main@RealSTMFC.groups.io | Abraham Lincoln Friendship Train

Charlie Vlk

Does anyone know if there were any specially painted cars for the 1948 Abraham Lincoln Friendship Train?
Google yields an account of the origin and progress of the train and the car count as it wended its way across
the country from California to New York, but no description of the cars added to it.
The train was conceived to relieve food shortages in postwar Europe and grew to two sections totalling over 200 carloads of canned
goods, flour, etc.. as well as cash donations.
We know that the CB&Q, at least, painted up a XM32 in Red, White and Blue with a cameo portrait of Lincoln but the one photo of the
car does not show any other cars in the train and appears to be taken before it was added to the train as there
is what looks like a heavyweight car coupled ahead of it.
Soople did not yield any images of the "Abraham Lincoln Friendship Train".
Charlie Vlk

Michael Aufderheide

#71847

Charlie,
   
  There were at least 4 Monon boxcars allocated and assigned to this service.  The only additional lettering for these cars was the text "FRIENDSHIP TRAIN" added in gothic above the "MONON" near the reporting marks.  The photos I've seen show a mix of 9000-9499 '37 AAR cars and 1-500 series postwar welded steel cars.  Boxcars were dropped off at the freighthouse for a week at each town.  Some towns would compete on filling a boxcar once a week with taped on banners for recognition and to challenge other towns on line.  
   
  Do you have any information where the collection points were for these shipments?  1948 happens to be the year I am modeling.
   
  Regards,
   
  Mike Aufderheide

Charlie Vlk <cvlk@...> wrote:
          Does anyone know if there were any specially painted cars for the 1948 Abraham Lincoln Friendship Train?
Google yields an account of the origin and progress of the train and the car count as it wended its way across
the country from California to New York, but no description of the cars added to it.
The train was conceived to relieve food shortages in postwar Europe and grew to two sections totalling over 200 carloads of canned
goods, flour, etc.. as well as cash donations.
We know that the CB&Q, at least, painted up a XM32 in Red, White and Blue with a cameo portrait of Lincoln but the one photo of the
car does not show any other cars in the train and appears to be taken before it was added to the train as there
is what looks like a heavyweight car coupled ahead of it.
Soople did not yield any images of the "Abraham Lincoln Friendship Train".
Charlie Vlk

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Jim Scott

#71853

Thank you for running this.  Reading the progress at Ames was very interesting.  Would have liked to have seen this train but I was only 5 years old at the time it left Los Angeles and even if my folks had taken me to the station, I probably wouldn't have remembered it.  To read about how the Country would gather together at that time was very interesting and inspiring. 

Jim Scott
Lompoc, CA.

Show quoted text

----- Original Message ----
From: Charlie Vlk <cvlk@...>
To: STMFC@...
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 1:19:32 PM
Subject: Fw: [STMFC] Abraham Lincoln Friendship Train

                Re: [STMFC] Abraham Lincoln Friendship TrainBrian Ehni came up with some references to the Lincoln Friendship Train....  and spookily, there is a shot of the OTHER side of the CB&Q car from the one I have
on eBay right now.....
Charlie Vlk

Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 2:47 PM
Subject: Re: [STMFC] Abraham Lincoln Friendship Train

This popped right up, but it's passenger cars

http://www.ameshist oricalsociety. org/exhibits/ events/friendshi p_train.htm
http://digital. lib.uiowa. edu/cgi-bin/ showfile. exe?CISOROOT= /wwii&CISOPTR= 139

Looks like some of the passenger cars got painted, but the freight cars weren't. The box cars almost look like Pacemakers.. ..

Brian Ehni




    
          			
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Charlie Vlk

#71850

Mike-
Google Lincoln Friendship Train and you'll find several sources.
One of them, in a book "The Cross of Iron:  Harry S. Truman and the Origins of the National Society" by Michael J. Hogan,
indicates that there were severatl Friendship Trains.   
I am guessing that the Monon cars were for the original train that originated in Los Angeles and went to New York.

The LINCOLN Friendship Train started in Lincoln, Nebraska and raised
150 boxcars of food and clothing, separate from and after the one that started on the West Coast.
One of the newspaper articles that comes up in a Google search also indicated that the CB&Q and C&NW ran separate sections
of the train from Lincoln to Chicago.
There were some passenger cars painted up for the train(s)... and from one of the pictures it looks like there might have been specail
paint jobs on some of the freight cars other than the CB&Q car already identified.

http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/exhibits/events/friendship_train.htm    (this is the LA-NYC Friendship Train)
http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/wwii&CISOPTR=139  (this shows the C&NW leg of the Lincoln Friendship Train)

Charlie Vlk

Show quoted text

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mike Aufderheide 
  To: STMFC@... 
  Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 3:09 PM
  Subject: Re: [STMFC] Abraham Lincoln Friendship Train

  Charlie,

  There were at least 4 Monon boxcars allocated and assigned to this service. The only additional lettering for these cars was the text "FRIENDSHIP TRAIN" added in gothic above the "MONON" near the reporting marks. The photos I've seen show a mix of 9000-9499 '37 AAR cars and 1-500 series postwar welded steel cars. Boxcars were dropped off at the freighthouse for a week at each town. Some towns would compete on filling a boxcar once a week with taped on banners for recognition and to challenge other towns on line. 

  Do you have any information where the collection points were for these shipments? 1948 happens to be the year I am modeling.

  Regards,

  Mike Aufderheide

  Charlie Vlk <cvlk@...> wrote:
  Does anyone know if there were any specially painted cars for the 1948 Abraham Lincoln Friendship Train?
  Google yields an account of the origin and progress of the train and the car count as it wended its way across
  the country from California to New York, but no description of the cars added to it.
  The train was conceived to relieve food shortages in postwar Europe and grew to two sections totalling over 200 carloads of canned
  goods, flour, etc.. as well as cash donations.
  We know that the CB&Q, at least, painted up a XM32 in Red, White and Blue with a cameo portrait of Lincoln but the one photo of the
  car does not show any other cars in the train and appears to be taken before it was added to the train as there
  is what looks like a heavyweight car coupled ahead of it.
  Soople did not yield any images of the "Abraham Lincoln Friendship Train".
  Charlie Vlk

  ---------------------------------
  Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.