Trip Report - Gold Coast Railroad Museum - Miami, Florida

On the last day of our Florida Vacation, we spent the day in Miami, as we had a flight back to St. Louis that evening from Miami International Airport. Our first stop in Miami was the Gold Coast Railroad Museum. The Museum has its origins back to the late 1950s, when the founding members, working with the University of Miami, managed to acquire several pieces of railroad equipment, including the famous Pullman car Ferdinand Magellan, the car used by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.

The museum is located near the Miami Zoo, on the site of the former Richmond Naval Air Station. Richmond N.A.S. was built during World War II as a base for the Navy's fleet of blimps. The blimps were used to patrol the coasts and Gulf of Mexico, looking for German U-Boats. The site included to gigantic hangars for the blimps. In 1945, a hurricane and resulting fire destroyed the hangars, and the base was subsequently abandoned. There are remains, however, including one of the concrete towers that supported the sliding doors. The Museum's train shed is also built on the foundation of the blimp hangar.

The museum has a variety of equipment, including a pair of non-operational ex-Florida East Coast Railway 4-6-2 light pacific steam locomotives, several Budd-built streamlined passenger cars, and some diesel locomotives. The most historic and most impressive artifact in the collection, however, is the Ferdinand Magellan. The car was originally built in the 1920s by Pullman as a private car for the company's rental fleet. The car was part of the "explorer series" which included other cars, such as the Marco Polo. In 1941, the Association of American Railroads bought the Ferdinand Magellan from Pullman, and then contracted with Pullman to modify the car, in order to make it secure for Presidential travel. The modifications were extensive, and included thick armor plating on most of the car, 3" thick glass windows made of bullet-resistant glass, heavy-duty trucks, a rear door that looks like a bank vault, and other modifications. The number of bedrooms for the car was reduced, and one made larger for FDR. The car also has an "escape hatch" in the roof of the rear compartment of the car. The hatch looks like a submarine hatch.

After the modifications, the car was then loaned to the U.S. government for FDR to use in his wartime travels. Later, the car was acquired by the government. The car was reportedly kept in the basement of the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. between trips. President Truman was also a frequent user of the car, using it on his famous "Whistle Stop Tour" during the 1948 election. It is from the back of the car that Truman held the famous, erroneous "Dewey Defeats Truman" edition of the Chicago Tribune. This occurred the day after the election in St. Louis Union Station. The car was only used a few times by President Eisenhower, and was declared surplus in 1956.



In 1984, prior to the car's listing as a National Historic Landmark, President Reagan rode the car on a one-day whistle stop tour in Ohio, as part of his re-election campaign.

Overall, the car is in a remarkable state of preservation, both inside and out. Inside the car are numerous photos of the car during its use by 4 Presidents. The car is no longer open to regular tours, but a volunteer was kind enough to show us through.

Overall, the museum had a nice selection of equipment on display, including a dome-observation car from the California Zephyr. As a bonus, the museum had two Atlantic Coast Line class M-3 wood cabooses. I am about 90% finished with a laser-cut HO scale wood model of these cars. I managed to get some good photos of some details I was curious about, like handbrake placement, and bracing of the tool box.

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Dave's Depots - Atlantic Coast Line - Naples, Florida

Vacation recently took Katy and I to Naples, Florida. Naples is located on the Gulf Coast of Floria, far south, approximately across the state from Miami. Naples is also known as a community that attracts a lot of retirees, in fact, my great uncle has lived there for about 20 years. We chose Naples due to its lack of over-commercialization. It is in many ways, still a small town, with local fish markets, clean beaches, and a easy pace of life. Besides looking at old depots, we spent time on the beach, eating good seafood and enjoying the nice weather.

Located just off of downtown is the town's former Atlantic Coast Line depot. The depot was built in 1926, when the ACL's tracks were extended to the town. The building is in good shape, and apparently hosts a Lionel train museum, which was not open. The building is undergoing further renovation to become a local history museum. The trackage to the depot has been abandoned for some time. Near the depot were three pieces of rolling stock, a Soo caboose, painted as an ACL caboose, a baggage car, and a round-end obs car.

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Visit to Ann Arbor

Over the weekend we went to Ann Arbor to visit my daughter who's in graduate school there. I was able to do a little railranning, as you'll see.

First of all, stored on a siding near the Amtrak station is this Budd tavern-lounge-obs originally from the NYC, then KCS, then Michigan Art Train (ARTX 105). So it was part of the same set as the two cars now in Yard 5.

