolitan View Plan 4080A 1-2 sleeper buffet-lounge-observation car Pullman-Standard 1938
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 5503 La Paz Coach Pullman-Standard 1949 Built for B&O streamliner The Columbian
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 3315 Chicago Tavern-Lounge-Observation car Pullman-Standard 1949 Built for B&O streamliner The Columbian

References

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  1. ^ Felix Winternitz & Sacha DeVroomen Bellman (2007). Insiders' Guide to Cincinnati. Globe Pequot. p. 146. ISBN 9780762741809. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
  2. ^ Eigelbach, Kevin (2002-03-19). "All aboard". The Cincinnati Post. E. W. Scripps Company. Archived from the original on 2004-11-14.
  3. ^ "A PRR Home Page: Railfanning: Passenger Cars". Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
  4. ^ "Preserved Diesels". www.ole.net. Archived from the original on February 25, 2006.
  5. ^ "Preserved Critters Dinkys & Centercabs".
  6. ^ Day, Teresa (January 30, 2005). Fun With the Family Kentucky: Hundreds of Ideas for Day Trips with the Kids. Globe Pequot. p. 61. ISBN 9780762734900. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  7. ^ "Cincinnati Railway Museum". Retrieved 2014-03-22.
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39°02′53″N 84°30′29″W / 39.048069°N 84.508166°W / 39.048069; -84.508166