The Alexander RR bought a heavyweight Pullman MofW car from SCL and converted it into the "Alexandria" parlor car. This car still had SAL heralds on it and was originally a 12-1 Pullman. In rebuilding the car, the name "Calley" was found written on a fitting. The only information that SCL could give us on the car's history was that it was listed on a 1961 SAL Equipment List as a "P and B" car. The car apppears to have never been air conditioned. Could this have been a Pullman tourist sleeper gotten by SAL as part of the Pullman Company breakup? I've heard a story that SAL used such cars set up for day service as "Jim Crow" cars.

-- Richard T. Lasater (Richard.lasater@ncmail.net), December 04, 2003

Answers

I was able to get some more information on the former SAL MOW car. This car was the CALAIS built to Pullman Plan 2410F Lot 4385 June/July 1916. The car was renumbered to Pullman Tourist car 2314 in June 1939 and was sold to the Seaboard Air Line in December 1947. The SAL converted it to a Foreman-cook-diner car #70666. This car never ran in passenger service on the SAL after it was purchased by them.

-- Michael W. Savchak (Savchak@mnr.org), February 19, 2004.

Based upon some more information from Richard, the previous name of the car was actually the "Calais". This car was built in June 1916 under Pullman Plan 2410F Lot 4385 for general service. It was a 12 section, 1 drawing room sleeper. In June 1939, the car was redesignated as a Tourist Sleeper and was renumbered 2314. It was sold to the SAL in December 1947 as part of a group of cars in SAL number series AB70678-AB70690 Foreman/bunk/bath or in R70663-R70673 series which were foreman-cook-diners. These cars were never in SAL passenger service. The cars thus were never used as Passenger- Baggage cars.

Photos of these cars can be found in Paul Faulk's SAL Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment, published by Morning Sun. Perhaps someone has a master list of these cars and what they were in a previous existance?

-- Michael W. Savchak (Savchak@mnr.org), December 09, 2003.

I checked all of the Pullman Company records and was not able to find a car named "Calley". To the best of my knowledge, the SAL's Passenger-baggage cars were all built for the purpose. The car could have been one of the following cars that were still in service in 1961 and were not air conditioned: 256,264 and 283. The 256 was built by the Pressed Steel Car Co. in 1913 and was 76'10 1/4" long, while the 264 was built by Pressed Steel Car Co. in 1915 and was 79' 9 1/2 inches long.The 283 was purchased by the SAL in 1944 from the Bessemer and Lake Erie RR where it was their # 21. This car was built by the Pressed Steel Car Co. in 1925 and it was 76' 3 1/4 inches long.

I wonder if the marking Calley was the id of the manufacturer of the fitting.

The Seaboard did purchase a number of Pullman baggage club cars, but these were all converted to baggage-dormitory cars.

-- Michael W. Savchak (Savchak@rcn.com), December 05, 2003.