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HISTORY OF OUR CARS
Below is the history of each of our historic railroad cars.
Georgia Veterans • SWGX 1406
Georgia Veterans
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Georgia Veterans
Georgia Veteran's was originally built for the Norfolk & Western Railroad (N&W) in 1949. The car did not have a number but was named the Washington & Lee University. The car originally was built as a 10/6 sleeping car. There were 10 roomettes and 6 double bedrooms. Originally the car wore a full Tuscan red, black roof, and gold lettering. The car was converted in 1964 to a commuter coach. The car eventually wound up in commuter service on MARC for the state of Maryland. The SAM purchased the car in 2003 and has been hauling passengers since. Below you can see a digital rendering of how the car looked originally.
Original design of car from 1949
Leslie • SWGX 1490
Leslie
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Leslie
Leslie was originally built for the Norfolk & Western Railroad (N&W) in 1949. The car did not have a number but was named the Augusta County. The car originally was built as a 10/6 sleeping car. There were 10 roomettes and 6 double bedrooms. Originally the car wore a full Tuscan red, black roof, and gold lettering. The car was converted in 1964 to a commuter coach. The car eventually wound up in commuter service on MARC for the state of Maryland. The SAM purchased the car in 2003 and has been hauling passengers since. Below you can see a digital rendering of how the car looked originally.
Original design of car from 1949
Americus • SWGX 1487
Americus
Americus
Americus was originally built for the Norfolk & Western Railroad (N&W) in 1949. The car did not have a number but was named the Randolph Macon College. The car originally was built as a 10/6 sleeping car. There were 10 roomettes and 6 double bedrooms. Originally the car wore a full Tuscan red, black roof, and gold lettering. The car was converted in 1964 to a commuter coach. The car eventually wound up in commuter service on MARC for the state of Maryland. The SAM purchased the car in 2003 and has been hauling passengers since. Below you can see a digital rendering of how the car looked originally.
Original design of car from 1949
Cordele • SWGX 8274
Cordele
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Cordele
Cordele was built in 1949 as a 21-roomette sleeper for the Pennsylvania Railroad numbered 8274 and originally named New Castle Inn. The car operated on “The Iron City Express” as a regularly assigned sleeper. It worked on the Indianapolis Limited as a through sleeper. When delivered, it wore a full Tuscan Red color, with gold lettering and a Black Roof. In 1963, New Castle Inn was converted to a 64-seat coach with a 12-seat smoking section for corridor operations and renumbered 1539. When converted to a coach, the car was changed from Tuscan red to a stainless-steel coach. As No. 1539, it served on the corridor through the 1960s into the Penn Central era and beyond, until it was sold to Maryland DOT (MARC) in 1976.
New Castle Inn worked in commuter service being renumbered several times, MDOT 1512 then to MARC 151. MARC put the Pennsylvania Railroad Keystone, as well as the car’s original name, on the letter board. The New Castle Inn operated until 2001 on one of MARC’s express commuter trains all over the network. In 2003, SAM Shortline purchased the car and renamed it Cordele, and kept the MARC number as 151. In 2021, Cordele got a fresh coat of paint on the window band, new lettering, and renumbered back to its original number.
Original design of car from 1949
Archery • SWGX 8271
Archery
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Archery
Archery was built in 1949 as a 21-roomette sleeper for the Pennsylvania Railroad numbered 8271 and originally named Mansfield Inn. The car operated on “The Iron City Express” as a regularly assigned sleeper. It worked on the Indianapolis Limited as a through sleeper. When delivered, it wore a full Tuscan Red color, with gold lettering and a Black Roof. In 1963, Mansfield Inn was converted to a 64 -seat coach with a 12-seat smoking section for corridor operations and renumbered 1542. When converted to a coach, the car was changed from Tuscan red to a stainless-steel coach. As No. 1542, it served on the corridor through the 1960s into the Penn Central era and beyond, until it was sold to Maryland DOT (MARC) in 1976.
Mansfield worked in commuter service being renumbered several times, MDOT 1513 then to MARC 152. MARC put the Pennsylvania Railroad Keystone, as well as the car’s original name, on the letter board. The Mansfield Inn operated until 2001 on one of MARC’s express commuter trains all over the network. In 2003, SAM Shortline purchased the car and renamed it Archery, and kept the MARC number as 152. In 2021, Archery got a fresh coat of paint on the window band, new lettering, and renumbered back to its original number.
Original design of car from 1949
Plains • SWGX 8252
Plains
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Plains
Plains was built in 1949 as a 21-roomette sleeper for the Pennsylvania Railroad numbered 8252 and originally named Chester Inn. The car operated on “The Iron City Express” as a regularly assigned sleeper. It worked on the Indianapolis Limited as a through sleeper. When delivered, it wore a full Tuscan Red color, with gold lettering and a Black Roof. In 1958 it was renamed, William Thaw. In 1963, William Thaw was converted to a 64-seat coach with a 12-seat smoking section for corridor operations and renumbered 1546. When converted to a coach, the car was changed from Tuscan red to a stainless-steel coach. As No. 1546, it served on the corridor through the 1960s into the Penn Central era and beyond, until it was sold to Maryland
DOT (MARC) in 1976. William Thaw worked in commuter service being renumbered several times, MDOT 1515 then to MARC 154. MARC put the Pennsylvania Railroad Keystone, as well as the car’s original name, on the letter board. The Mansfield Inn operated until 2001 on one of MARC’s express commuter trains all over the network. In 2003, SAM Shortline purchased the car and renamed it Plains and kept the MARC number as 154. In 2021, Plains received a fresh coat of paint on the window band, new lettering, and renumbered back to its original number.
Original design of car from 1949
Power Car • SWGX 891372
Our power car is on the head end of the train and provides electrical power for all the passenger cars. The car was built in 1953 for the US Army and a US Army hospital kitchen car and was built by the St. Louis Railcar Company. The army then sold the car into private ownership via public auction. The private's owners then converted the car into a power car, installing two large Diesel generators. The SAM Shortline purchased the car in 2003 to power the train. In January 2022, the power car had an exterior restoration and painted into its original US Army Hospital Kitchen Car paint scheme.
Original design of car from 1949
Samuel H. Hawkins • SWGX 1508
The Samuel H. Hawkins was originally ordered from the Budd Company in July 1939 and delivered in November 1939 for the Florida East Coast Railroad. The car originally wore the name "Lake Worth" and was built for Henry M. Flagler and Dixie Flagler. Lake worth was then sold to Seaboard Air Line and numbered 6606. From there it went to the Seaboard Coast Line and numbered 5850, then to Amtrak number 3338. The car was then sold into private ownership and number 1508. The SAM Shortline railroad acquired the car in 2002 and named it after Samuel H. Hawkins.
How the car looks currently. (Right Side View)
How the car looks currently. (Left Side View)
How the car looked from the factory. (1939)