It wasn't open when we were there; I'm not sure it's ever open any more. It's lettered "A Salute to Rail Labor" and "North American Railway Foundation".

Anybody who knows more about this car is welcome to chime in!

Nearby is this old coaling trestle with a D&M hopper on permanent display, since the track is now disconnected. It sits astride the parking lot for an office building. This is a really neat display!

And since David wasn't around, and I think this is out of his territory, here's the old Michigan Central station, now a high-class restaurant.

And finally, while walking around downtown, I noticed this historical plaque on the side of a bank. Watch out for those Michigan Rys. freight trailers, they're dangerous!!!

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N.C.&St.L. 576

Work recently took me to Nashville, Tennessee. Located in Centennial Park, just west of downtown is Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway locomotive number 576. The 576 is a 1942 Alco product, and was one of "The Dixie Line's" J-3 class of 4-8-4 locomotives. The railroad had a couple of classes of dual-service 4-8-4s which the railroad called "Dixie" types. The ones built during World War II, like the 576 did not have the skirting of the pre-war engines, but did originally have a cone shaped smokebox front that covered the entire front, as well as a Commonwealth cast pilot with swing coupler, like Union Pacific 844. These locomotives were very successful for the railroad, but the N.C.&St.L. was an early adopter of the diesel, making the full switch by 1952, four years before its parent the L&N finally dropped the fires.

The 576 has been in Centennial park since 1952, and only recently received a covered shelter. The condition of the locomotive is fair, at best. Still, it is a very neat looking locomotive, with clean lines. There have been several attempts to "rescue" the 576 from the park and restore her to operation. The most recent attempt was announced several years ago. I haven't heard anything of recent, and 576 sits as she has for nearly sixty years.

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Steam at Monticello

We went downstate to see the Monticello Railroad Museum's rebuilt steam locomotive Southern 401 in operation, and also to visit relatives. A good time was had by all. Here the train is loading in downtown Monticello. A good crowd was on hand, including many enthusiastic railfans who came from all over.

(Two photos by Margaret Miller)

This is the flat car arranged for tourist service, which I rode. It's very effective. The train must have gotten up to 35 or 40 mph on the main line.

I had a chance to briefly discuss some issues with my old friend Kent McClure, who is the CMO at Monticello and was the engineer that day.

As I might have mentioned before, I was a member there in the mid-70's while I was in graduate school, and worked briefly on the original boiler for the 401. It now has a brand-new welded boiler.

This is a great accomplishment on their part. I'm glad to see that this experience will be returning soon to a museum near us!












The new boiler was designed for oil firing, for several practical reasons.

Incidentally, their Halloween operation uses a different plan than ours. Various sets are arranged along the main line. Here we see what appear to be a couple of switch heaters on either side of the track, attached to propane tanks so they burn in the dark. With a few adjustments, this would be a good way to burn old paint off steel equipment.

And here's a ghost town. The two figures next to the track are also attached to propane tanks, so they must emit fire also. Yikes!

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Knoxville Courthouse Blues

My business/legal trip to Knoxville was supposed to be a one day, in and out trip. However, contingencies arose, and it was extended. Luckily, I found something to do during my idle hours. I visited the East Tennessee Historical Society in downtown Knoxville. A friend of mind from graduate school at the University of Louisville works there, Mr. William Hardy. Mr. Hardy was kind enough to show me around the museum, including one of its prized possessions, a Knoxville streetcar.

Knoxville Power and Light number 416 is a 1922 product of the Cincinnati car company. It is a single-truck"curvesider" car. It is a sister to car 419 in the IRM collection. The 416 was retired in 1947 at the end of Knoxville service, and ended up being used as a house. About 12 years ago, the historical society contracted with The Miner Company of Iowa cosmetically restore the car, including fabricating a non-functioning replica of the Cincinnati type H truck. The quality of work to make the car look complete is impressive. It has correct-looking controllers, brake valves, and even a functioning gong. While I was hoping to be able to spend just one day in Knoxville, the hold-over certainly resulted in a neat reward!

