Photo by Mike Hartman

Following its formal service life, this four-axle, steel-underframe, wood coach was placed at Wayne Junction and used as a women's washroom. The car came to the WK&S in the '60s or early '70s and was placed on the back track behind Kempton Station. The car was a static display as part of an ill-fated historical museum. This collection of "museum" equipment on the backtrack also included 0-4-0 Cooke locomotive #3, CNJ business car #98, B&O coach #X4111 and LNE caboose #512. Car #1055 was intended to house museum displays although I'm not sure that it ever did. The car was in bad shape. It was still fitted with washroom plumbing fixtures and had been damaged by a burst steam pipe. By 1978 the museum was gone and #1055 was moved to the upper passing track. It continued to deteriorate at the mercy of the weather and even suffered some minor fires from the passing steam trains. There was some talk of converting #1055 to a roofed open observation car, but that was deemed too much work and the plans never materialized. Around 1990 the car was offered to the Strasburg Railroad and they took it. Once at Strasburg the old P&R coach was torn down to the frame and rebuilt as Strasburg's "Susquehanna". The pictures below depict #1055 making its final move on the WK&S. A newly acquired Whitcomb shoves #1055 the short distance south from Kempton yard to downtown Kempton in preparation to be trucked to the Strasburg Railroad.

Photo by Mike Hartman

Photo by Mike Hartman

Photo by Mike Hartman

Photo by Jeff Slupski
This picture shows #1055 in its current life at the Stasburg Railroad on August 10, 2008. What a come back! I believe this picture was taken soon after the car was refurbished for the second time since its arrival at Strasburg.