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Our Scenic Excursion Train railcars consist of three coaches, a concession car, a locomotive and an operating caboose. One or more railcars may be missing today due to scheduled maintenance.
The first three railcars are 1917-built Delaware Lackawanna & Western (D.L. & W.) self-propelled commuter cars #4308, #4315 & #4317, that were used in and out of Manhattan. In 1930 these very same railcars were among a group passenger cars retrofitted with the first ever electric service to be provided on a railroad passenger car. Thomas A. Edison directed the electrical conversion.
On September 3, 1930 electrical operations on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western’s Hoboken and Montclair, New Jersey line were inaugurated. A special ten car train carrying railroad officers and their guests made the initial trip between the two points using these three railcars. Among the group of approximately 300 guests onboard the inaugural trip was Thomas A. Edison. The electrical propulsion systems were designed by Mr. Edison and Edison was the engineer on the first regularly scheduled train in and out of New York using these railcars.
These passenger cars were in continuous use up and until they were purchased by this railroad in 1986. As you see them today, the cars look much like their 1930 state, after the installation of this first-ever electrical service in a railcar. The primary exception being the newly added windows and toilets. All of these cars still have the original motorman’s controls.
While this railcar is a standard clestory 1920’s baggage car, the Walled Lake Scenic Railway has converted GTW #220 into a 36-person open air lounge and commissary car and has decorated its interior with large railroad photos, antiques and station signs from US and English railroads.
This caboose was built for a local historic railroad that was owned by Morton Salt of Canada and nicknamed “The Doctor Route”. The P.D. & H. was incorporated on September 1, 1917 and it built a 19.1 mile railroad from Port Huron to Marine City Michigan to move salt. The line was sold to the Chessie System (now CSX Transportation) on December 13, 1984. Very little exists today in the way of equipment, artifacts and other history from this small historic Michigan railroad.
Originally built and delivered to the Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) in 1960 and sold to our railroad in 1986. This locomotive has the unique feature of factory built upper marker lights.