There has been a lot written here about steel Pullman cars. But not much about wooden ones. My question is what was the newest wooden Pullman built car?

I know of a late example at the Illinois Railway museum. It is the Wisconsin Central #67 later Soo #67.

In 1929, the car was placed on a siding at Allenton or Allentown, Wisconsin to act as the station building. It closed in 1971 and was donated to Union.

As far as I know, the car is displayed in one of the museum's car barns.

Ted Miles, IRM Member

Looking through Barger's volumes, the last cars of the wood era were built in 1911-1912 for the New Haven. And these were not for the most part sleepers, but parlors. (Also worth noting, by that very late date, new wood cars had steel underframes as-built.)

Lot #3821, built in March 1911, under New Haven ownership until sold to Pullman as of 12/31/12 (this was due to the restrictions specifying no wood cars in the tunnels leading to Grand Central). 2 Plan/layout variants in the Lot.

Plan #2494 (later changed to #3275 on 12/31/12), 36 chair parlor, 12 cars, scrapped between January 1932 and February 1937.

Plan #2494 (later changed to #3277 on 12/31/12), 32 chair parlor-1DR, 2 cars, scrapped between March 1932 and February 1937.

3 Lots, #4045-#4047, December 1912. Each Lot had a different Plan and therefore a different layout. All cars in these 3 Lots built for assignment to the New Haven.

Lot #4045, Plan #2671, 32 chair parlor-1DR, 4 cars, all retired by 1937.

Lot #4046, Plan #2672, 24 chair parlor-1DR-buffet, 3 cars, 1 car retired by 1931, 1 car retired in 1931, and 1 car retired by 1937.

Lot #4047, Plan #2673, 14S-1DR sleeper, 5 cars, all scrapped between October 1932 and May 1933.

But before these very late examples, most of the last wood cars that Pullman produced were in the 1907 timeframe, with a few more late Lots in 1910. In 1910-1911, all-steel production had started in earnest. It is interesting then that the New Haven would order wood-and-steel cars that late, especially as those brand new cars become "obsolete" that quickly with that particular railroad's needs/requirements (see the above note about the restrictions put in place re: Grand Central).

Santa Fe was buying from Pullman steel-frame, wood-bodied passenger cars in 1910-12 time period. Coaches, diners, and parlor observations were among the types purchased.

These cars not only had a steel underframes, but also steel carlines and sidewall framing with a horizontal steel panel beneath the windows. Reportedly the Santa Fe thought that a wood body would provide better heat insulation through the Southwest.

I am thinking that there may have been similar Pullman sleepers built at this time period for the use on the Santa Fe.

In 1913 Santa Fe was buying all-steel cars for its passenger fleet. Some of the Santa Fe 1910-1912 purchases later had steel platting applied over the wood siding.