It was now time to go outside.
Tennessee Central dome coach 9400, ex. Nashville Eastern 9400 1995, exx. Amtrak 9400:2, exxx. Amtrak 9478, nee Northern Pacific 551 built by Budd Company in 1954.
Tennessee Central 48-seat coach 4719, ex. Amtrak 4719 1980, exx. Amtrak 4853 1971, nee Santa Fe 2841 built by Budd Company in 1953.
Tennessee Central power car 514, ex. Broadway Dinner Train 514, ex. Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific maintenance-of-way 96511, nee Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Post Office built by Budd in 1954. It was purchased by the museum in 2000.
Tennessee Central power car 1354, ex. Amtrak baggage car 1354, nee United States Army kitchen car 89610 built by St. Louis Car Company in 1953.
Southern Railway 10-6 sleeper 2008, ex. Ken Olsten, exx. New Georgia Railroad 1985, exxx. Al Nippert-Gator Rail 1982, exxxx. Amtrak 2853 1979, nee Southern 2008 "Pacolet River" built by Pullman-Standard in 1949.
TCRX F7A 819, nee Bessemer & Lake Erie 719, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1952..
Louisville and Nashville GP7 405, ex. Kentucky and West Tennessee 300, ex. Seaboard System 2302, nee Louisville and Nashville 2302, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1951. By 1981, the L&N's name would be absorbed into the newly- branded Family Lines System, ushering in a new numbering pattern for locomotives. The Geep would soldier on until retirement from the subsequently formed CSX Transportation in the late 1980's, and even then would still be moving freight on the Kentucky and West Tennessee short line. Finally, the unit would be donated to Tennessee Central Railroad Museum in November 2000, where volunteers would spend the following twelve years restoring and rechristening the Geep to its original identity.
Larry's Truck and Electric F7A 715, nee Bessemer & Lake Erie 715, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1952.
Amtrak F40PH 258 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1977.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy E9A 9912, ex. Metra E9AM 9912 "Village of Brookfield", exx. West Suburban Mass Transit Districtt 1972, exxx. Burlington Northern 9982 1970, nee Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 9987B built by Electro-Motive Division in 1955. After its commuter service career, it was retired in July 1992 and purchased by the Nashville & Eastern for a proposed commuter operation, but was replaced by an EMD F40 before operations commenced.
Nashville and Eastern B23-7 4257, ex. BNSF 4257, nee Santa Fe 6400 built by General Electric in 1980.
Nashville and Eastern B23-7 4228, ex. BNSF 4228, nee Santa Fe 6371 built by General Electric in 1980.
Louisville and Nashville 70 ton switcher 125 built by General Electric in 1948. It was later sold to Tropicana as their 98 and is privately-owned today.
Tennessee Central wooden caboose with cupola 9857 built by Mount Vernon Car Company in the early 1920's. After serving the Florida East Coast Railway for almost a decade of service, many of these cabooses were put up for auction and sold to various shortlines all over the country. The Tennessee Central Railway picked up a handful of these types in 1937 and used them on the rear of freight trains through Nashville, either eastbound to Harriman, Tennessee or westbound to Hopkinsville, Kentucky. When the TC closed in 1968, 9857 would be relocated to the Nashville suburb of Antioch shortly after the railroad's demise, and would be a backyard display for several decades before being repatriated back to home rails in August 2000.
Southern bay window caboose X358 built by Gantt Manufacturing in 1974 and was the museum's first piece of equipment, acquired in 1992.
Nashville & Eastern power car 409, ex. Norfolk and Western 160, nee Wabash baggage car 454 built by St. Louis Car Company in 1934.
Tennessee Central wooden observation car 102 "Palm Beach", nee Pullman five bedroom private car built by the company in 1916. It was acquired by Tennessee Central Railway in 1942 then the Nashville Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in 1968.
