Landrum, S.C., has received a $200,000 grant toward refurbishing a former Southern Railway passenger car for use as the Landrum Rail and History Museum. The $200,000 grant from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism will cover about half the cost of restoring the Pacolet River, a 10-roomette, six-bedroom sleeper built by Pullman Standard in 1949 for Southern’s Crescent Limited.

https://www.goupstate.com/news/20200404 ... nt-funding

Not to be too negative, but this has lots of potential for disaster. A passenger car sitting outside? Wonder how it will look 10 years from now?

I wonder if the Pacolet River is all stainless, or stainless sheathing over carbon steel. If it's the latter, then outside display is not the best option in the long-term.

Sister car Warrior River was owned and operated by the NRHS chapter in my city until about 10(?) years ago when it was destroyed in a derailment. They kept it outside and it seemed no worse for wear.

Pacolet River sounds familiar to me. In the late 1960s the Southern and the Southern Pacific began operating a through 10-6 sleeper using the Crescent and the Sunset passenger trains. I was a college student at that time and got up early to see the first through west-bound sleeper at the SP Alhambra depot (one stop out of Los Angeles UPT). I do think it was Pacolet River as I looked it up in a Gazetteer to get the pronouncement of the name.

My consist notes are box up at this time.

Further research indicates that the SR "River" series cars were stainless fluting over stainless sheets with a carbon steel structure, rather than stainless fluting over the cor-ten steel sheets that cause so much corrosion trouble. An intermediate step for Pullman-Standard, which apparently didn't make a 100% stainless-steel car until the mid-1950s.

According to Wayner, Pacolet River, SR 2008, was built by Pullman-Standard in 1949 in Lot 6814 to Plan 4140 for service in the Crescent Limited. These would have had conventional steel structure with stainless steel sheathing.

The Crescent Limited operated between NY Penn Station and New Orleans via PRR-Wash-SR-Atlanta-A&WP-West Point-WofA-Montgomery-L&N. The Plan 4140 cars in Lot 6814 intended for the Crescent included eight for PRR, sixteen for SR, one car each for A&WP and WofA, and two for L&N. All were named for rivers.

This Crescent Limited predates the Claytor-era Southern Crescent which inherited the Southerner's route and operated between Washington and New Orleans via an all-Southern route via Birmingham. Penn Central and Amtrak provided connecting service with through cars between NY and Washington. Many of the 4140 cars were refurbished by SR for this service.

Phil Mulligan

A 10 roomette - 6 bedroom car is a challenge for tour guides. Suggestions:

The concept that you dressed in your Sunday best when traveling in the coaches, and even more so by Pullman car, is worlds away from travel nowadays.

Each roomette could be made up with period clothing, toiletries, pajamas/lingerie tastefully draped over something, maybe even mannequins, to show how people traveled when the car was new.

Adjoining bedrooms that can be connected by folding the partition wall back are great for small guided tour groups. Have some bedrooms made up for nighttime, with period "furnishings", and some for day travel.

The tour guide ideally would be in Pullman porter uniform, and must be able to speak frankly and honestly about the travails and financial rewards experienced by Pullman porters.

- Doug Debs

RRMPA has a walkway where you can look into heavyweight Pullman Lotos Club (8S, Rest-Lnge) with one section made up for night and the others in day configuration. The car itself is not open but there's a raised walkway and visitors look in the windows. There are signs explaining what you are seeing.

Here's the floorplan for the 4140 10-6 cars. The cars assigned to Crescent service have the … River names, on the left below the drawing. The SR cars were built in the same lot.

http://prr.railfan.net/diagrams/PRRdiag ... &sz=sm&fr=

Phil Mulligan

The Union Pacific advertisements in the late 1950s and the 1960s are interesting to note. I recall see these in magazines like National Geographic. By example would be the views in the passengers in the dome cars of the coach section or the dome lounge used by the Pullman passengers. The male Pullman passengers were in coat and tie (maybe a sport coat, but still with a tie) and the women were similarly upscale. The coach passengers would be dressed in what we might call today "office casual."

Nowadays the guy sitting next to you in coach (airplane or train) is in shorts, flip flops, a dirty sleeveless muscle shirt, asleep with his arms over his head, and his hairy pits showing. If you're lucky he's showered this week.

Interesting that according to the floor plan, Pullman built these cars somewhat differently than Budd built their 10-6 sleepers that became part of the Amtrak Heritage fleet. The UP and Santa Fe Budd ones had the roomettes at the vestibule, or "B" end of the car, while the Pullman ones had the bedrooms there.

Landrum SC is on the SR line between Spartanburg and Asheville via Saluda.

An April 1962 Official Guide shows trains passed through Landrum but stopped at Tryon NC, 3.6 miles West of Landrum. 28-29 included a 10-6 Pullman between Chicago and Charleston (NYC Big Four Route between Chicago and Cincinnati).

All of SR's 10-6 cars were plan 4140 from Lot 6814 so Pullman Pacolet River probably passed through Landrum in revenue service.

The North Pacolet River has its source near Saluda and the SR follows the river down the grade. It flows near Tryon and Landrum.

Phil Mulligan

This is not about the Southern; but the Western Railway museum has the Circumnavigators Club by Pullman. I have guided tours through this car which has a full compliment of Pullman finery.

The car is not open except for guided tours of Car Barn Three.

Ted Miles, WRM Member and Docent

Circumnavigators Club is a near-sister to Lotos Club at RRMPA.

Both are 8S Restaurant-Lounge cars rebuilt in the 1930's from older heavyweight cars.

Circumnavigators Club is plan 4025, rebuilt in 1932 from 16S car Brady. Lotos Club is Plan 4025D, rebuilt in 1936 from 10S Observation car El Quivera.

Another near-sister is Kitchi Gammi Club, which has been in PV service and is another 8S Restaurant-Lounge car, Plan 4025H, rebuilt in 1937 from 10S Observation car Mountain View. It has been modified since its Pullman days.

Here's Kitchi Gammi Club's history page.

http://www.virginiarail.com/history

Phil Mulligan