New Museum Display Site

PULLMAN CAR “MUSINA”

This 1912 Pullman car will display the overnight accommodations once afforded to railroad travelers and will be used to explore the history of the Pullman Company. Early Pullman cars constructed of wood were built in the railroad shops of a Pennsylvania Railroad predecessor under the supervision of George Pullman in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Growth of the Pullman operating company included providing not only sleeping cars to the railroads, but also parlor cars, café cars, and dining cars along with a highly trained staff. Eventually, Pullman began building, modifying, and maintaining the cars it leased and staffed. This led to Pullman producing both passenger and freight cars for sale to the railroads in their Hammond and Michigan City, Indiana plants as well as at the headquarters in Pullman, Illinois. Rather than assigning numbers to each car, the Pullman Company gave each of their cars a name. Early cars like “Musina” were given names that suggested far off places. Later car names would be of similar series that signified different categories / types of cars. Car names were even stenciled on the trucks and other components.

Mr. Pullman had created an empire that at its peak operated a fleet of over 8,000 cars, possibly the nation’s largest hotel with 100,000 occupied beds on a given night. The United States government brought an anti-trust suit against the Pullman in 1940 with a Court decision in 1944 that required Pullman Inc. to separate car ownership from its car building and operating business. The company sold its sleeping car operating unit on June 30, 1947 to a group of fifty-nine U.S. railways. Many of the former Pullman sleeping cars were sold to the railroads directly by December of 1948, and most were then quickly leased back to the new company.

Musina is an early steel car produced by Pullman and is often described as an observation car as it was built to travel on the rear end of a train. It was built to Plan #2521, lot # 4049, as a 10 open section lounge observation (10s-lng-obs). The “open sections” are in reality facing seat sets that could be converted to a bed with a pull down bunk above them. Heavy curtains separated these sections at night for privacy. The lounge room allowed for a view of the passing scenery and an open room for passengers. For passengers wishing some fresh air, a large open platform graces the rear of the car. Many cars of this type were heavily remodeled in later years by Pullman with closed private bedrooms and enclosed observation platforms as these accommodations became less popular and outdated. Presumably because this was an early car, Pullman management chose not to remodel this particular car and instead allowed it to remain in its original configuration.

Musina was built to operate on the Union Pacific’s Overland Limited and was completed on November 27, 1912. It was soon put into pool service allowing it to service any number of prominent passenger trains. From 1928 through 1934 it was assigned to the Pennsylvania Railroad and repainted from Pullman standard green into Pennsylvania tuscan red. The car was returned to Pullman in 1934 and was repainted into Pullman green once again. In June of 1935, the car was upgraded with a York air conditioning system. This modification resulted in an altered roofline to house the air conditioning ducts. Other modifications included an upgrade to the three axle Pullman 1910 series trucks to 1910a specifications in 1936 and the change from 3 step to 4 step passenger entry stairs. A larger battery box was installed in 1925 with a second box added in 1927. The car has an early passenger car braking system using an LN brake valve and two 16” brake cylinders.

Musina was sold to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad on December 31, 1948 due to the requirements of the anti-trust agreement though it was still operated by the Pullman Company into the 1950’s. With passenger trains on the decline, older cars such as the Musina became surplus. It ended its active service on the Baltimore and Ohio as part of the Brunswick Maryland wreck train. It remained out of use for some time until purchased by a group of individuals headed up by its previous owner, Mr. Ken Bitten. The Whitewater Valley Railroad purchased Musina specifically for the new museum site and potentially for periodic first class service on the railroad’s excursion trains. We presently plan to restore the car to its circa 1935 condition with the air conditioning roof line left intact. Initially, work will focus on exterior metalwork and windows. This will be followed by exterior paintwork. The interior restoration will likely begin with the lounge room. This will be followed by work on the open section areas. Finally, work will be concluded with the reactivation of the car’s heating and air conditioning systems.

Once completed, Pullman car Musina will provide opportunities to interpret the history of passenger services. Open sleeping accommodations were considered a luxury in the early part of the century but within just a few decades, society attitudes towards privacy changed dramatically. Private compartments and locking bedrooms became the preferred mode of travel for businessmen and families. Cars configured with open sections quickly became obsolete and were either rebuilt with new configurations or downgraded to accommodate “Tourist” class where the lack of privacy was exchanged for a much lower fare. Open section cars remained popular for special charter groups as well where the entire car was assigned to a common group of individuals. These group charters might include political campaign groups, service clubs and convention goers, and those traveling for recreation to the Indianapolis 500 or the Kentucky Derby. Other interpretive themes will include the explanation the general operation of Pullman Inc. during its peak in an era before airlines and interstate highways. The opportunities and drawbacks of Pullman Company employment and training practices will also be explored especially as they relate to African American history. Another potential area of learning may include the monopolistic practices of Pullman Inc. and the perceived need for the government anti-trust intervention taken in the 1940’s.

Artifacts and components needed to complete the car's restoration:

One upper Pullman fold down section berth is needed as it was removed when the car went into work service. None of the lounge furniture survived with the car. Assistance is needed to replace these pieces with originals or to create replicas (with the use of photos or plans) of the pieces that would have been used in the mid 1930's. A set of Pullman blankets and bedding to be able to complete one berth for display, an upper berth safety net, a berth key, smoker stand, and other small Pullman hardware including lamp shades and similar detail items are needed. Historic photos of the exterior and interior of this car taken while in Pullman service or on the B&O are also sought. Please let us know if you have any of these items that you'd like to donate to the project. Artifactdonations@WhitewaterValleyRR.org

Whitewater Valley Railroad Connersville, Indiana New Museum Interpretive Center - Under Design & Construction