St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Baggage/Coach No. 1

SP&P Car No. 1 was built by Haskell and Barker in 1882 for the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba. One of the first passenger cars on the St. Paul and Pacific, the No. 1 is actually a coach/baggage combine. A little over half of the car length is a baggage area, with a capacity of 20,000 pounds, and the rest has coach seats (18). This car is typical of the coach building style of the era: all wood construction with iron reinforcement. Note that the even part of the truck frames is made with wood timbers. Heat in the car was provided by two coal stoves, and candles were used for lighting. Cooling came only from open windows and ventilators in the roof, a method that allowed a great deal of dust to enter the car. The dirt, smoke, moisture, and cinders were the bane of travelers during hot weather. The seats are simple metal frames and the cushions are horsehair padding covered in leather. Note that this car has a simple arched roof. The compartment under the car carried tools. This car was equipped with hand brakes shaped like steering wheels at each end. When the SP&P became the Great Northern Railway, they selected the mountain goat as their symbol. As time passed, the GN became Burlington Northern, and they didn’t use the goat anymore. They donated 2 taxidermy-preserved mountain goats to the Museum, which we placed in Car No. 1. Now when visitors peek through the window, they can see the goats and remember that this car once belonged to the Great Northern. The car was renovated by the Great Northern Railway in 1924, in keeping with equipment on the SP&P during the 1860s, for display with the locomotive William Crooks. It was donated to the Minnesota Historical Society by the Great Northern Railway, and is on custodial loan to the Museum.