Steam & Excursion > An Incredible Piece Of Railroad History Hiding All These Years!

A few years ago, a friend an I were on railroad business in Nevada and we stopped by the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City to visit with our friend Chris DeWitt, the CMO of the NSRM restoration shop.  During out visit we decided to wander with Chris through the back area of the Restoration building among the restored cars and locomotives that the public does not have access to.  It was deep in the back of this area that Chris stopped us and pointed out what he said was the most significant piece of railroad history that was on the museum grounds.  My friend and I were quite startled to come face to face with the railroad artifact that Chris had brought us to see.

Hiding in the back of the NSRM shop building, covered with a coating of desert dust and wearing faded green paint, was a long and obviously old wooded coach.  As this was not the only such wooded car in the back of the shop we asked Chris what was so noteworthy about this coach that he had made a point to show it to us. We sere stunned at his answer.

Here before us sat the only surviving piece of railroad rolling stock from the original Golden Spike Ceremony at Promontory, Utah on May 10. 1869.  Yes this coach was there on that historic day for our nation.  We soon learned that not only was that car there that day, it had carried Leland Stanford to the ceremony along with the both the golden and silver spikes used in that historic joining of the rails that spanned this Country. Needless to say, my friend an I were quite a bit more impressed with this old coach now than we had been when we first walked up to it a few minutes before.

Chris was kind enough to let us climb aboard the coach and give it an inspection as he related to us the story of the car's history.  She had been built by the Central Pacific shops in Sacramento in 1868 as the CP's first business car.  In that role shoe had carried both railroad and governmental officials inspecting the progress of the eastward construction of the CP from 1868 to May of 1869.  It was this very car that was chosen to carry Leland Stanford on his journey to Promontory  for final joining of the rails ceremony on that fateful May 10, day in 1869.  To learn from Chris that the Gold spikes and the Silver spike also were carried on this very car to the ceremony was simply icing on the cake for us both.

In the first years following the gold spike ceremony, the car had been used regularly by Charles Crocker for his business on the railroad.  This only added to the cars history.  Then, in 1875, the car passed into the ownership of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad where it was soon converted from a business car into a coach and given the number "17".  It was in this configuration that most railroad historians first learned of the car but not of it's famous prior history.

On the V&T, coach #17 served on the runs from Reno to Carson City and then Virginia City on a regular basis until passenger traffic on the line dropped to next to nothing by the early 1920's.  In the first photo, taken by Wil Whittaker, we see Coach #17 on her very last trip to Gold Hill, Nevada on the rear of the railfan train pulled by V&T #11 and #27 on June 5, 1938.  The V&T had received permission to abandon the Virginia City line just the day before this excursion.

A few months following the 1938 excursion, Coach #17 was leased to Paramount pictures for movie work and left the Comstock for what was thought at the time to be forever.  That lease soon turned into a sale agreement in later years and coach #17 appeared in a number of movies over the next several decades all the while with no one knowing what the true history of the car, and thus her historical significance really was.

Finally, with her movie work complete and her years being owned by Shortline Enterprises over, Coach #17 was sold to the NSRM for preservation.  While her interior has been completely altered from how she looked when she took Leland Stanford to Promontory, her exterior is surprisingly similar.  The second 2 photos, both taken by Guy Dunscomb,  were taken during the June 1938 excursion.  These show how Coach #17 looked both from the exterior and from the interior by that time.

As we quickly approach the 150th anniversary of one of the most important events in the this nation's history, it is good to know that such an important part of that fateful event has not only survived for these 15 decades, but that she has been hiding in plain sight for all of those years.

Martin



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/19 10:05 by LoggerHogger.

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Great history, Martin.  It's a miracle the car survived after leaving the V&T since almost no one new its history.  Wonder if Stan Garner at SLE did.

Thank you.

