Passenger
CAR 15
Background & History
Built for Reading Company President Agnew T. Dice, the Reading Company took delivery of what would be the carriers last Official (or business) car from Bethlehem Steel in 1924. Classed PVd and numbered 15, the car was of classic heavyweight construction with a light weight of 172,300 lbs. and measuring 83’ 4-1/2 “ in length. The interior layout consisted of an observation lounge, two state rooms with a common shower, one porter/chef room with shower, a common toilet room, a dining room, a secretary’s room with desk, a pantry, and a kitchen. Refrigeration was ice activated and cooking was by coal stove. A Baker hot water heater and a 4kw on board generator was installed to light and heat the car independently if need be.
The interior rooms were partitioned with 1” Lumber-core Quartered Sapele Mahogany with matching Mahogany trim. The state rooms would later be painted ivory to help brighten up the spaces. Ceiling fans with integral circulators cooled the lounge, staterooms, and dining room. Wall mounted fans did the same for the pantry and kitchen.
Car 15 in its original clerestory roof configuration.
(Photo Courtesy of Pennsylvania Photos Ny, NY)
Car 15 after being reconfigured and updated with a humpbacked roof. Hard to see the two-toned green paint scheme. (Photo Courtesy of Reading Company from the collection of Howard Pincus – RCT&HS Archives)
In 1947 Car 15 was modernized using many of the techniques applied to the Schuylkill, King Coal, and Wall Street upgraded passenger car pool. The car debuted the two-tone green paint scheme that would later be used on the in-house rebuilt streamlined equipment. Dual pane sealed windows and a mechanical air conditioning and ventilation system were added along with an updated electrical system. These additions and changes required the blower location to be moved to the ceiling at the center of the car. It was decided that the electricals and ductwork would run on the lower part of the original clerestory roof and get covered with sheet steel, giving the roof a unique humpbacked appearance. The modernization pushed the weight of the car to 194,120 lbs. In 1953 the kitchen and pantry ice cooled refrigeration system was replaced with a mechanical version and parts of the stainless steel interior were updated. Curiously, the coal fired stove and ovens remained.
In 1964 the Reading sold Car 15 to Mr. Philip Goldman and the car was moved to California. On June 1 it was placed on the rear of the Erie Lackawanna’s Phoebe Snow to Dearborn station in Chicago, then transferred to the Sante Fe for forwarding to Los Angeles on the Grand Canyon. All of the lettering, numbering, dishes, silverware, glassware, food service inventory, linens, and some furniture would be removed by the railroad before shipment.
Sometime after arriving in California, Mr Goldman named the car Henry E Huntington. Henry was the nephew of Collis P Huntington and later the founder of the Pacific Electric. The Goldman’s used the car on several west coast trips until 1969, after which the car moved to various shops and storage locations in the Santa Barbara CA area. In 1989 Philip met eventual car manager Rudy Morgenfruh and mechanical upgrades to full Amtrak requirements were initiated in 1992 under the direction of Rudy and Harold Schroeder at the Trans Texas Rail Shop in San Antonio. A lighter two-toned green paint scheme with a silver roof was applied.
Car 15 in storage at the Outer Station in Reading, PA shortly before being sold. (Photo Courtesy of Lee Staub from the Michael Smith Collection.)
Car 15 at the Trans Texas Rail facility in San Antonio circa 1997. (Photo Courtesy of Rudy Morgenfruh from his collection.)
The Motion picture role for Car 15 happened in 2000 when a clip was filmed using the lounge interior for remake of the movie Pearl Harbor. The Goldman’s made a few private trips plus the annual trip to the AAPRCO convention until MR. Goldman’s health began failing. He would pass away in 2007 and a year later, Mrs. Goldman decided to donate the car to the RCT&HS and have it moved from San Antonio to Philadelphia via New Orleans and Chicago on scheduled Amtrak trains with invited guests and Rudy aboard. An article on the trip entitled “Going Home” was written by Karl Zimmerman and published in the August 2009 issue of “Trains” magazine. The car arrived in Philadelphia and sat in Amtrak’s Race St. coachyard while the Society sought a storage site.
Initially Bennet Levin housed the car at his North Philadelphia warehouse alongside Pennsylvania office car 120, then it was moved to the Whippany Railroad Museum in New Jersey. Space was found closer to home in a fenced in lot near CP West Laurel (PA) close to the Blue Mountain & Reading interchange until it was sent to the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg, PA along with some other ex-RDG cars in 2012.
Car 15 at the Race Street Coachyard awaiting storage by RCT&HS. (Photo Courtesy of Dave Homer from his collection.)
Interior of Car 15’s Dining Room after clean-up by RCT&HS volunteers. (Photo Courtesy of Kevin Painter)
In 2017 an effort was started to repair the leaking roof to preserve the fabulous mahogany interior. Private car enthusiasts from across the country helped volunteers learn how the car could be lit and what maintenance it needed. A “Reading Company Business Car #15” Facebook page was created to keep interested observers aware of progress with our goals.
We started a CAR 15 fundraising drive with a goal of returning the car to the 1947 Reading Company paint scheme. A milestone was reached when the Society had a pole building designed and built to house some of our most precious equipment. In 2022, we were finally able to get Car 15 under roof.
Initially Bennet Levin housed the car at his North Philadelphia warehouse alongside Pennsylvania office car 120, then it was moved to the Whippany Railroad Museum in New Jersey. Space was found closer to home in a fenced in lot near CP West Laurel (PA) close to the Blue Mountain & Reading interchange until it was sent to the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg, PA along with some other ex-RDG cars in 2012.
Car 15 currently sits inside the Railcar Protection Building at the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum. Much work has already been done in the preparation for a full paint restoration to its original 1947 two-tone green paint scheme.
(Photo courtesy of Kevin Painter, Car 15 Restoration Chairman.)