BOYERTOWN PA – Restoration for a new life began during 2024 at the Colebrookdale Railroad, 64 S. Washington St., on a railcar that already has enjoyed five additional lives.
Refurbishment is under way on what Colebrookdale researchers say is Wheeling and Lake Erie Coach 021, built in 1888 by the Wisconsin-based Pullman Standard Company. Information about the 136-year-old vehicle was reported in the railroad’s monthly newsletter.
Coach 021 has had a storied history, according to research details still being collected by Colebrookdale. It was rebuilt in 1901, 13 years after its creation, as Parlor Car 045. Only seven years later, in 1908, it was transformed into a car of private ownership, named the “Huron.” Another rebuild occurred in 1912, when the car was lengthened, and renamed in 1915 as the “Wandle.”
Then, in 1924, Wandle was fitted with a steel underframe, and also was fitted with another name: the “Cleveland.” In 1927 it was lengthened once more, and later was transferred to a commercial carrier known as the Nickle Plate Road.
When that rail company merged in 1964, into what eventually became Norfolk Southern Corporation, the Cleveland was donated to the Indiana Transportation Museum. “The Colebrookdale saved the car from demolition,” its newsletter reports, when it obtained the Cleveland in 2021.
Restoration Work Will Continue
Photos published in the newsletter:
- Provided by David Duncan and Kevin Johnston (at center), “show the car in its glory days,” it notes;
- A photo taken last November (2023; above), published on the Facebook page of Historical Review of Berks County Editor Charles J. Adams III, depicts how the car was transported from Indiana to Pennsylvania; and
- Recent photos (at top) taken by Robert Hart Sr. show the initial stages of the roof’s restoration.
The restorers’ work is expected to continue through 2025.
Photos provided to Travels With The Post by the Colebrookdale Railroad newsletter
Photos by Charles J. Adams III from his Facebook page
About This Feature
“The Year Past, The Year Ahead” is an annual feature of The Post Publications. Its online-only media services include Travels With The Post; two public Facebook Groups, Pottstown Foodie and Pottstown Arts Cultural Alliance; and seven Facebook Pages, including The Sanatoga Post and The Pottstown Post.
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