CHICAGO — Colonial Crafts, built in 1949 for the Pennsylvania Railroad, has joined the lineup of Pullman-built cars set to appear at Pullman Railroad Days, May 20-21 at the Pullman National Historical Park.
The car will appear with New York Central No. 3, a private car built in 1928, and observation car Royal Street, constructed in 1940 for the Louisville & Nashville. The PRR car will substitute for the previously announced Blue Ridge Club, which will not be attending.
Colonial Crafts is the only surviving Colonial-series car, part of a larger 95-car PRR order. The three-bedroom, one drawing room, buffet-lounge car was found on trains such as the Spirit of St. Louis, Manhattan Limited, and Northern Arrow. Retired in 1969 and sold into private ownership, it first spent time at the Arden Trolley Museum outside of Pittsburgh, then in 1986 was sold to a Los Angeles owner and operated in West Coast charter service. Sold again in 2017, it was moved to Philadelphia, where it remains today.
The car, which remains almost all of its original Pullman features, transported Elvis Presley and his entourage in March 1960 when Elvis returned from military service in Germany, and was part of Richard Nixon’s campaign train in October of that year.
The three cars will be available for viewing at Metra’s 111th Street station. Other features of Railroad Days will be neighborhood, factory site, Hotel Florence, and safety tours; appearances by a Norfolk Southern locomotive simulator and Canadian National’s riding train Little Obie, and a variety of children’s activities.
More information is available at the Historic Pullman Foundation website.
— Updated at 8:45 a.m. on Feb. 22 to correct that Little Obie is a Canadian National train.
I have known for some time the Los Angeles area owner of the car. I believe he acquired the car while working in the Pittsburgh area overseeing a special project for his Los Angeles based employer. When the special project ended he returned to Los Angeles with the car and a wife he met and married while in Pennsylvania.