Society Seeks Funds to Repaint PRR Passenger Car

The Braddock Inn rides on the back of Amtrak’s westbound Cardinal at Charlottesville, Va., in June 2012. It is still wearing its MARC livery. (Photograph by Craig Sanders)

An artist rendering of what Braddock Inn will look like after being repainted into its original Pennsylvania Railroad livery.

The West Virginia-based Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society is seeking to raise money to pay for repainting a passenger car that it owns into the livery of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

The society, based in Huntington, W.Va., owns the Braddock Inn, which was once PRR No. 8246. The group wants to repaint the car into its original colors of Tuscan red, gold and black.

Although it has raised $12,000 in donations, it needs another $20,000. The fundraiser is currently online at http://www.gofundme.com/BraddockInn

“We are hoping to generate $30,000 to repaint the car into its original Pennsylvania colors,” said Joe Rosenthal, the society’s assistant general manager. “We are thankful for the donations we have received so far, and hope to generate the remaining $20,000 to repaint this car for use on public and private passenger excursions.”

Built in 1949 as a roomette-sleeper, it was assigned to the Indianapolis Limited through the 1950s.

The Pennsy subsequently rebuilt the car into a 64-seat coach that it named Peter Schhoenberger. In 1963, the car was painted into a silver stainless steel livery and renumbered 1509.

The car would later run in commuter service for Penn Central, New Jersey Transit and Maryland Area Regional Commuter service. MARC restored the car in 1964 to first class service, operating it as a café-parlor car on commuter runs between Washington, D.C., and Martinsburg, W.Va.

The Huntington Society purchased the car in 2004 for use on its annual New River Train excursions and other trips on Amtrak trains.

Tags: Braddock Inn, Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society, MARC, Maryland Area Regional Commuter Service, Passenger cars, Pennsylvania Railroad passenger cars, Streamliner era passenger cars