What Has Happen to the "I LOVE NY" Boxcars?

[CShaveRR]

ATSFGuy

Fresh out of the factory! 

Paint shop, actually...these cars had a prior history as the D&H 29000 series, built by Pullman-Standard in 1965 and 1966.

I'm pretty sure these cars are long gone.  They're past their age limit for revenue service.  Most of them were relettered RGCX (Rio Grande Chemical) by 1994, and a bunch of those were relettered RVSC (Rio Valley Switching Company) in 2002.  The RVSC listing is completely gone now from the Equipment Registers, and the ex-DHNY cars no longer show in the RGCX listing.

[ATSFGuy]

Fresh out of the factory! 

[nyandw]

DHNY #50063 at Fresh Pond, NY "I Love NY" 9/10/1982 Photo: Art Huneke

[spbed]

That is what I have & it they are numbered 50004[:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CShaveRR

The best picture of a DHNY box car I've seen is:

http://gelwood.railfan.net/dh/dhny50101agd.jpg

There are plenty of others on this site. In later years, an "Operation Lifesaver" logo was applied to these cars, in varying colors of fluorescent paint.

A total of 200 cars from the D&H 29000 series were rebuilt and renumbered to DHNY 50000-50199, in 1982.

[dharmon]

DHNY #50000 to 50099 were repainted white and equipped with 4 ft high benches along the sides and upper and lower shackles for transporting aliens from the top secret West Virginia site to camps in Montana. The rest were painted in Conrail markings, had single row shackles for carrying political prisoners to re-education camps in Alaska. On return trips they were used to import voters to Ohio. The two level cars were reported to have caused several unexplained derailments possibly due to high centers of gravity over S curves and were taken out of interchange service in 2005.

[spbed]

The ones I have are from the 80's. I know because I date all my cars & engines & they were bought new not at a train meet. [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CBQ_Guy

Just wondering what year the paint scheme came out and does anyone know of some pics online?

Thanks!

[CShaveRR]

The best picture of a DHNY box car I've seen is:

http://gelwood.railfan.net/dh/dhny50101agd.jpg

There are plenty of others on this site. In later years, an "Operation Lifesaver" logo was applied to these cars, in varying colors of fluorescent paint.

A total of 200 cars from the D&H 29000 series were rebuilt and renumbered to DHNY 50000-50199, in 1982.

[CBQ_Guy]

Just wondering what year the paint scheme came out and does anyone know of some pics online?

Thanks!

[spbed]

Thanks also for your info. Mine are made by Athearn. I was just commenting that in my watching of the Ft. Madison & Rochelle wecams + being at such heay traffic places live Daggett/Riverside/Cajon Pass/Barstow/Colton that one of them would have turned up after seeing so many mainline trains. [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

The whole I love New York thing started as an ad campaign to promote tourism. That was over 20 years ago. New York has been through a lot since then.

Lionel made a model with that paint scheme. It was so popular, people asked them to do different states, so they did. No prototype, but that's Lionel. Some of the cars are pretty ugly. The Minnesota car is awful looking, but I own one anyway. They are still working to round out the 50 states.

Does anyone know how many cars were originally painted that way for New York?

[spbed]

Tks for letting me know they are still out there no matter what #s they may have [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mvlandsw

I saw one on CSX in New Castle Pa. recently. The paint was in bad condition and it had new reporting marks - not DHNY.

[Big_Boy_4005]

The whole I love New York thing started as an ad campaign to promote tourism. That was over 20 years ago. New York has been through a lot since then.

Lionel made a model with that paint scheme. It was so popular, people asked them to do different states, so they did. No prototype, but that's Lionel. Some of the cars are pretty ugly. The Minnesota car is awful looking, but I own one anyway. They are still working to round out the 50 states.

Does anyone know how many cars were originally painted that way for New York?

[mvlandsw]

I saw one on CSX in New Castle Pa. recently. The paint was in bad condition and it had new reporting marks - not DHNY.

[louisnash]

The first and only time that I had ever saw them was about a year or two ago here in Northern KY on NS. I had always seen the model versions but never knew the real thing existed.

Brian (KY)

[spbed]

Thanks for the explanation. With all the train watching via the web cams & personel rail fanning I would have thought I would have come across one or two of them in my travels. [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CShaveRR

NY didn't love 'em back.

Seriously, they've gotten old, and a bunch of them have been retired. There are a few that were transferred to the Georgia Northeastern Railroad (GNRR, same numbers in the 50000 series), and a bunch of them are now operated by the Rio Valley Switching Company (RVSC, same numbers--these were totally repainted).

[CShaveRR]

NY didn't love 'em back.

Seriously, they've gotten old, and a bunch of them have been retired. There are a few that were transferred to the Georgia Northeastern Railroad (GNRR, same numbers in the 50000 series), and a bunch of them are now operated by the Rio Valley Switching Company (RVSC, same numbers--these were totally repainted).

[spbed]

I have not seen nary one either on the webcams or when I am out railfanning. I have a set of them on my HO layout though. [?]