about ELDCPS > frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are the cars currently located?
"Home" for our cars is the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad in Scranton, Penn. Pullman City of Lima is in Scranton, Diners 741 and 770 are at Mid American Car in Kansas City, Mo, and Diner 469 is in Collierville, Tenn. Arrangements are being made to have all three diners shipped east in 2011.
Can I see the cars in person?
At the current time, Diners 741 and 770 are on private property, and are not accessible by the public. Pullman City of Lima can be seen at Steamtown National Park, although the interior cannot be accessed at this time. Diner 469 is on display in Collierville, Tenn., but the interior cannot be accessed. When completed, all cars will be placed on public display several times throughout the year. We will try and update this website with photos of the cars as the restorations continue.
IMPORTANT: For safety considerations, there is no access—neither to ELDCPS members nor to the general public—to our cars at this time. The cars are located in working railroad yard and shop facilities where railroad equipment and locomotives are subject to unannounced movement at any time. Any accident or personal injury in trying to access our cars on railroad property would have severe repercussions for ELDCPS, and could effect our ability to store or continue the restoration on railroad property.
It is our intention to make the cars available first to our members and then the general public at scheduled intervals, during and after the restoration.
Who is paying for the restorations?
The work is made possible by the generous support of the public sector; private foundations; our members and supporters through direct donations; and merchandise sales from the ELDCPS store. ELDCPS is federally-recognized 501c3 not-for-profit educational organization, and all funds raised by ELDCPS go towards the restoration of our cars and development of educational programs centered on the cars.
Why do you own a Nickel Plate Road sleeper?
City of Lima and other Nickel Plate Road passenger cars were an integral part of the Lackawanna's (and later, EL's) marketing strategy. The DL&W only ran as far as Buffalo, N.Y. The Nickel Plate ran from Buffalo to Chicago and St. Louis. By partnering their services, both railroads were able to provide passenger services competitive with railroads like the Erie, the New York Central and Pennsylvania... something that they would otherwise not have been able to provide.
We were offered City of Lima as a donation in 2003, and graciously accepted. Not only did we receive a car in great condition, we received a car that was a regular part of both the DL&W and Erie Lackawanna's long-distance trains from 1950-1963 in Hoboken-Buffalo-Chicago through-service.
Why purchase Diner 770 if you are not going to immediately restore it?
ELDCPS was originally formed to acquire Diner 770. When American Orient Express outbid ELDCPS for the car in 2001, we proceeded with alternate plans and pursued Diner 741. We then proceeded with our full commitment to restoration efforts on Diner 741.
Several years later, the AOE decided they no longer needed Diner 770, and offered us the opportunity to purchase Diner 770 from them. We concluded that such a significant part of Lackawanna history should not elude us again. We also decided it would not be prudent to split our limited resources among several cars at once. Therefore, immediate work on 770 would be limited to stabilizing the car for storage; any further restoration would be pending completion of Diner 741. Our members agreed, and donations to cover the costs of acquiring Diner 770—and moving it halfway across the country—flowed into ELDCPS in a gratifyingly short time. We were able to make arrangements for safe long-term storage of the car, and in so doing allowed ELDCPS to both focus its efforts on the completion of Diner 741, and have Diner 770 in place for restoration as circumstances allow.
When we purchased Diner 469 in 2010, it was already closer to operation than any other of our cars, which is why Diner 770 remains in place holding for restoration.