Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Business Car Northland

Built by the Pullman Company of Chicago in 1916, car Northland was the last of the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway’s business cars. Ordered by then-DM&N President William A. McGonagle, the Northland replaced Business Car Missabe, which is currently being restored in the museum’s Lenard Draper Maintenance Shop. The coach is of all-steel construction, including the interior bulkheads, which have been grained to look like rich mahogany. The Northland measures 82 feet in length and weighs roughly 100 tons. It is essentially the same today as when it was first put into service, though a few modifications have been made. Roller bearing journals were added in 1949, ice-activated air conditioning and a propane generator were installed in 1950 and a propane-fired hot water boiler was installed in 1988. Numerous improvements have been made to the original 32-volt DC electrical system. Car Northland was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The Northland has seen continuous service since its construction and has hosted numerous notable passengers, including King Olaf of Norway and President Calvin Coolidge. It was used as James J. Hill’s private car in the Walt Disney film Iron Will, which was filmed in and around Duluth in 1991-1992.

The museum purchased Business Car Northland and its companion work car W-24 from the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway in the summer of 2003. We are pleased to be able to keep the Northland in the Northland.