The Colebrookdale Railroad in Pennsylvania has acquired a historic Pullman car built in 1909 that, since the 1960s, has been part of a restaurant in New Jersey.

The car was built for Utah mining executive Daniel Cowan Jackling and was named “Cyprus” for a number of years. The car later ended up on the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway. In 1967, it was sold to a New Jersey family and for decades was part of The Essex House restaurant in West Orange. The restaurant closed in 2020, and the car was recently put up for sale. The car was moved from New Jersey to the Colebrookdale in June. The Markouris family, who previously owned the car, said they are excited about its future.

“Others reached out to us about this car,” said Tony Markouris, son of the owners, “but it was The Colebrookdale that gave us the confidence that it would be restored and put back in service. We’re proud of the fact that we could preserve it well enough that this will be its end; that we could be the bridge in preserving it between its past and future.”

Railroad officials have said the full restoration could take a few years, but they are confident the car will roll again.

“Passengers will once again be able to ride in this beautiful Victorian car, enjoying a meal just as they would have in days gone by. It’s a reconnection to not only Cyprus’ past, but to our own,” said Nathaniel Guest, founder of the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust.

The car is unique because it marks the transition from building Pullman cars with wood to building them with steel; the car has a steel frame but the body itself is made of wood.

The Colebrookdale Railroad was established in 2014 and operates excursions on a former Reading Company branch line in southeastern Pennsylvania.

—Justin Franz