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 Post subject: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 4:17 pm 

Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:31 am
Posts: 366
Location: Morganton, N.C.
This was sent to me and I am forwarding it for the folks involved to the forum. Hopefully this treasure can yet be saved. I hope I am not violating any rules posting this.

Quote:
Northern Pacific and PNW railway history enthusiasts,

I am helping Richard Anderson of the NWRM in Snoqualmie to get the word out about saving this amazing all-wood NP passenger car. It is rare in the extreme to find one in such complete condition. The issue is a chunk of money needs to be raised quickly in order to move it very soon, before the property owners condemn and destroy it. (It's horrible to consider this happening but that's exactly what is in store for the car in a couple of months.) The total cost to rehabilitate this car, if it can be moved soon, is projected to be far less than the typical restoration these days, due its superior overall condition.

Please, if you can donate to help raise the first chunk of money, contact Richard. His contact info is at the bottom of this message and he is also Cc:ed on this note. And, please forward this email to anyone you know who might have an interest in helping--NP enthusiast or otherwise.

Merry Christmas,

--Kent Sullivan

Quote:
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Anderson [mailto:richard@trainmuseum.org]
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2016 10:14 PM
To: Kent Sullivan <kent@sosufamily.net>
Subject: Northern Pacific parlor car
Importance: High

Dear Kent,

I have always found early 20th Century passenger train fascinating. They were symbols of mobility, affluence, sophistication, wealth, and even technology. A more modern passenger trains are incredible too, but they are reasonably well represented in railway museum and historical society collections around the country. That early 20th Century story is rarely told because there were so few wood or early steel cars that have survived to tell the tale.

In 1901 the Pullman Company delivered two wood parlor cars to the Northern Pacific Railway. The cars purportedly saw service on the North Coast Limited; this is a reasonable assumption because the extra fare cars such as these were purchased and used on the best-equipped trains. These two cars went through a number of minor alterations including an electric light conversion in 1914 and new carpeting in 1926. Both cars were retired in 1940 and while one has disappeared into history, the second car in the series - one that by 1906 was numbered 1799 - found a second use as a cottage on an island in Puget Sound. Surprisingly, it survives today and is depicted in the attached photos.

First, a few words about what an artifact of this vintage can cost to preserve. A recent project was chapel car 5 Messenger of Peace, a Barney and Smith railcar built in 1898. This car was being used as a cottage at Grayland and was located next to an ocean beach. It required extensive rehabilitation at a cost of more than $418,000. A team worked on the car for more than two years; it is now housed inside an exhibit building. The car is not quite complete but when it is costs are expected to exceed $500,000.

Parlor car 1799 is almost completely intact and has nearly all of its interior hardware. Not only is it complete, but it is authentic and stretches almost 80 feet from end to end. Its overall excellent and complete condition represents an advantage over the chapel car that could be worth more than $250,000. However, it is complicated to move a railroad car off an island. A firm that specializes in moving buildings has bid $67,000 to deliver the car to Snoqualmie where it can be preserved, and perhaps even operated.

You might be interested in knowing some of the steps we would take to help sustain the car. Once in King County, the object will be eligible for listing on the King County/City of Snoqualmie Landmarks Register, and when it has wheels and couplers it may also be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Landmarking a property raises awareness, but also conveys eligibility for certain grants. And in the captive environment of a railroad museum, it may be possible to operate the car on a limited basis. It may cost $125,000 to perform some basic rehabilitation, restore the air brake system, and place trucks under the car, but this is a bargain compared to what most preservation work costs.

I hope you can help me spread the word, perhaps even connect me with one or more people who might be able to help preserve this very rare artifact. There are few opportunities to preserve Northern Pacific Railway artifacts from this era and it would be a tragedy to lose this opportunity.

Thank you for your consideration.

Richard R. Anderson
Executive Director
Northwest Railway Museum

http://www.trainmuseum.org


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Passenger Car Photo Index Updated 8/9/17 with 8,402 new links

Interurban Car Photo Index
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Last edited by jmlaboda on Fri Dec 16, 2016 1:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 8:37 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 05, 2013 2:42 am
Posts: 2041
Location: Seattle, WA - Land of Coffee
What a find! My question is, what island is this on? Bainbridge, Vashon, or somewhere else? (I hadn't heard about this car before now, surprisingly.)

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Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 11:32 pm 

Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:31 am
Posts: 366
Location: Morganton, N.C.
Whidbey Island.

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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 11:41 pm 

Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2016 12:23 pm
Posts: 21
Location: Western Washington
Car has been listed on Ozark Mountain since last summer. Asking $55k

http://www.ozarkmountainrailcar.com/det ... r-Car-1799


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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 12:33 am 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:10 am
Posts: 2499
It is a significant car. $55k to purchase and $67k is a bit steep, but not impossible. Is the NWRM leading the effort? Is there a management team and a fund set up? Or is this a hunt for a wealthy investor?

