Pink "Girls Train" (D&H #38028)

I commute to Albany and afterr work one day I had to get to Schenectady so I took the expressway, which parallels Canadian Pacific's (formerly D&H's) Kenwood Yard. However, traffic is intense in this area and I usually only can take a quick glance at what is in the yard. Sometimes it is chock full of tank cars, sometimes the near tracks are being filled in as the northbound CP train is being made up, but today I saw something different. A pink gondola. After looking for a couple of seconds, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't a red D&H/CP gondola that had faded. No, it really looked pink. And at my distance, I couldn't tell if it had markings. So, after asking online at the Railroad.net forum I was told it was CP's wheelset gondola. Cool! If only I could get a better picture of it. There was a great line of sight from the shoulder on the other side of the expressway and a break in train cars. Unfortunately, I had places to be.

As I drove along I remembered Lionel's "Girl's Train" set. Some history can be found on Lionel's own website (picture from elsewhere online):
When this pastel-colored set was first produced, it was expected to be a favorite toy among girls. Much to everyone’s surprise, demand for this toy was extremely low. Apparently, no one wanted a pink engine and brightly colored freight cars—even girls. The Girl’s Set would surprise everyone again in more recent times. Because only a small number of sets were sold in the 1950’s, collectors find these rare sets extremely desirable. 

The biggest problem was that there never was a prototype for this train, and most girls didn't want to see pastel colored train cars. They wanted trains painted like the real thing. Lionel even made a complimentary "Boy's Train" in blue colors that sold even worse!

I didn't make it back to Kenwood Yard for another five days, and I was worried it would be gone. Happily, it wasn't when I returned on a bright Saturday morning. Sadly, though, my sightlines from the expressway and through the chain link fence were obstructed by freight cars. The shots I took though were somewhat artistic. At this distance, and with my older Kodak digital camera, I never know if the shot is good until later when I review it on my computer. I had to take a couple of hope they worked out. At this distance I still couldn't see the markings very well.

Here is a better shot from a different angle. It is interesting that is marked as a "D&H" car instead of a "CP" car. I like the classy breast cancer awareness ribbon. From what I understand, the car is now used to transport wheelsets and is sometimes stored in Binghamton. I don't know what it was doing in Albany, but it is a pretty neat car and a nice tribute by the railroad to a worthy cause. I guess there really is a "Girl's Train" out there. Compare this gondola to the Lionel one in the picture above. Here are some more pictures online from rrpicturearchives.