Does anyone have any information relating to special SR trains that ran in the early part of the century? Specifically, does anyone know about "photograph" cars that went from city to city, letting the public have their photos taken. The prints were mounted on cards that said "Southern RR Photo Car." When did this practice start? When did it stop? How about the "Good Roads" train that ran in the early part of the century? When did it start & stop? Was the current NS exhibit car an SR car? Did the SR have an exihibit car? When did it start& stop? Thanks,

Matt

-- Matt Bumgarner (stealthnfo@aol.com), July 07, 1999

Answers

Norfolk Southern's exhibit car is ex-Southern 24. It was built from Pullman's "Lake Childs." All interior partitions were removed and most windows filled to make room for displays. It was painted dark green with a yellow roof. Along the letterboard ran a red-and-yellow stripe with "EXHIBIT CAR" spelled out in huge yellow letters on it's side. The car was completed with "Southern" on the left side of the car (the "o" was filled with a lighter green) and "The Railway System that Gives a Green Light to Innovations" written under "Southern." A picture can be seen in Kinkaid's "Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment."

-- Joe Daniels (4JM@home.com), July 08, 1999.

If my memory serves me correctly, the "Lake Childs" was the last heavyweight Southern sleeper leased to the Pullman Company for service. This 10 section-1 drawing room- 2 compartment car was returned from Pullman lease in 1967, and later converted to the exhibit car.

Earlier in the century, SR also ran funeral trains. I have a photo of a specially decorated funeral train at Rock Hill, SC. It was for a deceased railroader and his many mourners. SR frequently had Shriner and Masonic specials. The International Correspondence School also had classroom cars that traveled over the SR. I still have my grandfather's admittance card. In latter years SR had classroom cars for diesel instruction and safety. I last attended one of these in 1977.

-- Ben Lee (Bengineer7@aol.com), July 09, 1999.