| The Pullman car was found in 1981 and purchased in November of 1983 by Mr. Curtis Andrews and transported from Los Angeles to Tucson, Arizona for mechanical rebuilding of the car's undercarriage to make it rail-worthy. The mechanical restoration included purchase and installation of newer trucks (the part of a railroad car which has the axles), which were once used under World War II army hospital cars . The car also received a new brake system for its six axles and a 45 page engineering analysis. After rebuilding in Arizona, the car traveled to Spokane, Washington via Amtrack and the final leg from Spokane to Bruce, Washington, a railroad siding and industrial site just east of Othello. The tradition of numbering this class of railroad cars had changed to giving the cars names, so this car was renamed the Abraham Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln's antiquated elegance is not only rare, but it is also the oldest operational car in America. This attests to the knowledge of the early steel engineers, the attitude to make something last, and the desire for quality. |
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Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust. This old wooden car was photographed by Guy Haglund near St. Cloud Minnesota. (click on photograph to enlarge) |
Why have we made restoring this car such a priority in our lives? We have compiled a list of all known business cars in the United States which were built before 1931 and have been assigned an Amtrak AMTK 800000 numbers, and when possible a link to more information about that car. Please click here to open this list on a new page and when reviewing this list, please remember that, like the steam engine, private railroad cars and business cars are another era which is forever gone. You may notice that the Abraham Lincoln (800013) and the Dixie (800171) are the only 1910 business cars left in the US. The status of many of these cars is unknown and it is quite likely that some of these cars have been destroyed or are beyond restoration. The extensive restoration of the Abraham Lincoln has returned it to the simple elegance of the 1920s.
A private list of all railroad cars which have been assigned an Amtrack number may be found at www.movie-trains.com |
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| Interested in mechanical and interior details of our Pullman railroad car? Check out our Mechanical Details page. |
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| Links in this color open a new window to an external website |
