New Haven 3844 Wooden Baggage Car

Built by the New Haven’s own shop at New Haven, completed on October 11, 1903 as number 3011, a carriage car (as in “horse and carriage”). The car went through a rebuilding program at Readville, emerging as the 3844 on December 15, 1927. With a steel underframe and steel trucks, it was used on most secondary lines of the New Haven into the late 1950s. Renumbered W-305 at Boston in 1961, it entered work train service. Purchased by the RMNE in January 1972 for the paltry sum of $125.00, the car arrived at Essex to become the “Seat Bag”, used primarily for the storage of seats. Emptied of seats and signal tower parts during 1990, awaiting restoration.