New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroad rail-dining car

New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroad rail-dining car number 953 was built in June, 1949, by Pullman Standard for the New Haven, a large railroad in southern New England. It could seat fourty-eight passengers for meals, and included the kitchen and bar at one end and the dining area at the other. The grill diner was a simple, less formal alternative to a full dining cart. To improve the ride quality, these cars were equipped with six-wheel trucks instead of the more common four-wheel trucks. When the New Haven was merged with Penn Central in 1969, the 953 was included, and when Congress created the Conrail in 1976 to bail out Penn Central and four other bankrupt Northeastern railroads, 953 went along. It was then used in maintenance service until it was donated to the museum in 1997 as part of Conrail’s donation of the Selkirk New York Wrecker Train.