Chesapeake and Ohio extended-vision caboose built by International Car in 1969
Huron Central coach 4806, ex. Hardin Southern 4806, exx. Cuyahoga Valley 4806, exxx. Mad River and Nickel Plate Historical Society 4806, exxxx. Golden Age Railway Equipment 4806 "City of Huron" 1983, exxxxx. Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority 4806 1978, exxxxxx. Grand Trunk Western 4806 1969, nee Union Pacific 5467 built by American Car and Foundry in 1954.
Nashville & Eastern U36B 5772, nee Seaboard Coast Line 1822 built by General Electric in 1971.
Tennessee Central slumbercoach 2093 "Silver Repose", ex. Amtrak 2023, nee Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 2093 built by Budd Company in 1956. The unusual window configuration is the result of the design of the single bedrooms. The floor height is staggered on alternating rooms to squeeze the maximum number of single bedrooms into a minimum amount of space, resulting in small but private sleeping car accommodations that were priced only slightly above regular coach seating. 42 persons can be accomodated in 24 single and 8 double bedrooms.
After serving for many years on Burlington's Zephyrs, the car was bought and used by Amtrak until finally being retired. The Museum purchased car 2095 in the late 1990's and used it primarily for crew sleeping accomodations on overnight trips.
Tennessee Central Railway coach 4802, ex. Lake Central Railtours 4802, exx. Hardin Southern 4802, exxx. Cuyahoga Valley 4802, exxxx. Mad River and Nickel Plate Historical Society 4802, exxxxx. Golden Age Railway Equipment 4802 1983, exxxxxx. Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority 4802 1978, exxxxxxx. Grand Trunk Western 4802 1969, nee Union Pacific 5455 built by American Car and Foundry in 1954.
Illinois Central caboose 9380 built by the railroad in 1972.
Tennessee Central 54-seat coach 7628, ex. Amtrak Clocker coach 4827 1983, exx. Amtrak 4714 1971, nee Santa Fe 2835 built by Budd Company in 1953. The coach was originally intended to serve the Chicago-Los Angeles El Capitan streamliner, which only lasted for three years. The car and its siblings were placed in the general pool, meaning that the car would appear on any train wherever it was needed. When the Santa Fe handed its service over to Amtrak in 1971, the car was renumbered 4714 and incorporated into their Heritage Fleet, eventually rebuilt with Head End Power in 1983. It was also during this rebuild when more seating was added for expanded capacity on the Northeast Corridor's "Clockers"; the high speed express runs between New York City and Washington DC in three hours. After a couple of more renumberings, and eventually made redundant by newer equipment, 7628 was purchased by the museum in 2003 and has served dutifully on our excursion trains since.
Tennessee Central dining car 8519, ex. Amtrak standard diner 8519 1981, exx. Amtrak 8330 1971, exxx. Penn Central 4550, nee New York Central diner-grill 450 built by Budd Company in 1948. The car's illustrious fifty-plus-year career abruptly came to an end on May 6th, 2003 in Hinesville, Georgia, when Amtrak's Silver Star collided with a tractor trailer and derailed on impact. 8519 was retired shortly thereafter and resided at the company's shops in Beech Grove, Indiana until being purchased by TCRM in early 2007. With minor repairs made, the car entered service on our trains the following year and has run faithfully ever sense.
Tennessee Central bufffet-diner-lounge 3113, ex. Amtak buffet-diner-lounge (with electric piano) 3113 1971, Southern Pacific French Quarter lounge car 2992 built by Budd Company in 1950. It served on the Sunset Limited between New Orleans and Los Angeles and in Amtrak service, served on various trains throughout the network, eventually settling on the Montrealer between New York City and Montreal, northbound on Fridays and returning on Sundays. It was dubbed the "Le Pub" and hosted a nightly disco party. Following retirement, this car was purchased by a TCRM member and was refurbished for use on our trains, still sporting many of its original Amtrak features.
