I was recently contacted via my web site (www.csa-railroads.com) by a couple in the Cleburne, Texas area who claim they have 2 cars that the previous land owner (a railroad employee) told them had been used by the South in the Civil War. They are interested in getting more information about them and possibly giving them to a railroad or museum that might want them.

The cars themselves are not on a track, nor are they on wheels. They sit side by side and a barn was built over them. The bodies are intact, but they have had one end of them removed. They both have an end with the door still intact. The original colored or stained glass windows go all around the tops and are intact, as well as the ceilings. They are empty inside. They were obviously fancy when they were made, but they have had everything removed from inside, perhaps to fill them with troops or cargo.

Anyone interested, please contact me at davebrt@aol.com.

davebrt@aol.com

Could you post some photos here? I have found that what people think the cars are, and what they are in actuality are often two different things. If these cars are 1850s-1860s this could be a significant discovery!

> I was recently contacted via my web site
> (www.csa-railroads.com) by a couple in the
> Cleburne, Texas area who claim they have 2
> cars that the previous land owner (a
> railroad employee) told them had been used
> by the South in the Civil War. They are
> interested in getting more information about
> them and possibly giving them to a railroad
> or museum that might want them.

> The cars themselves are not on a track, nor
> are they on wheels. They sit side by side
> and a barn was built over them. The bodies
> are intact, but they have had one end of
> them removed. They both have an end with the
> door still intact. The original colored or
> stained glass windows go all around the tops
> and are intact, as well as the ceilings.
> They are empty inside. They were obviously
> fancy when they were made, but they have had
> everything removed from inside, perhaps to
> fill them with troops or cargo.

> Anyone interested, please contact me at
> davebrt@aol.com.

> Could you post some photos here? I have
> found that what people think the cars are,
> and what they are in actuality are often two
> different things. If these cars are
> 1850s-1860s this could be a significant
> discovery!

I have to agree. I have found that the average non-railfan often describes any car that is wood with platforms is referred to as either "Civil Ware Era," or "from the Old West." Pictures would make the difference.

TJG


Port Huron Museum
tjgaffney@phmuseum.org

Truly doubt this claim for a number of reasons. During the Civil War, the nearest rail line to the current-day Santa Fe town of Cleburne (named for a famous Confederate leader) would have been in Deep East Texas or near Houston.

> I was recently contacted via my web site
> (www.csa-railroads.com) by a couple in the
> Cleburne, Texas area who claim they have 2
> cars that the previous land owner (a
> railroad employee) told them had been used
> by the South in the Civil War. They are
> interested in getting more information about
> them and possibly giving them to a railroad
> or museum that might want them.

> The cars themselves are not on a track, nor
> are they on wheels. They sit side by side
> and a barn was built over them. The bodies
> are intact, but they have had one end of
> them removed. They both have an end with the
> door still intact. The original colored or
> stained glass windows go all around the tops
> and are intact, as well as the ceilings.
> They are empty inside. They were obviously
> fancy when they were made, but they have had
> everything removed from inside, perhaps to
> fill them with troops or cargo.

> Anyone interested, please contact me at
> davebrt@aol.com.

Well I think it would be worth a look at least; as others have said, a couple of rolls of film will tell the tale to a qualified person (of which there are several on this board).
> I was recently contacted via my web site
> (www.csa-railroads.com) by a couple in the
> Cleburne, Texas area who claim they have 2
> cars that the previous land owner (a
> railroad employee) told them had been used
> by the South in the Civil War. They are
> interested in getting more information about
> them and possibly giving them to a railroad
> or museum that might want them.

> The cars themselves are not on a track, nor
> are they on wheels. They sit side by side
> and a barn was built over them. The bodies
> are intact, but they have had one end of
> them removed. They both have an end with the
> door still intact. The original colored or
> stained glass windows go all around the tops
> and are intact, as well as the ceilings.
> They are empty inside. They were obviously
> fancy when they were made, but they have had
> everything removed from inside, perhaps to
> fill them with troops or cargo.

> Anyone interested, please contact me at
> davebrt@aol.com.

I could be all wet here, but I don't believe clerestory or monitor rofs with lights in art glass were common until after the recent unpleasantness. Will check the archives on Monday if I can and see if i can find a reference.....

Still, nice if they were 1870's era stuff and also well worth looking at. Any idea as to their lineage?

dave

An ad has appeared on railswap.org that sounds very much like these cars. I'm guessing these are the same cars in question.

The cars indeed appear to be old, but with stained glass clerestories more in the 1900 range, and nice to have anyway. An old Santa Fe car is a good possability, but more will be needed to tell.

Clerestories first introduced in 1862 on luxury sleeping cars and became popular in the mid to late 1860s, after the war. Very few cars carried clerestories before 1865, and the form of clerestory first used is a sort of separate island, known as a monitor roof after the famous ironclad turret.

Some Civil War era cars did end up as chicken coops or sheds - I found an 1890s reference to a USMRRds boxcar in an back yard somewhere in the Southwestern US - but these would be an extrememe rarity. I suspect an old AT&SF car or an interurban. Look to see if "Niles & Co." is written someplace on it.

Jim Wilke

woodburner@earthlink.net

Would you be meaning "The war of Northern aggression?" Quickly learned the correct term when living in S.C.

TJG

> I could be all wet here, but I don't believe
> clerestory or monitor rofs with lights in
> art glass were common until after the recent
> unpleasantness. Will check the archives on
> Monday if I can and see if i can find a
> reference.....

> Still, nice if they were 1870's era stuff
> and also well worth looking at. Any idea as
> to their lineage?

> dave


Port Huron Museum
tjgaffney@phmuseum.org

> Would you be meaning "The war of
> Northern aggression?" Quickly learned
> the correct term when living in S.C.

> TJG

Out of respect to you guys freezing up there I used a more politically correct euphemism.

Dave