Equipment Roster
Moultrie Lightweight Dining Car
HISTORY
In March and April of 1950, Pullman-Standard produced ten 36-seat dining cars with the following names: Atlanta, Birmingham, Cordele, Fitzgerald, Greenville, La Grange, Moultrie, Plant City, Talladega, and Tarboro. In May of that year, the RF&P received the 36-seat diner Henrico completed by the same car builder. Also in 1950, the Florida East Coast Railroad took delivery of two P-S built diners of the same series, the Fort Ribault and the Fort Drum. The body shell for one additional car of this type was built by Pullman-Standard in 1957. This work was completed at Atlantic Coast Line shops in December 1959 and the car was named Naples.
The Moultrie, originally owned by the ACL, operated on New York to Miami trains until 1971. With the formation of AMTRAK, the diner continued Florida service until 1981 when AMTRAK sold the car to a short-line dinner train operation in Virginia. The Watauga Valley Chapter NRHS purchased the car in 1989, completely upgrading the mechanical systems to AMTRAK standards and fully renovating the interior.
The builder’s photo of the Moultrie may be seen in the Official Pullman-Standard Library, volume 7, Southeast Railroads. The Moultrie was selected out of the ten diners noted above to carry the builder’s photo for Pullman-Standard.
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Powhatan Arrow 539 Coach
HISTORY
In April of 1946, the Norfolk & Western Railway ordered ten 58-seat coaches for the Powhatan Arrow and Pocahontas from Pullman-Standard. The cars were delivered from October through December of 1949. They were built with smooth sides and painted in N&W’s tuscan red and black. Car numbers were numbered 531 to 540. Out of the ten cars in this series, eight cars are still in some type of operation. The Powhatan Arrow 539 operated between Cincinnati, Ohio and Norfolk, Virginia. After the N&W passenger service was discontinued in 1971, the car was put into commuter service in Chicago for several years and then retired for storage until 1982 when N&W selected 539 for operation in the Norfolk Southern Steam Program. In 1992, the Watauga Valley Chapter NRHS received the 539 from NS and completely restored this beautiful example of the glory days of rail passenger service.
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Clinchfield 500 Coach
HISTORY
The Clinchfield 500 was built in 1954 by Pullman-Standard for the Florida East Coast Railroad and named the St. Augustine along with three others: Coca-Rockledge, Hollywood, and Miami. The Clinchfield 500 saw service on the Dixie Land route between Chicago and Miami. The car also saw service on the New York to Florida train until 1971. With the formation of AMTRAK, the Clinchfield 500 continued operation on trains out of Chicago, New York, and Florida. In 1981, AMTRAK sold the car to a short line tourist operation in Virginia. The Watauga Valley Chapter NRHS purchased the car in 1986, completely upgraded the mechanical system to AMTRAK standards, and fully renovated the interior.
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Other Historic Railroad Cars
CLINCHFIELD 5586 - This box car was built April, 1954 for the Clinchfield Railroad. It was in road service on the former Clinchfield until 1978 till it became a grocery salvage car for a food distributor in Johnson City, TN for cross town switching. #5586 was retired in 1986 and was headed to scrap line by CSXT. In 1988 the chapter contacted the railroad about the possibility of selling the box car to the WATV. The railroad agreed and the car was sandblasted and repainted by Corbin Rail Service in Erwin, TN to its original Clinchfield levy before its trip back to Jonesborough in 1988. The #5586 services as the chapters work shop at the Spring St. Coach Yard today.
VIRGINIAN 322 - The VGN 322 was built for the Virginian Railroad and operated on Virginian mainline from Princeton, WV to the Tidewater of Norfolk, VA. After the N&W and Virginian Merger IN 1957, the 322 was cutback to local mine run service out of Princeton. In 1984 the Norfolk Southern decided to retire the caboose and put it into Storage. The 322 was donated to Watauga Valley Chapter in 1988 and was shipped to Jonesborough, TN. The WATV sold the VGN 322 to the Roanoke Chapter NRHS in 2005 for a display piece at the Roanoke Virginian Passenger Station Restoration project.
C&O 903103 - This caboose was built in 1968 for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and Used system wide on all kinds of different trains. In 1978, the 903103 was selected to be part of nine cabooses selected to be repainted as an orange "HANDLE WITH CARE" Caboose to make employees handle their freight in a careful matter. In 1986 the caboose was put in the storage line in Louisville, KY awaiting disposition by CSXT. The railroad sold the 903103 to WATV in 1989 and it services as the Chapters office at the Jonesborough Coach Yard.
SOUTHERN X450 - The X450 was built in 1970 by Garant Corp in Spartanburg SC for the Southern Railway. The X450 was in service all over the Southern Railway system. 1990 the Norfolk Southern, who inherited the caboose, decided to retire it. It was donated to the Morristown TN Waste Treatment Center. The Waste Treatment Center took it to make a classroom on environmental issues. The classroom was never established and the caboose set for years being vandalized The WATV approached the Morristown Waste Management Center in 2005 and purchased the caboose. It was moved to Jonesborough via flatbed trailer. The caboose is presently under restoration.
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