The oldest piece in the display,
this car was built by the Burlington
and Missouri River Railroad in the
company shops at Plattsmouth,
Neb., in 1884 at a cost of $1,023
as a mainline freight caboose. It
was rebuilt and modernized with
new brake equipment in 1912 as
a branch line caboose for use in
Nebraska and Kansas.
The car was numbered #14140
during its service life. In its current
branch line configuration, the car
was used as sleeping quarters at
the end of branch lines by the train
crew. There is no evidence that the
caboose was ever used in service
through Douglas.
This caboose was restored in
the Burlington’s shops at Havelock, Neb., in the winter of 1958 and
arrived in Douglas in April of that year.
Car #1886 was built at St. Louis Car
Company in 1884 as part of an order
for 10 short 60-foot coaches for services on the so-called “Cowboy Line” of the C&NW being built at the time through Douglas to Lander, Wyo.
The car was rebuilt in 1915 by American Car and Foundry Company at
Jeffersonville, Ind., at which time the car had steel sheathing installed over the
wooden siding and electric lights installed inside the gas lights. These fixtures were removed in 1948 and the car was displayed at the Chicago Railroad Fair, presented at the current site of McCormick Place on the lake front in downtown Chicago.
The coach operated in many famous North Western passenger train
assignments from 1915 to 1931, such as the North Western Ltd., Victory,
Corn King, Viking and Black Hills Express. In 1932, it was assigned to
suburban service in the Chicago area where it continued in operation
until 1961.
The car was donated to the State of Wyoming in 1962 and acquired by
the City of Douglas in 1993.
This car was built by the Budd Company at Philadelphia, Penn., as a
48-seat diner in March 1947. It was part of an order for new stainless steel passenger cars for system-wide service. It was named “Silver Salver” and was numbered #196, later Burlington Northern #1160 and was used briefly in business train service.
The most common assignment was on the morning and afternoon Zephyr trains between Chicago and Minneapolis. The car may have passed through Douglas on CB&Q train #29 &
#30, the Omaha to Billings through train in the early 1950s.
The car was not selected for service on Amtrack and was retired in 1972.
The car was built by Pullman Standard at Pullman, Ill., in December 1950 as part of an order for eight sleeping cars with 16 duplex roomettes and four bedrooms. It was assigned to the Western Star, their
secondary Chicago to Seattle train. With a capacity of 24 passengers plus the porter, the car saw service system wide.
The car was named “Augassiz Glacier” and was numbered #1182 through its career. It was in regular daily service until the formation of Amtrak in April 1971. The car may have been used in Burlington Northern business trains on one or two occasions, but was retired in 1972.
It was donated to the State of Wyoming in May 1974, with the City of Douglas acquiring its title in 1993.
This car was built by the Pullman Car Company at their Michigan City, Ind., plant in February 1911 for the Union Pacific subsidiary Oregon Short Line Railroad as their #331. It was renumbered #2114 in 1914 and #1897 — its current number — in 1924.
The car was configured as a working mail car and handled mail, passenger baggage and fresh produce. It saw service system-wide and may have passed through Douglas as part of mail trains #31 and #32, the night Denver to Billings mail train nicknamed the “Night Crawler” by employees.
This car was built by Western American Car & Foundry Company in Seattle, Wash., in July 1914 for the Union Pacific Railroad subsidiary
Oregon Short Line as a box car and was numbered as their #120579.
It was converted to a double deck stock car in February 1936 as OSL #48330 and was renumbered by the Union Pacific as their #47926.
The car was used to haul sheep and/or pigs and was used system wide. It could have passed through Douglas in CB&Q (C&S) general freight trains.
This car was built as Fairmont Model M-19 Series AA, Group 4, serial
#217980.
It was originally sold to Union Pacific Railroad and later to the Colorado & Southern as a track inspection car, probably for use by the
track foreman in Casper. Little else is known about this unit.
This massive steam locomotive
was donated to the people of the
State of Wyoming by the Chicago
Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Company. It was moved dead-in-train
from Galesburg, Ill., to Orin,
then via C&NW Railroad to Douglas
in April 1962. Title was transferred
to the City of Douglas in 1993.
The locomotive was built in the
CB&Q shops at West Burlington,
Iowa, in September 1940 as one of
the last class of steam locomotives
on the Burlington. It was part of
an order for 28 317-ton units that were identical when built and were
assigned Class 05-A. They were designed for fast freight and heavy
passenger service. Baldwin Locomotive Works supplied the boiler and
General Steel Casting of Chicago supplied the one-piece engine beds
(frames). The locomotive has roller bearings and Baker Valve Gear.
The locomotive saw service system wide on CB&Q but evidence indicates
#5633 was not operated on the Colorado & Southern through Douglas.
It was in service until 1956, then stored at Lincoln, Neb.
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