Allentown, PA rail car - can you help ID and date it?

It's NYC, or at least the trucks are.

If you find out any more information, please let me know. 

Montclaire, thanks for the input on the NYC trucks.  Can you elaborate any?  I'm woefully unfamiliar with truck variants, but I have found photographs and at least one description that suggest that the CNJ and NYC rail cars were quite similar.  Here are some examples:

"Part 2: Passenger Cars" of this S Scale NYC topic mentions that the 70-foot heavy weight CNJ cars could pass for NYC -- from the site:

And the real thing, Pullmans, I believe:

It's hard to tell because of the shadows, but it looks like the Banana Joe coach's trucks have more of an inverted "V" shape to them than the "U shape shown in these CNJ photos.  Also the Banana Joe's trucks -- or what's visible -- looks lighter weight than the CNJ examples.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Tomlinson Run Railroad

The trucks are actually cast for NYC - NYC A6373 and NYCS A6373.  Those casting numbers were also found under another car dating from approx 1929.  So again, the trucks are NYC.  If they are original to the road or to the car, I do not know.  

The car was used as a kitchen when the station was converted to a restaurant, as there was no kitchen in the station. There was a third car that was located on the other side of the building. I think it was demolished sometime in the 1990s. I remember visiting the site and seeing nothing but the concrete slab on top of the trucks. I know the cars were placed there sometime after all the tracks were removed. They used the ex LV rails to get the cars as close to the building as possible, then used a bulldozer to pull the cars, steel wheels and all, into position. The cars were what someone could buy, and not specific to the Allentown or Lehigh Valley area. I'll see if I can dig up any specifics on them.

Chris

LVHR

Montclaire posted:

The trucks are actually cast for NYC - NYC A6373 and NYCS A6373.  Those casting numbers were also found under another car dating from approx 1929.  So again, the trucks are NYC.  If they are original to the road or to the car, I do not know.  

Thanks very much for the clarification, Montclaire.  The approximate date fits my ballpark guess for this car.   I found a lone mention to A6373 trucks on the web.  For those interested, here's an excerpt from railroad.net about A6373 trucks, which are on the so-called "FDR" car (not!) that sits on a track under the Waldorf Astoria.  I know I've seen videos of it here and there. The Penn Central reference is interesting:

    "The info I have is that is was built in 1929 and the previous number was PC 28216.
     ...
     The Trucks were repacked on 9/85 in NWP
     The big bagage doors have 3 windows in large leaf and 2 in smaller door leaf, the other door is a 4 window door.
     The truck castings read NYC A6373 ..."

TRRR

Chris/LVHR,

It looks like our two posts just "crossed in the mail".  Thanks for what sounds like a very interesting eye-witness account and background on how the Banana's rail car was moved into place.   You mentioned it was used as a kitchen.  Now, looking more closely at the row of silver roof vents, it does look like they could be centered somewhat over the car to serve that purpose.  One photo shows the windows uncovered, 'however.

Given that Banana's was a national chain restaurant, it wouldn't be surprising if the company just bought a car that was available and not necessarily specific to Allentown.  (Later, I'll submit a post on another rundown Pennsylvania Banana Joe's rail station restaurant with several more decorative rail cars.)

You mentioned a "third" car, so there must have been a second car somewhere, too.   My research only turned up this one, but it's pretty well hidden by the roof via aerial views.  Thanks for any additional specifics you might locate.

TRRR

The station started out as the Gingerbread Man in 1980 or 1981. Then became the Depot in 1987 after being closed a few years. Then closed again, and became B&G Station in the 90’s. Then Jillian’s, Banana Joe’s, and Bananas. I live near Allentown and rode the 765 excursion when it came to the area a few years ago. The station was run down and derelict before it was restored as a restaurant between its closing in 1967 as a CNJ train station and 1979. Fun fact, the CNJ RS3 #1554 that was on some recent Steamtown excursions and ran at Jim Thorpe for Rail Tours to the mid-late 1980’s was the locomotive that pulled the final CNJ passenger train from Allentown to NJ in 1967. Why does one photo show awful graffiti on the coach but the other photos no graffiti? Are the non graffiti photos newer or older? Why do youth (black?) who have time on their hands feel the need to tag everything regardless of historical value? Happens more in urban areas.

Robert K, thanks for your excellent clues and fine memories of the CNJ RS3.  I've no time for further investigation this morning, but this newpaper article from 1982 says that Dick Phelan, the owner of the Gingerbread Man, brought the three railcars to the station (1981).  

A photo of the nearby Carlisle, PA Gingerbread Man shows the same "Spirit Merchant and Grocer" phrase on that building and an over all green paint scheme that we see in Allentown during the Bananas/Banana Joe's years.  Apparently, Dick had an artist brother Joseph [correction].  Perhaps he did the fanciful filigre work on the remaining railcar even in the later years??  

Based on the lightening rod (?) that is present in one vestible photo, and then gone in the other, I'd say that the black, white, and red filigre is likely the earlier paint job.  Then, the car was repainted and the filigre simplified by the use of gold paint and the number was left off.  At one point, the windows were boarded but then I think they were unboarded for the second paint job.  That's just my guess from studying the photos previously. 

Looking forward to investigating your leads soon. Thanks again for posting.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

I hope the station is saved or bought. It would be a shame if it were torn down. And the coach, if the graffiti is still there I hope it can be cleaned up. Some people have no respect for private property and things that are historical. The Lehigh Valley station that was next to the Hamilton Street bridge was razed in 1972, 2 years before I was born. Last LV pass train was Feb 1961.

Best chance would probably be the R&N.  

Heavyweight passenger cars are not cheap these days, its possible this car doesn't have a new home because nobody knows about it.