Quick Facts:

Model: CR class N20 wide vision caboose
Built: August 1970
Builder: International Car Company, Kenton, OH
Past Owners: Reading, Conrail, CSX Transportation
Current Owner: The Conrail Historical Society, Inc.
Current Location: Erie Turntable, Port Jervis, NY

Caboose No. 22130 standard International Car Company “wide vision” caboose was one of 20 identical cars built for the Reading Company in 1970, and it originally wore RDG No. 94103. On April 1, 1976, ten of these cars (Nos. 94100 to 94109) were conveyed to Conrail as class N-20, while the other ten (Nos. 94110 to 94119) were conveyed to the Delaware & Hudson.

Renumbered out of order, the former Reading No. 94103 became Conrail class car No. 22130, and it was painted Conrail blue in June of 1976 at Conrail’s shop in Meadville, PA. This car wore a unique variant of Conrail’s standard caboose scheme; it was the only N-20 class caboose to have the “CONRAIL” lettering placed along the roofline, rather than just above the road number as specified in Conrail’s painting diagrams.

On December 31, 1979, the Federal Railroad Administration mandated that all cabooses would be required to be retrofitted with FRA Type II bulletproof glass by June 30, 1984. Since steel was cheaper than the specialized glass, Conrail opted to remove and plate over any unnecessary windows on their cabooses. The No. 22130 was no exception, and the car lost two of its three windows per side and one of the two windows on each end. The car was not repainted, but was simply spot painted where new plates were welded over the old window openings.

The No. 22130 was conveyed to CSX Transportation in the 1999 split-up of Conrail with Norfolk Southern. Re-stenciled as NYC No. 22130 to avoid numbering conflicts with cars already on the CSX roster, the car was transferred to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to live out the remainder of its years as a shoving platform on local jobs in the area. All of its remaining windows were plated over by CSX.

In 2018, members of The Conrail Historical Society began a dialogue with CSX Transportation regarding the future of this car, by then the only remaining N-20 on the CSX roster. In early 2019, CSX pledged the donation of the car to The CRHS once it was removed from active service.

The car remained in service for CSX for 21 years - almost as long as its 23-year life in Conrail service. However, in its 44 years of service after being conveyed to Conrail, the car never received another coat of paint, and it wore its original 1976 Conrail blue until it was finally retired from active CSX service in the summer of 2020.

CSX Transportation donated the No. 22130 to The CRHS in August of 2020, and also donated the required mechanical inspections and repairs and the transportation of the car from Tennessee to New Jersey. The car was subsequently moved to the Delaware, Lackawaxen & Stourbridge Railroad on October 3-4, 2020 for temporary storage. It was moved to the Erie Turntable in Port Jervis, NY on November 17, 2023, where it is now on display. The #22130 will eventually be fully restored to Conrail blue by CRHS volunteers and contractors.

This project, and other new initiatives like it, are funded solely by the generosity of our members and supporters. Please consider a donation to The CRHS so that we may continue to preserve Conrail history!