Railcar - Urbana, Ohio |
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This NX23 Railcar was built as a freight boxcar, the X23, in 1913 by the Pennsylvania Railroad shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
During the Second World War, there was a national shortage of cabooses and the Pennsylvania Railroad converted 75 of the X23 boxcars to cabooses and added the letter "N" to the X23. This remodeling included two bay windows, ten round windows, one on each end and four on each side. Also added were a cooking/heating stove, a bunk, a booth, a coal bin, and a set of three lockers.
The cabooses were used by the railroad during the 1950s and 1960s and in the late 1960's the railroad sold two of them to Marion W.
Parks, a local building supply dealer on Miami Street. He used them as an office and for storage. In 1999, the Marion W. Parks family donated these railcars to the Champaign County Preservation Alliance. There was only one of them salvageable and the CCPA working with the Simon Kenton Corridor, the Simon Kenton Pathfinders, the Champaign County Historical Society and the City of Urbana moved the car to its' current location 644 Miami St..
In 2007, the CPA dedicated the railcar and recognized the railcar as the Marion W. Parks Railroad Educational Center.
We welcome classrooms, clubs, and senior groups to schedule a meeting or tour at the railcar.
There are only four NX23s left in the United States and Urbana is fortunate to be the home of this valuable piece of history!
During the Second World War, there was a national shortage of cabooses and the Pennsylvania Railroad converted 75 of the X23 boxcars to cabooses and added the letter "N" to the X23. This remodeling included two bay windows, ten round windows, one on each end and four on each side. Also added were a cooking/heating stove, a bunk, a booth, a coal bin, and a set of three lockers.
The cabooses were used by the railroad during the 1950s and 1960s and in the late 1960's the railroad sold two of them to Marion W.
Parks, a local building supply dealer on Miami Street. He used them as an office and for storage. In 1999, the Marion W. Parks family donated these railcars to the Champaign County Preservation Alliance. There was only one of them salvageable and the CCPA working with the Simon Kenton Corridor, the Simon Kenton Pathfinders, the Champaign County Historical Society and the City of Urbana moved the car to its' current location 644 Miami St..
In 2007, the CPA dedicated the railcar and recognized the railcar as the Marion W. Parks Railroad Educational Center.
We welcome classrooms, clubs, and senior groups to schedule a meeting or tour at the railcar.
There are only four NX23s left in the United States and Urbana is fortunate to be the home of this valuable piece of history!
