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The Many Lives of the Central Pacific Commissioners' Car

The Car Where It Happened

What’s in a name? This car, the Virginia & Truckee (V&T) Coach No. 17, has answered to a lot of them in its long life. The Commissioners' Car, Crocker’s Car, Cohen’s Car, and Bonanza are just a few examples. They hint at the many lives this car has lived.

In its 150 (+) years, this car looks its age. It has not been restored, so its life is on full display. Every crack, nail hole, and chip of paint has a story to tell. Its stories include attending the Golden Spike Ceremony at Promontory, Utah. It also campaigned for a woman’s right to vote in Nevada. It even spent time in Hollywood making movies with stars including Elvis, Henry Fonda, and Kenny Rogers.

This is the car where history happened. It stands as a physical connection to the past. This car has seen it all!

Background: Coach 17 ready to be put on display at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 2019. Courtesy of Nevada State Railroad Museum

Design and Construction 1868

“It will excel, in elegance and comfort, anything before put on wheels.”- Sonoma Democrat, November 21, 1868.

The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) built this car in our own Sacramento Shops in 1868. Charles Crocker, CPRR Construction Superintendent, planned it. He wanted a first-class business car. CPRR Master Car Builder, Benjamin Welch, built it.

The deluxe private car included a bathroom, kitchen, dining room, single bedroom, and parlor. Furnishings included four red lounges which could be made into beds. With two black walnut bedframes and mattresses, the car could accommodate ten people overnight.

At over 50-feet in length, it was longer than any car built on the West Coast. Welch topped off his design with a new feature for its day: the clearstory. This was a section of roof that rose above the primary roof. It had windows and ventilators to provide increased light and air.

See the history! Central Pacific built this car entirely from California resources. Here you can see the car body’s California Redwood frame. California State Railroad Museum.

Left: Benjamin Welch was the Central Pacific's Master Car Builder. He was in charge of building and maintaining all of the railroad's freight and passenger cars, including the Commissioners Car. This portrait was taken circa 1869-1871, soon after Welch built the Commissioners' Car. California State Railroad Museum.

The Commissioner’s Car (1868-1869)

One of this car’s early names was “The Commissioners' Car.”

Who were the Commissioners? In 1868, they were federal inspectors of the Transcontinental Railroad. Throughout November and December 1868, the commissioners checked on the railroad’s progress. They were often joined by Charles Crocker or his other “Big Four” associates, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, or C.P. Huntington.

The Commissioners' Car, Subsistence car, and the locomotive Falcon are carrying commissioners on an inspection trip. The Subsistence Car carried extra food and water for Commissioners' Car passengers and had sleeping berths for crew. Notice the two commissioners riding on the front of the locomotive to inspect the track while moving. Courtesy of Nevada State Railroad Museum.

On April 28, 1869, Crocker and Stanford rode the car to witness a historic event: The Ten-Mile Day. The CPRR’s Chinese railroad workers and 8 Irish laborers laid 10 miles of track in one day. It’s a record that still stands today.

Truss rods are angled iron rods placed beneath train cars to support their weight. Benjamin Welch used four truss rods, instead of the usual two, to support the car's extra length and weight. Arrows point to them in the picture above. Courtesy of Nevada State Railroad Museum.

The Golden Spike Ceremony

On May 10, 1869, the CPRR and Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) completed the nation’s first Transcontinental Railroad. The Golden Spike Ceremony took place at Promontory Summit, Utah. About 1,000 people attended the event. So did the Commissioners' Car.

From left to right: Commissioners' Car, Subsistence Car, water tank car, and the locomotive Jupiter on the way to Promontory Summit, Utah on May 9, 1869. Alfred A. Hart Stereoscopic View No. 351 "Monument Point from the Lake 669 Miles from Sacramento" Courtesy of Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives.

Leland Stanford was CPRR president. He rode the Commissioners' Car to the event. Ten invited guests accompanied him. They brought the 4 ceremonial spikes, last tie, and silver maul to the event. Learn more at the Golden Spike exhibit in this museum.

This view, taken from behind the Central Pacific train, shows the Jupiter, Subsistence Car, and Commissioners' Car at the Golden Spike Ceremony at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. Alfred A. Hart Stereoscopic View No. 360 "The Last Act 690 Miles from Sacramento. Scene at Promontory Point, May 10, 1869" Courtesy of Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives.

After the ceremony, Stanford invited UPRR and CPRR executives back to the Commissioners' Car. They toasted the day with champagne and speeches. Around 2:00 p.m., Stanford’s train left Promontory and returned to Sacramento.