Tennessee Central 48-seat coach 4711, ex. Amtrak 4711 1980, exx. Amtrak 4857 1971, nee Santa Fe 2845 built by Budd Company in 1953. It was intended to serve the Chicago-Los Angeles El Capitan streamliner, which only lasted for three years. The car and its siblings were placed into the general pool, meaning that the car would appear on any train wherever it was needed. When the Santa Fe handed its service over to Amtrak in 1971, the car was renumbered 4857 and incorporated into their Heritage Fleet. Eventually made redundant by newer equipment, the car was put up for auction and purchased by the museum in 1995. 4711 has served dutifully on our excursion trains since.
Tennessee Central 48-seat coach 4717, ex. Amtrak 4717 1980, exx. Amtrak 4825 1971, nee Santa Fe 2833 built by Budd Company in 1953. It was intended to serve the Chicago-Los Angeles El Capitan streamliner, which only lasted for three years. The car and its siblings were placed in the general pool, meaning that the car would appear on any train wherever it was needed. When the Santa Fe handed its service over to Amtrak in 1971, the car was renumbered 4825 and incorporated into their Heritage Fleet, being rebuilt with Head End Power in 1980. Eventually made redundant by newer equipment, 4717 was purchased by the Tennessee Southern Railway, who used it in their own excursion service before coming to the museum in 1995 and has served dutifully on our excursion trains since.
Tennessee Central E8A 6902, ex. New Georgia Railroad 6902, exx. New Jersey Transit 4251, exxx. Penn Central 4327, exxxx. Penn Central 4084 nee New York Central 4084, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1953.
In memory of Bill Cawthon Engineer on Tennessee Central 6902.
Tennessee Central F7B 715B, ex. Bessemer and Lake Erie 715B, nee Louisville and Nashville 715B built by Electro-Motive Division in 1952.
Tennessee Central F7B 719B, ex. Bessemer and Lake Erie 719B, nee Louisville and Nashville 719B built by Electro-Motive Division in 1952.
Amtrak F40PH 3754 and Tennessee Central SW8 52.
Tennessee Central SW8 52, nee US Army 2038, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1951.
Tennessee Central head-end power car 901 "Silver Chest", ex. Amtrak 1000:1, exx. Amtrak 10090, exxx. Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 1000, nee Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 85 foot baggage car 901 built by Budd Company in 1940. TCRM purchased this car in 2007 and fit two Cummins Genset generators inside the old baggage space. This car is the dedicated power source for our train's Head End Power, which uses 480 volts of electricity to power the lights, heating or air conditioning.
Tennessee Central kitchen car 973437, ex. Louisville and Nashville maintenance-of-way kitchen car, nee Seaboard System 40' box car 973437, builder and year unknown. Today, it is a source of storage space for our shop.
Tennessee Central 50 foot flat car 2795, nee Western Maryland 7030 built by Bethlehem Steel in 1959.
Southern Railway 60 foot sliding door box car 43962 built by Pullman-Standard in 1967.
Tennessee Central 50 foot plug door box car 170, nee Masonite Lumber Company 170, builder and year unknown.
Chesapeake and Ohio center cupola caboose 903657 built by the railroad in 1970.
Westvaco SW1 4800, ex. Chicago, Rock Island Pacific 4800, exx. Illinois Central 600 1951, nee Illinois Central 9014 built by Electro-Motive Corporation in 1939.
Chicago, Missouri and Western box car 12102, builder and year unknown.
Museum view.
Tennessee Central office car 103, nee Southern Railway 10-6 sleeper 9012 built by Budd Company in 1950. As the demand for overnight rail travel lessened through the 1960's, 9012 became property of Pickens Railroad in 1966, where its Jones Properties rebuilt it into an office car, complete with an open observation deck and the name "Edna II". In this form, the car was used extensively by comedian/actor Jackie Gleason ("The Honeymooners", "Smokey and the Bandit"), for commuting between New York City and Fort Lauderdale, for his television show in the 1960's and 1970's. Following its time in the limelight, the car was used briefly as an office car for the Auto Train until that company folded in 1981. After languishing on a siding in Florida for several years, a TCRM member purchased the car and had it brought to Nashville, where the rechristened 103 underwent a thorough interior restoration. Fully restored and functioning better than ever, this car marks the end of our excursion train consist from time to time.
