Just what is this car in front of CVRR #81?

MWB I believe you are correct. I used google to see if I could find pictures of any other poling cars. Look at the poling car close to the bottom of the article in the link below. Same setup with the mechanism on that car.

http://industrialscenery.blogs...g-railroad-cars.html

Martin, that is indeed a poling car and it is used for moving cars on the track adjacent to the one the locomotive is on.  The white pole is supported at a height that matches up with poling pockets on the car ends and it is pivoted in the middle so that it can pull or push a car on the next track.  Using a poling car was much less dangerous than having a brakeman hold a loose pole in between the loco and car.  PRR had quite a few of them back in the day.

Bob posted:

Martin, that is indeed a poling car and it is used for moving cars on the track adjacent to the one the locomotive is on.  The white pole is supported at a height that matches up with poling pockets on the car ends and it is pivoted in the middle so that it can pull or push a car on the next track.  Using a poling car was much less dangerous than having a brakeman hold a loose pole in between the loco and car.  PRR had quite a few of them back in the day.

Excellent!  There are so very few photos of anything but engines for the CVRR that anything else in a photo is something rather special. 

I would not have thought that the pivot for a pole in the middle of the car would have been strong enough for this purpose, but then that's something I've learned now.

Ok it looks just like a PRR SA class poling car! 

http://prr.railfan.net/diagram...ll&sz=sm&fr=

Now, I can actually build a model of this car.

is this the Central Vermont? I looked on a fallen flags website and they had no engines lower than 107 or any poling car.

the photos are a treasure.

Cumberland Valley RR

Thanks. the site that I was on didn't list that one at all. CRC Cumberland RY and Coal and Cumberland Mine RR. Only a few pics for those.

Marty,

The car in question is a PRR class SA poling car with a center pivot point so the pole can be used in a forward or reverse movement. The pole pivot was a bracket attached to the car side-sill with a control rod extending up to above the car deck for manual alignment. 

In Wayner's 1969 book Pennsy Car Plans there is a drawing of a classs S-5 car with a similar poling mechanism but a larger crew cabin. the car is 25'-6" over end sills  and has 14'-6" truck centers with a 5'-6" wheelbase.

Now you can build two.

Buzz