Subject: Passenger Car Info
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999
From: xxxxx@netscape.net
To: John and Terry Combs

Dear John

I am trying to get history on Car Number 0049 and 0051, both built in 1945 and placed in service October 1948, and Car numbers 0020 and 0037 built by Pullman Standard car MFG, co. placed in service March 1947.  My sister got these at auction and they are placed in Seward at the north end of the harbor.  I was hoping to get some history information on them.  We will be running the sleeper car for lodging, reconstructed of course.

S. from Seward, AK
 
 

Dear S.,

I got this from xxxxx -

They are easily identified as being hospital cars (049 and 051), a hospital train kitchen (020) and a troop sleeper (037). The details below come from Robert Barrett's extensive tabulations.

Kitchen car 020:  This car started life as USA K-640, an ambulance (or hospital) train kitchen car. It was built by American Car and Foundry (St. Charles, MO) some time during the 20 month period after April, 1945.

Bunk Car 037:  This car was built by Pullman-Standard at either Michigan City or Hammond, Indiana (the former Standard Steel Car plant that gave Pullman the "Standard" part of its name) under lot 6753 (making it one of the 1200 ordered in that lot!) and shipped on 12/15/45 as USA 9402.  It came into ARR ownership on 4/28/48 and was numbered S-113 (The "S" meaning "sleeper" or "sleeping car," but never "sleeper car").  In March of 1961 it became the property of the Mechanical Department, was renumbered 037, and went to work in the wreck train.

Sleepers 049 and 051:  Both of these cars were built by ACF under lot 2733 in 1944 or early 1945 as hospital or ambulance cars and carried numbers in the USA 89300 series.  It appears they came into ARR ownership in March and January (respectively) of 1949.  Many of these cars became passenger cars, the inspiration of railroad legend John W. Barringer who was head of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville (Monon) RR at the end of the War.  These two became two of eight 54 seat "1st class" coaches (a bit of a contradiction on a railroad with both sleeping car and parlor car service, but perhaps we can read this as "deluxe" coaches).  They were converted by Puget Sound Barge and Dry Dock (no doubt a wartime industry trying to keep people employed) and received numbers 37 and 35 (again, respectively) for this incarnation. The cars became second string players in 1971 (when the railroad bought a dozen 44 seat post-War overnight coaches from the Union Pacific) and Mechanical converted them to bunk cars 049 and 051 in 1977.
 

You might contact Mr. Barrett to see if he has anything to add.