Tennessee Central lounge car 4067 "Spirit of Tennessee", nee Pennsylvania Railroad 4067 built by Budd Company in 1947. Contrary to the Standard Railroad's standard practice of smooth-sided, Tuscan Red appearances, this car's all- stainless steel look was intended to match the other stainless cars on New York City-Florida bound trains, like the Seaboard Air Line's Silver Meteor. Because these trains had to use different railroads to fully reach between New York City and Miami, each company pooled their own cars to fill out the train's consists. This car would carry coach passengers along the route through the Penn Central merger, before going into general pool service with Amtrak through the rest of the country.
After retirement in 1976, 4067 would find its way to Tennessee in the late 1980's, becoming part of the Broadway Dinner Train. After the train's demise in 1999, the car was purchased by a museum member and restored as a private lounge car in May 2003.
Tennessee Central 48-seat coach 4739, ex. Amtrak 4739 1980, exx. Amtrak 4868 1971, nee Santa Fe 2856 built by Budd Company in 1953.
Tennessee Central 76-seat coach 7206 "Algood", ex. Amtrak 7602 "Albany" 1981, exx. Amtrak 7410 1971, exxx. Penn Central 1579 1968, nee Pennsylvania Railroad 1579 built by Budd Company in 1954. It served on the PRR's Northeast Corridor between New York City and Washington DC, on electrified named trains such as the Congressional and the Senator. This car served mostly in the Northeastern Unitd States notably on the Adirondack between New York and Montreal. Eventually made redundant by newer equipment, 7602 was purchased by two museum members in 2003 and has served dutifully on our excursion trains since.
Tennessee Central 48-seat coach 4733, ex. Amtrak 4823 1980, exx. Amtrak 4823 1971, nee Santa Fe 2831 built by Budd Company in 1953.
Station limit sign.
D11 stone milepost.
Tennessee Central buffet-diner-lounge 3119, ex. Amtrak Heritage Fleet lounge 3119, exx. Amtrak 3640, exxx. Penn Central 7140 "Miles Standish", exxxx. Pennsylvania Railroad 7140 "Miles Standish", nee Pullman parlour car-drawing room 3640 "Miles Standish" built by Budd Company in 1951. It was one of sixteen such cars built for service on the Senator and Congressional.
Myles Standish (c. 1584 – October 3, 1656) was an English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military adviser for Plymouth Colony. He accompanied them on the Mayflower journey and played a leading role in the administration and defense of Plymouth Colony from its inception.
Stone whistle post.
Tennessee Central concession car-baggage 1266, ex. Amtrak 1266 1978, exx. Amtrak 1165 1971, nee Santa Fe 3677 built by American Car and Foundry in 1954. Although first included in the initial consist of the then-new San Francisco Chief, it was not uncommon for sibling cars to stray into pool service. The car still functioned as a baggage carrier until the mid 1990's, when it was picked up by a firm called Tennessee 200. In 1996, the 1266 emerged as part of the Spirit of Tennessee train, operating in celebration of the Volunteer State's 200th birthday. Since 2002, this car has become our mobile gift shop and exhibit space.
Tennessee Central signal from Vine Hill, the only signal on the whole line. I thanked my tour guide, who had other preparations to make for tomorrow's excursion, and returned to the office, thanking them for a nice visit before I started walking back to the Drake Inn. I stopped on the way back at a Subway for a roast beef sandwich I took with me back to the hotel, where I wrote this story.
The painting in the room above my bed. I finished this story before getting some dinner and relaxing the rest of the evening.
