December of 2019 will be a well remembered month in the coach department for we received an early Christmas gift. The "gift" was the PAWNEE, previously owned by John E.N. Blair. It was the last heavyweight, all-steel, non-streamlined private car built by The Pullman Company. It arrived on our interchange that grey, cold December 12th day. This long awaited Pullman heavyweight, historic, private car was switched into our campus about 1:15 PM. It moved, proudly, on its own wheels from Landisville, PA to Union, IL on three different railroads. Quite a fete considering all the regulations required by the railroad to move any type of passenger car, let alone an old car such as the "PAWNEE". It was a amazing accomplishment!
You can't imagine how excited and happy I was to see the PAWNEE finally at the museum. It took an lot of phone calls and maneuvering to get it here.
Here is just a little bit of the history of the car. Harry Payne Bingham, the original owner, was the son of wealthy Cleveland, Ohio, industrialist Charles Bingham, president of Standard Tool Company. His father, Charles, was also a trustee of the then monopoly Standard Oil Company. Does that name sound familiar? That company was owned by John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Harry was born in 1887 and died in1955. In 1930 Harry, now a multi millionaire, place an order with the Pullman company for a private sleeping car. He named it ,of course, PAWNEE. The rest of the story will be told in upcoming articles in the Rail and Wire.
John had the foresight to secure it inside and have it repainted to its previous Pullman green color. This is the reason why the PAWNEE now is so extremely well kept and in beautiful shape. If you wish to view the PAWNEE please visit barn 10. I will be more than happy to show you the car. It is now stored in that barn along with other freight and passenger car projects. If you wish to donate to the PAWNEE to continue the interior restoration please send a check or visit https://www.irm.org/donations/pawnee/ Thanks, Roger.
Comments
Fri, 01-15-2021 10:20
Hello Jason. Your comments are very much appreciated. Yes, there is much hard work that goes into all our restorations and maintenance here at the [...]
Fri, 01-15-2021 10:13
Hello Jack Yes, It will be one of our most impressive cars that we have at IRM when its completed. Thanks for the pat on the back! Roger.
Thu, 01-14-2021 21:05
Those cars look great so far guys! Man I wish I had the time to volunteer and become a member at IRM that looks like so much fun especially with how [...]
Tue, 01-12-2021 16:30
the pawnee is looking great a pat on the back to all involved
Wed, 01-06-2021 10:14
Good job on coach updates January 5, 2021. Sincerely, Ethan A.
Mon, 01-04-2021 12:31
Hello Jack Happy New Year from IRM. To my knowledge there was no damage from the minor ice storm that we had in late December, 2020. Some [...]
Sun, 01-03-2021 20:12
the museum area had lots of ice storms in area did the museum get a lot of damage
Thu, 12-24-2020 13:27
roger, Thank you to all of the Passenger car department volunteers. The #109 is going to be a great car when all done! Ted miles, [...]
Sun, 12-06-2020 08:46
Hello Ted We havenot finished lettering the 975 but we are well on the way. Look for a few blogs from me now that the wearther is colder and the [...]
Sat, 12-05-2020 18:36
i watched crew replace switch by diesel shop on dec 5. its good to see museum have equipment to do job and save money
Fri, 12-04-2020 14:56
It has been a long time with no news; have you finished lettering the Southern Pacific locomotive? Please post a picture. Ted Miles, IRM Member
Thu, 08-27-2020 09:53
I worked seasonally on the Cadillac & Lake City while the B-71 was in Lake City, MI, beginning in 1970. My primary job was steward/waiter/car cleaner [...]