Diplomat rail coach has storied history

Recently the Diplomat, a Pullman rail car that has been in Parksley since the late 80s, was pulled out of town by a tractor trailer.

The Diplomat, a heavyweight parlor and observation car, was built in 1927 by the Pullman Company. The car, plan #3957 was designed to have 25 seats and drawing rooms, weighing about 80 tons and 85 feet long. It was owned by the Wabash Railroad located in the mid-section of the United States with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. Diplomat was the rear observation car of the famous Wabash Cannonball train.

The car was remodeled in the late 1940s and renamed the City of Danville. It stayed in service until Norfolk and Western Railway converted it into a maintenance  0f way car. It was used as a kitchen and bunk car for MOW crews.

In the late 80s the car was donated to the Town of Parksley VA, and the Eastern Shore Railway Museum by the Norfolk and Western Railroad with the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. John T Williams, the owners of Williams Funeral Home in Parksley.

The Eastern Shore Railway Museum located in Parksley VA. is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1988 with a charter membership of almost 150 members. Shortly thereafter, the Delmarva Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society was formed with 30 to 40 members from Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. Their mission was to support the museum by helping with track and rolling stock owned by the museum.

With the help of the three local railroads, Eastern Shore Railroad/Bay Coast Railroad, Maryland and Delaware Railroad and Conrail, the museum and chapter ran spring and fall excursions all over the Delmarva peninsula. The Diplomat was used as the commissary car on all the trips. The chapter used the proceeds made on these trips to help maintain and restore the car. During that time the chapter purchased the Diplomat from the museum with the goal of restoring it to its original configuration; however, as time went on, the cost of liability insurance and FRA restrictions caused a halt to the excursions.

In 2018 the Bay Coast Railroad was closed permanently, subsequently, the city of Cape Charles began disposing of cars and remnants of the railroad. It was the determination of the chapter that the Diplomat would suffer this same fate in the future. In order to save the car, it was donated to the Colebrookdale Railroad in Boyertown Pennsylvania who is rebuilding the car for use on its line. We are sorry to see the car leave but our feelings are that it was the only way it could be saved.

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