How funny is that? I found what appears to be two Barney and Smith coaches in a town called Pullman.

Anyhow, I just moved into my dorm at Washington State University, and was exploring downtown a couple days ago. I took the long way back to campus, and, while talking to a friend on the phone, accidentally stumbled across these two gems.

They appear to be Barney and Smith coaches, and I'm guessing they're at least 100 years old this year. Why am I so sure? Because the museum I volunteer at has two cars very similar, if not identical, to these two cars. The two at the museum were 1912 Barney and Smith coaches owned by the SP&S, which were built towards the end of wood coach construction. Two railroads once ran through Pullman, WA. One was the Union Pacific, and the other was the Northern Pacific. The U.P. would have had Harriman cars, so I'm going to guess that these two cars are of Northern Pacific heritage (I know that the N.P. did have some wood Barney and Smith coaches).

These cars now seem to be used as someone's residence or outbuilding. I noticed potted plants inside one of the windows. These cars could even belong to one of the Greek residences. I'm guessing that, when they were retired, these two were used as a diner for awhile, judging by the way they've been set up. The cars seem quite complete. Almost all of the windows are intact (including the stained glass windows), and even the marker light brackets are still there.

I don't know if the wheels are still there, but it seems to me that these two cars would make excellent preservation canidates. For now, though, they seem to be pretty well cared for with that brand new false roof.