Passenger
Reading Company Café-Parlor Car, Class DPa 1189
Background & History
Car 1189 was one of four Class DCe Café-Parlor cars built for the Reading Company in February 1927 by the Pullman Company of Illinois and initially assigned to the Philadelphia-New York service. In 1932, the interior of Car 1189 was reconfigured and its classification changed to DPa. In 1935 the car was air conditioned. In 1949, the 1189 was modernized and assigned to the “King Coal”, the first class train that ran between Philadelphia and Shamokin. The 1189 provided food service for the trip.
In 1952, operation of Car 1189 was cut back to Philadelphia-Pottsville only, although the rest of the “King Coal” continued running all the way to Shamokin. In the summer of 1958, food service on the “King Coal” ended entirely and the 1189 became unassigned. In April 1961, the original stainless steel “Crusader” train set was set aside for repairs and a new train set of standard coaches plus the 1189 was put together as a replacement for the “Crusader.”
The “Crusader” was a first class train running 90 miles between Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal and Jersey City’s Communipaw Terminal, across the river from New York City. It connected to Lower Manhattan via ferry boat. The 1189 continued running on the “Crusader” until 1966 when the train set was replaced by RDC equipment. In 1970, the 1189 was sold to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pa. It remained there until 2014 when the car was offered to the Reading Company Technical & Historical Society (RCT&HS).
1189 sits at Strasburg awaiting the railroad to move it to Paradise for pickup by Norfolk Southern.
(Photo courtesy Don Crabree)
1189 outside the Strasburg shop building where it was prepared for the trip to Hamburg by RCT&HS MP&RE volunteers.
(Photo courtesy Don Crabtree)
The car was moved across the street to the Strasburg Railroad for temporary storage until the car could be moved to Hamburg, PA. Crews from RCT&HS’s Motive Power and Rolling Equipment (MP&RE) group spent several cold winter days at Strasburg making the car movable by rail to Hamburg. By late June 2014, the 1189 was ready and inspected by Norfolk Southern and approved for the move. The car was moved to Leamon Place by the Strasburg Railroad and was later picked up by Norfolk Southern. The car took a very indirect route from Strasburg to Hamburg, being spotted in Harrisburg, Emaus, and Reading. The final leg of the trip to Hamburg was provided by the Reading and Northern Rail Road. The 1189 remains on display at the RCT&HS’s Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg, PA. Plans are to restore it to its former glory.