This month we celebrate the 150th birthday of what is believed to be the oldest piece of equipment in Mid-Continent Railway Museums collection. Tucked inside Mid-Continents Car Shop building is East Jordan & Southern #2, built November 1864 - the same month President Abraham Lincoln won his second term. Built by the Osgood Bradley Co., it originally served the Grand Trunk Railway as their coach #112 and renumbered to #585 21 years later, Nov. 1885. At an unknown date the car was purchased by the Hicks Car & Locomotive Works where it received light repairs and was resold to East Jordan & Southern and assigned the number 2. Up until a recent historical investigation by Mid-Continent volunteer Pete Becker, it was unknown when the car was converted from a full coach to its current configuration as a combination coach-baggage car. After sifting through company records, enough information was able to be pieced together to confidently say the conversion took place Aug-Nov. 1919. In all, it served the EJ&S for nearly 60 years before being sold to a private individual in 1961. It was then sold to Mid-Continent Railway Museum in 1963 and shipped to Wisconsin via car ferry across Lake Michigan. The car was used as a ticket office and on museum trains in the 1960s. As the EJ&S #2 passes its sesquicentennial milestone, research into the cars history and structural integrity continues with the goal of ultimately performing some Mid-Continent Car Shop magic on the museums oldest piece as funding becomes available. More info and photos on our roster page: midcontinent.org/collectn/woodpas/ejs2.html Wish to make a contribution toward this car? Visit our donation page for details: midcontinent.org/about/gift.html or get involved as a Restoration Department volunteer!
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 18:14:42 +0000
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