Folks,
The Mid Continent Railway Museum has raised money to move a wonderful wooden sleeping car to North Freedom.

Several lake side summer cottages have been taken to museums; but this one is in great condition. For details and pictures go to the Mid Continent web site under the news section.

Is there any word on if the car has been moved to the
museum yet?

ted66

Amazing! 80 years outside and it's in great shape. The luxurious interior looks as if it was never used. Congratulations!

Alan

This is truly a historical fairy tale come true. To find the car in near original condition with the interior nearly 90-95% intact in great condition with all the hardware. Looks like a movie prop it is so nice. Then to have a sister car, same year, same builder, made to almost identical specs who is willing to donate/transplant all the missing "hard parts" and who knows what else is a match made in heaven. The best ending one could hope for. And the donor car is almost an eye sore and MC wants to free up track space. Everybody wins on this one.

To me the stories incredible part is the car used as a cabin was passed down through the family over the years. As time marches on nobody desecrated the car by adding modern conveniences or just painted a cabin or two to match the desires of a family member at or during the long time use as a cabin. Think chrome and Formica replacing the varnished walls. The family that preserved this car for all these years are truly the heroes of this story. Check out the web site for pics, well worth the looksee.

Regards, John.

Great to see another wooden car preserved. Here in Tucson, Old Pueblo Trolley has acquired an ex-Southern Pacific wooden outside braced boxcar that was last used in maintenance of way service. The car was donated by a local business that was closing and will be moved to our new shop in the near future. The car is sans trucks but has all of the interior storage equipment still in place. Our plans are to restore it sans trucks, as many MOW cars were converted to buildings and use it to store and display our MOW tools.

There is another wood business car of similar background, Oregon Short Line 1903 at the Holiday Inn, West Yellowstone, listed as part of the Branch Restaurant on the premises. It was gifted to a former officer of the railroad, E. C. Manson, on his retirement in 1935. The Pullman Library has supplied some drawings for the car. I have been in it and all features work, including the pull-down lamps in the sleeping quarters. The interior marquetry is fabulous. It is worth a visit if you are in the area, in this tourist town (in summer) at the western portal of Yellowstone National Park. The Oregon Short Line proceeded north from Ogden Utah through Pocatello Idaho, passed the reservoir in Mountain Home - the right of way still visible, and into Montana via West Yellowstone. There are some other railroad artifacts in West Yellowstone. In Pocatello, the local history museum has a display of a few OSL railroad items. Originally it was a narrow gauge railroad, then was converted overnight to standard gauge. Some of the railroad history has been covered previously in posts here.
Sincerely, Ted Anderson at the IRM's Pullman Library

This has to be seen to be (dis)believed.





More at http://www.midcontinent.org/dssa-sleepi ... thumbnails

I just made my donation. A very worthy cause.

p.s.
Please, please, please, tell me you have a fire protection system at the museum

Which car are they thinking of using as a parts donor, I can see a few from the same era with three axle trucks here:
http://www.midcontinent.org/equipment-r ... nger-cars/

The donor car is the Soo Line 1257. The trucks have already been removed from under the car. It is currently sitting on shop trucks.

Ed

That would be the Soo Line #1257 which was privately owned at MC, but acquired for the project. The trucks are already out from under it and parts are being removed at this time both interior and exterior. The restoration dept {car shop} recently posted elsewhere that they have removed windows, a couple of bunks and associated hardware for both this project and others that will be in need. The plan last I heard was to get the trucks ready to go under the "Duluth" car so when it arrives it will go directly on the trucks that she will be using. Not as involved as I would like to be, maybe check out MC Facebook page. Maybe more info there? I don't do face book so can't say if there is or not? Wooden cars are not my thing but this just intrigues me that the "Duluth" car is so original condition at this late date and a poor restoration choice is going to good use as the donor. Hope this helps. Regards, John.

Thanks for the info, yeah, a car that was a bunk car won't have much original equipment on the inside.

I saw that car early this year in a real estate listing near Hancock, Mi on the west shore of Lake Superior. I thought it looked rather remarkable, but all that was shown in the ad was the one shot of the exterior side view. The ad made no mention that emphasized the car, its excellent original condition, or its history. It was just a property with a cottage on the Lake.

At this point, no....mld