Equipment Information

Pullman car “John McLoughlin” is an all-steel heavyweight sleeping car. It is designed for long-distance accommodation and features a mixture of private rooms and open seating, known as a section, that was convertible into bunks separated by heavy curtains for nighttime accommodation. The car was built for use on the Empire Builder, the premier Great Northern Railway passenger train. Pullman rebuilt the car with air conditioning in 1936 and in 1948 the Illinois Central purchased the car. It was retired from passenger service in 1962 and made into a bunk car for maintenance-of-way workers.

FUN FACT: The John McLoughlin this car is named after was born in 1784 and worked for the Hudson Bay Company at Fort Vancouver in the 1820s and 1830s. In the 1840s his general store became the last stop on the Oregon Trail and his support for American settlement of the region led to him being nicknamed the “Father of Oregon.”

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“John McLoughlin” Details

Builder: Pullman/Pullman-Standard
Year Built: 1929
Seats: 23
Length: 84ft
Width: 10ft
Height: 14ft
Weight: 168700 lbs
Brakes: UC
Trucks: Pullman 2411
Description: 8 section, 1 drawing room, 2 compartment sleeping car
Arrived: 1998
Condition: Complete / undergoing restoration / not operational

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“John McLoughlin” Ownership History

1929-1948 – Pullman “John McLoughlin”
1948-1962 – Illinois Central “John McLoughlin”
1962-1972 – Illinois Central #?
1972-1985 – Illinois Central Gulf #?
1985-c1987 – Chicago Central & Pacific #?
c1987-1998 – Keokuk Junction Railway #?
1998-present – Illinois Railway Museum, Union, IL

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