Just to clarify, this is just for the crew, right? And there was a conventional shower elsewhere on these cars?

Steve

This had to be very invigorating in the winter months. A vestibule isn't exactly the most weather-tight area on a passenger car.

I assume it was moved here for space reasons. I have seen how some RRs on their business cars blocked off half of the vestibule for a storage locker, but have never seen a shower in one, especially since it's almost out in the open.

By the way Mr. Levin, if there is anyone that should be sending anyone Stag beer, I should be sending it to you. It's available by the truckload here in the St. Louis area.

Yep...this was for the crew as there is a lovely shower bath in the body of the car for the occupants. Now...a few PVs and railroad business cars were built sans showers for the occupants. The Southern's #100 (built for Samuel Spencer) was one...can we name another?

Did somebody say Stag??? Nothing refreshes from a long day of zombie fighting like an icee cold Stag.

T7

Former Soo Line business car #54 now at Orange Empire Railway Museum has a shower set up in its vestibule. The head is mounted on the vestibule ceiling.

Brian, We like and welcome this information about the SOO 54. Could you get and post some photos of this shower set-up for comparrison and discussion?

We would also like to see a sample photo of the Rosewood interior. I have always thought the SOO car at IRM (I think?) had a Rosewood interior. We termites are always interested in exotic woods.

T7

Doubtful, since the only Soo passenger car at IRM is a common day coach built by Pullman in 1905 for the Wisconsin Central, sister to this car at Mid-Continent:



Link to info:
http://www.mcrwy.com/collectn/woodpas/wc63.html

I think you are thinking of the Soo Line business car MOT is trying to deassession:

MINNEAPOLIS, ST. PAUL,AND SAULT STE. MARIE (“Soo Line”) #49
Office Car 1911
Builder: Barney & Smith
Car has steel underframe; wood sides with steel sheathing.

Yes...the car at MOT. I might be able to scrounge a picture of the interior up here somewhere. It looks all the world like Rosewood to me in the pictures...although the description says "Mahogany". Rosewood is such a precious commodity these days that the car might be worth it's weight in resuable wood. It really is in poor shape.

T7

This looks like it could be rosewood on SOO 47. The color is hard to judge with all the varnish and dark conditions. The grain is interesting...very curly...so I will not assume it is mahogany without more information. If the other SOO car definatly has rosewood, well that would be too much of a coincidence for me.
T7

Maybe the person who wrote the note referred to in the original post was being hunted down because he knew where a stock of rosewood was located?

I'm also thinking how much fun it may have been trying to stay standing up when taking a shower on a moving train. That water must have been freezing to the vestibule floor during the winter, then add in more water pouring over the ice, finally add in the motion.........and taking a shower should have been an olympic sport!

I have never seen a soap dish on one of these IC vestibule showers. Imagine the inhumanity of having to shower without a soap dish.

Soap dishes, zombies, shrinkage...just not a good situation any way you look at it.

T7

Is it possible the reason for these vestibule showers was to wash off the muddy boots of the staff and other visitors to the car before they entered? Sort of a mud room. When on working inspection trips, business cars were not always spotted adjacent to paved sidewalks! After all when the Division Superintendent wants to give the local trainmaster a tongue lashing and calls him in on the carpet, maybe he didn't want to end up with a muddy carpet

Well...my response to that is that there simply was no other shower available to the crews. Here is what I think was going on...all of these IC cars had a similar floor plan...a modernized design that was somwhat unconventional compared to other cars. I think they redesigned those cars and simply used the space usually set aside for a crew shower in order to implement their floorplan. The shower...had to go somewhere so they simply put it in that location. I have to wonder how often those showers were used anyway...how often was a man on those cars long enough to need a shower? And furthermore, people just did not shower as often back then as they do now days.

Now a word about dirty shoes...cars had canvas runners on them to protect the carpet from "yardmen" (Pullman's word) passing through the cars. If you look at the builders photos you can usually see these runners in place. These were kept in the cars and could be laid down when needed.

T7

How much of the car is wood? I presume the underframe is steel and the superstructure is all wood, with some sheet metal sheathing applied in 1929.

Steve

Would it be plausable to consider that the shower may have been added just to satisfy some sort of union agreement that the car have a shower for crews? Perhaps, due to the unique service provided by these cars, it was believed that shower would be used infrequently. Thus, the shower was located where no one would use it just to satisfy the union's agreement. Is there evidence of extensive rust around these showers on any of the cars?

Stephen Piwowarski
Berkshire Scenic Railway Muserum, Inc.