-John

Actually Gerald Best was the first to opine as to what history was behind this car.  Years later, Stan Garner discovered some records that substantiated Best and later Stephen Drew came up with further proof that verified for all time the actual history of this car.

Martin

What a find.  

Any chance that will be at the Golden Spike celebration?
 

Back in September of 2017 I have the good fortune to visit the Nevada State Railroad Museum, the prime reason was to see their McKeen car.  It was a Monday and the car was stored inside so the chance of a good photo was not possible.  I mentioned to an employee how exited I was seeing my first real McKeen car and asked him when does it operate.   "On the weekends" was his reply as he walked away.  A few moments later a Mr. Wendell Huff appeared stating that he received a call that I wanted to see the car.  Mr.Huff pulled the car out of the shops for me so I could take my shots.

After Mr Huff showed me the McKeen car, both inside and out, he took me on a shop tour and there, the crown jewel of my visit, a car that was present at the last spike ceremonies back in May 1869, wow.

Thank-you Martin, Mr Huff and the unknown Nevada State Railroad Museum employee.

Gerry Gaugl
Ottawa ON

 

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Narniaman Wrote:
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> Any chance that will be at the Golden Spike
> celebration?

No.  The museum realizes the in credible value of this artifact and how fragile it is.  Since there is no record of what the car's interior looked like at the Promontory ceremony the museum has decided to display the car in it's current condition to show the exterior fabric which is much like it was back in May of 1869.

Martin

Martin what was the original reporting marks for this car while under the CP. ?
 

A good friend called yesterday to tell me he had received his March issue of Trains Magazine and it has the story of No. 17 as presentented by Wendell Huffman, Curator of History, Nevada state Railroad Museum.
I covr quite a bit of No. 17's history in my books The Short Line Enterprises Story Volumes 1 and 2. Wendell, Stephen Drew and Kyle Wyatt have each added to the history and Wendell has published an article about the car. I was able to review a preliminary draft early last year.

The car was actually sold to 20th Century Fox in the mid-40's. It was acquired by Short Line Enterprises in 1972 and sold to the Nevada State Museum in 1988.

See http://www.movie-trains.com for info on the books.

Stan Garner

I always like your railroad and history related stories Martin, but you of all people should know that the ceremony was at Promonrory SUMMIT!   NOT Promontory Point!.. There,. I have taken and released one of my "Pet Peeves"!

In Gerry's photo, there are all sorts of holes in the exterior of the car near the corner.  Is that woodpecker damage, or something else?

lynnpowell Wrote:
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> In Gerry's photo, there are all sorts of holes in
> the exterior of the car near the corner.  Is that
> woodpecker damage, or something else?

That is woodpecker damage from when is was on the movie company backlots.

Martin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/19 13:08 by LoggerHogger.

px320 Wrote:
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 It was acquired by Short Line
> Enterprises in 1972 and sold to the Nevada State
> Museum in 1988.

> Stan Garner

Stan,
  Is that one of the cars that was stored on the Angels branch?

Yes, No. 17 was stored on the Angels Branch until 1980 when it was brought out and serviced for use in the TV Movie The Gambler with Kenny Rogers. In 1982 then interior was spruced up, braced and used as a private car in Gambler II.

The interior bracing was used to shore up the sagging roof. The brace in the foreground became a full partition.. 2/3 of the car was an open saloon as described in a May 17 article in the Cheyenne Leader. the remainder was sleeping space and a dry hopper (toilet).

The second CP car seen at Promontory was the Subsistance Car. It was the companion and contained crew quarters, a kitchen and food storage. It looks like baggage car.

The car still wears the paint it received for Gambler II.

Stan

crackerjackhoghead Wrote:
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> px320 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>  It was acquired by Short Line
> > Enterprises in 1972 and sold to the Nevada
> State
> > Museum in 1988.
>
> > Stan Garner
>
> Stan,
>   Is that one of the cars that was stored on the
> Angels branch?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/19 19:45 by px320.

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