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Maryland, My Maryland

Business took me to Maryland this past weekend, where I availed myself of the opportunity to do a bit of railfanning. My first stop was at Glen Echo Park, along the north bank of the Potomac northwest of Washington. Glen Echo was originally built as a Chatauqua assembly ground and was later an amusement park for decades. Some of the original buildings have been preserved by the National Park Service; when I was there I happened upon a jazz concert put on by the U.S. Army Blues.A few years ago the PCC car pictured above was acquired from Philadelphia and put in front of the park entrance, right atop original rails from the old Capital Transit streetcar line to Cabin John. Unfortunately the car is still Philadelphia gauge and cannot be set down on the original rails, nor has it received much upkeep since its arrival. I'm not sure what the current plans for it are. The stone tower in the background dates back to Glen Echo's Chatauqua days.

Then on Saturday I had a chance to make it to the Baltimore Streetcar Museum where I met longtime IRM member - and longtime BSM member - Pete Schmidt, along with BSM volunteers John Engleman, Ed Amrhein and a couple of others. BSM's collection is mostly comprised of Baltimore cars, though a few Philadelphia cars have been acquired in recent years and regauged to run on the museum's 5'4-1/2" gauge track.
The PCC pictured above is one example; built for Philadelphia as a typical PCC, it was rebuilt by SEPTA as a line car and was acquired a few years ago by BSM for use as a work car. It has been regauged and repainted in an attractive livery based on the old Baltimore work car livery. One of its more unique features, made possible by an on-board 110v power source originally installed to ease the use of standard power tools, is a back-up camera!










Above left, the camera as seen from the back of the car (it's mounted in what was originally the operator's-side rear window); at right, above the operator's head can be seen the flat-panel TV monitor displaying the view out the back of the car. Pretty slick!

What BSM is traditionally known for, however, is its Baltimore streetcar collection - and especially its stellar collection of pre-1900 streetcars. Below, one of the museum's restoration projects is this c1885 single-trucker, Baltimore City Passenger Railway 417, which was built as a horsecar and later saw use as a cable trailer before being electrified in the mid-1890's.
And I took a couple of rides to survey BSM's attractive line, much of which was recently double-tracked. The route travels through a shallow valley along the old Ma & Pa, past that line's roundhouse, which is now used by the highway department. Below left, the double-truck hand-brake 1902-vintage open car with Ed and Bill from BSM as its crew; below right, Pete enjoys the fresh air on a beautiful evening to be riding a "breezer."









BSM is a great museum to visit - be sure to stop by if you're in Baltimore!

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Virginia Museum of Transportation

We paid an all-too-brief visit to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke recently. It has an extensive collection of equipment concentrating on the N&W and Virginian. The museum occupies an old N&W freight house and the adjoining yard near the center of the city. The equipment is all on static display, and VMT is more like MSI than IRM.

The Claytor Pavilion covers much of the yard tracks and the displayed equipment, nearly all of which is in very good cosmetic condition.

The jewels of the collection are the 611 and 1218, as seen here. These of course were both in excursion service until the N&W steam program was halted several years ago. I was lucky to see them both in steam when they came to Chicago.

The sun seemed to be in the wrong position for picture taking, but the yard was about to close.

On both the 611 and 1218, you can walk into the space between the cab and the tender. The cab itself is block off with a plexiglass wall, but it makes a great display.

I spoke to Charles Hardy, one of the volunteer docents. He was friendly and informative. VMT is entirely self-supporting and receives no state funding. There are five or six employees, and ten or twelve volunteers, most of whom are docents. Volunteers do a few restoration projects; for instance, they plan next to fix up the cab of the Virginian EL-C so visitors can enter it. Major projects are funded by grants, and one of the employees is responsible for grant requests.

By the way, when Mr. Hardy learned I was from IRM, he tried his hardest to arrange some sort of deal to acquire the 2050. He offered us a business car, two waycars, a Diesel switcher, and I forget what else. He was rather disappointed when I told him I was pretty sure we would never consent to trade it away. He must not have heard about the 952 controversy because he also asked me if I thought they could acquire the Y-6 from St. Louis.

Here's the Washington PCC #1470, which is stored outside and used for children's parties.

Inside the main building are several very professionally-done display areas, with a wide variety of subjects. There's a large O gauge hi-rail layout and lots of pictures and artifacts.

Here we see a replica branch station on the left, and part of a display about African-Americans on the N&W.

And I should point out that VMT also has substantial collections of other types of transportation, such as autos, busses, and airplanes, which I didn't have time to examine.

Out in back is the recently-acquired N&W 4-8-0 #1151. It had been sitting in a nearby scrapyard since the end of steam.

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