How to ID an old car

[Anonymous]

An old cabin in Michigan's Upper Pennisular that is in our family was built around an old railroad car. I think it is a Pullman from the turn of the century. The car is real long with a baggage area or cooking area and then two sections wood panneled with windows and old gas ligths and a toilet. Most of the car is in original shape and the inside must have been gorgeous once. How it got to the middle of the UP nowhere near tracks is a mystery, maybe an old lumber spurr.

Any sugestions as to how to go about identifying the car and researching it?

[coalminer3]

First suggestion is to make a sketch of the car interior.  There are all kinds of sources which have diagrams of Pullmans (if indeed your car is a Pullman).  You can match your car's diagram to the Pullman diagrams and proceed from there.

It sounds, however, that your car may have started life as a combine (baggage and passenger accommodations), so that is where I would start my diagram search.

Good luck - hope this helps.

work safe 

[wjstix]

Any pics?? I would look for anything that might have a name or even a serial number on it - like the gas light fittings, around the windows, look everywhere!! Anything that might enable you to track down a manufacturer and when that item was produced. That will give you a ballpark figure of when the car was built and may even tell you who built it (Pullman, Wagner etc.).

[KCSfan]

The facts that it has (or had gas lights) and is a part of a cabin suggests that it is a wood sheathed car and probably built between 1880 and 1910. Most wood passenger cars had been taken out of active service by the end of the 1930's though some saw use on branch and shortlines and in mixed train service through WW2. Your description tells me it was a combine that belonged to a railroad and was not a Pullman. You or other members of the family likely know when the cabin was built which should pretty closely nail down the year they acquired the car.

I hope the exterior of the car is visible and you can take a photo of it - just one side view would suffice. I'd start my search by posting the pic here and on Railfan.net and see what you get in reply.

It's reasonable to assume the car was trucked to the cabin site from the nearest railhead since the cost of trucking it any long distance would likely have been prohibitive. This event would attract a good bit of local interest, all the more so if it was in a rural area. If you know any real old timers that lived in the area at the time, show them the photo. They might recall the event and even remember the road name that appeared on the car when it was moved. Other possible sources of info would be the archives of a local newspaper, a library or a local historical society if one exists. If the preceding doesn't produce results or if the car's exterior isn't accessable and you can't get a photo, the search gets a bit more difficult.

I'd be interested in hearing how your quest progresses and have a few more tips I'd gladly share if none of the above is productive.

Mark

  

 

[arkansasrailfan]

If you can, look at the frame, trucks(if any,or wheels) if the car is in it's oringinal paint you might find something. or do some research and look for drawings of combines. it also can depend on the area you live in and all the railroads that were there or still are.