It's tough to know what to do with these "please help" posts, even if you care about the artifact. Recently, I've supported Orion's boxcar and the GTW reefer project in PoHo, MI because I know someone is leading the effort.

What's the course of action the NWRM is asking for?

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Rob


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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 1:24 am 

Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:15 am
Posts: 170
Thanks for all your interest!

The Museum needs just the $67,000 to move the car. It really is a gem but it must move by barge, hopefully later this winter. It is in the path of a development and there is a short window of opportunity. If it was easy, wouldn't everyone be doing it?

Hope this helps,

Richard R. Anderson
Executive Director
Northwest Railway Museum


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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 12:53 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:58 am
Posts: 728
That is one beautiful car, and there could be no better home for it than NWRM.

Sadly, medical retirement pension leaves no margin for charity, but I will definitely be cheering you on and sharing word of your appeal.

Best of luck!

Steve Hunter


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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 3:38 pm 

Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:05 pm
Posts: 1227
About 40 years ago a similar (same?) car was moved to Whidbey Island. It was mounted at a right angle to the bluff with one end at ground level and the other way up in the air. A single pillar under the rear bolster supported most of the car. I wonder if that one is still over there?


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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 11:06 pm 

Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:15 am
Posts: 170
The parlor car recovery project is proceeding!

Northern Pacific Railway parlor car 1799 is located on Whidbey Island in Washington State's Puget Sound. It will soon be moving to the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie in an elaborate move to recover it from the beach. The Museum is incredibly grateful to the owners - the Shaw Family - for their support in making this project possible. Please consider supporting this worthy project during this week's Give BIG charitable giving campaign hosted by the Seattle Foundation

Here is a little more information on the car: http://trainmuseum.blogspot.com/2017/05/saving-pullman-parlor-car.html

Thank you for your consideration.

Richard R. Anderson
Executive Director
Northwest Railway Museum
http://www.trainmuseum.org


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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Wed May 10, 2017 3:07 pm 

Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:15 am
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The Give BIG campaign ends this evening at 11:59 PM! Dozens of people have stepped up to support the project, and a supporter has pledged a $5,000 cash match for any Give BIG contributions received today. So please help make this project a reality by both supporting it directly AND fulfilling the match!

When Parlor car 1799 arrives at the Northwest Railway Museum later this year this incredibly complete 1901-built Pullman will be placed on exhibit in the Train Shed exhibit building - and everyone who rides a regular train here now has an opportunity to walk through the building. Later, following rehabilitation, Parlor car 1799 will also be able to operate on the Museum's railway. It really is a unique opportunity.

Thank you for your consideration. Richard R. Anderson, Executive Director, Northwest Railway Museum

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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 5:57 am 
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Location: Seattle, WA - Land of Coffee
As it gets closer to moving day, should we expect an announcement of when that will take place? And, where will the car be offloaded from the barge? Somewhere in or around Elliott Bay/Port of Seattle, or will it traverse the locks over to Lake Union or Lake Washington first? Thanks in advance!

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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Sun May 14, 2017 1:35 am 

Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 10:40 pm
Posts: 386
Location: San Francisco, CA
As a regular reader here this caught my eye; and made me go look at the Northwest Railway Museum web site.

This museum is just finishing an $8 million building program. When they move the Northern Pacific 1799; it will have a nice dry building to go into.

It is too bad that this museum is not better known; they sure have come a long way from a historic depot and a train ride!

Way to go guys!

Ted Miles, San Francisco


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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Mon May 15, 2017 3:52 pm 

Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:15 am
Posts: 170
Thank you to everyone who supported Give BIG and helped raise more than $13,000 toward to cost of recovering 1799!

Moving day is not yet set - it is something that is evolving with the donor and the permitting requirements for their replacement home. We will try to keep the information current, but we expect things will happen quickly once we have a notice to proceed.

As far as the route, it will be up to the trucking company. It is likely to move by barge because of the narrow, weight-restricted road, but in the end it is their decision. We are happy to have the car move by road and ferry if local permit requirements can be met. As many readers know, moving coaches by road is pretty straight forward once you are on a main highway, but narrow roads and steep hillsides present many challenges.

And thank you Ted Miles for the kind words!

Again, thank you for all the support we have been receiving!

Richard R. Anderson
Executive Director
Northwest Railway Museum


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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 9:56 pm 
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Location: Seattle, WA - Land of Coffee
The #1799 was moved yesterday by barge from its long-time location at Possession Beach on Whidbey Island by barge to Seattle:

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/century-old-railroad-car-crosses-puget-sound/281-547514042

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Ted Brumberg


Last edited by Rainier Rails on Fri Nov 16, 2018 3:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Please help save historic Northern Pacific passenger car
PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 10:18 pm 
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Location: Seattle, WA - Land of Coffee
Official museum blog entry on the move:

https://trainmuseum.blogspot.com/2018/04/putting-wheels-under-parlor-car.html

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Last edited by Rainier Rails on Fri Nov 16, 2018 3:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

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