Lancaster, Oxford & Southern Gas Motor Car #10, fresh from a recent refurbishment, sits idle on a siding at East Strasburg Depot on an evening in early July. This critter is truly one of the gems in the impressive collection of equipment now owned by the Strasburg Railroad. This car has a very long history and to say that it has "been around" is a bit of an understatement. It was built as a wooden combine for the narrow gauge LO&S back in 1885. Around 1915, it was converted to its present configuration as a self-propelled car in the LO&S Shops. Later, it was converted to standard gauge and served for years on the Grasse River Railroad in northern New York. When that railroad ceased operations, it was acquired by the Strasburg Railroad, but didn't immediately run there. Strasburg leased it to the Wolfeboro Railroad, a steam tourist line in New Hampshire, where it was restored in the early 70s and ran until about 1979. Strasburg then leased it for use at the newly developed Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts, where it ran for a couple of years, before being replaced with a fleet of electric trolleys. Motormen from Lowell who remember this car say it was referred to as "The Whistler". After its stint in Lowell, it returned to Strasburg, where extensive work has been done on it. It now plies "The Road to Paradise" during the line's "Thomas the Tank Engine" events as well as during off-season months when passenger extras supplement a limited steam schedule.