See the history! These square holes are from the original 16 vents for the car. Before the invention of air-conditioning, these vents brought in fresh air for passenger comfort.

A Private Car of Many Names

In the next ten years, the Commissioners' Car changed names with each new owner. By late May 1869, people called it “Crocker’s Car” for Charles Crocker. When he retired in 1871, the car became the “Directors’ Car.” Leland Stanford and C.P. Huntington enjoyed travel time on board.

The Commissioners' Car and Subsistence Car, at the far left of the photo, in an Eastbound train at Reno, Nevada on June 9, 1870. This photograph was found inside the Nevada State Capitol's cornerstone in 1978. Courtesy of Nevada State Railroad Museum.

Around 1873, Alfred A. Cohen and Darius Ogden Mills owned the car. Cohen was a CPRR executive, and Mills founded the Bank of California. Newspapers called the car, “Cohen’s Car.” In 1875, they sold it to Nevada’s Virginia and Truckee Railroad (V&T). Henry M. Yerington, V&T’s superintendent decried its “filthy condition” and refurbished the car.

The lower red lines show where extra wood was placed for the kitchen wall and a doorway into the bedroom corridor. The box surrounds part of the original vent hole for the kitchen stove.

V&T named the car “Bonanza” for the great silver rush in Virginia City. This name lasted only a few days before becoming simply “Number 25.” No. 25 made numerous cross country trips on behalf of Yerington and the V.&T.

Background: Crocker's Car is the third from right in this 1869 photograph taken at Devils Gate, Utah. Crocker went on to Ogden, Utah and then returned to Sacramento on this trip. Courtesy of Oakland Museum of California.

Express Coach No. 17 1878-1938

Coach 17 is at the end of a Summer "Virginia Express" train pulled by locomotive No. 12 "Genoa". California State Railroad Museum.

By 1878, private car No. 25 was no longer in fashion. Wealthy people expected the best in luxury travel. No. 25 did not measure up. As a result, V&T converted the 10-year-old car into an express passenger car.

They removed the partitions around the bedroom and kitchen. They installed two coal stoves at each end of the car and modernized the clearstory. Finally, they installed 30 new upholstered seats and 14 overhead baggage racks. With Westinghouse air brakes and Miller platforms and coupling hooks, the new coach No. 17 was ready to make some money for the railroad.

Coach No.17 ran on the daily summer Express trains between Reno and Virginia City until 1924. The V.&T. also used Coach No. 17 for many special trains until 1938

See the history! The V&T updated the original square windows with more fashionable arch-topped windows. Courtesy of Nevada State Railroad Museum.

Left: Coach 17's interior in April 1938, as it would have appeared in Express service. California State Railroad Museum.

The V&T rebuilt the car's trucks with new parts while it was a coach. The pedestals, which hold the wheels in place, were made by the railroad and marked "V&TRR".
Coach 17 at Reno on June 5, 1938 as part of a Calirfornia-Nevada Railroad Historical Society excursion to Virginia City. This was the last time the V&T used Coach 17 before selling it. Notice the arch-topped windows modified by the V&T. Gerald M. Best Collection Nevada State Railroad Museum.

Suffrage Special 1920

In 1919, the U.S. Congress passed an amendment to the Constitution that guaranteed women the right to vote. Thirty-six states had to ratify the amendment.

On February 7, 1920, the issue came before the Nevada State Legislature. This was a historic event. Many women wanted to witness Nevada’s approval.

Suffragists who rode in Coach 17 to Carson City watch Governor Emmet Boyle ratify the 19th Amendment. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

V&T coach No. 17 helped make that wish a reality. With a 40-foot banner nailed to its side, the car acquired another new name: the “Suffrage Special.” Thirty women traveled from Reno to Carson City to witness the legislature’s approval of the nineteenth amendment. Governor Emmet D. Boyle signed the resolution.

The small hole with a paperclip inside it was made when Suffragists hung a "Suffrage Special" banner from Coach 17. Courtesy of Nevada State Railroad Museum.

The 19th amendment passed in August 1920. The U.S. Constitution now stated that U.S. citizens could not be denied the right to vote because of their sex.

The original coach numbers were revealed by carefully sanding through the car's many layers of paint. This shows what colors the car was painted during the Suffrage Special, canary yellow for the body, with red lettering.

Twentieth Century Fox 1938-1972

After 71 years of service, coach No. 17 was ready for its close-up. . . Hollywood style!

V&T leased coach No. 17 to Twentieth Century-Fox Studios. The studio wanted to use its interior for a hold-up scene in 1939’s Jesse James, starring Henry Fonda. In 1946, art imitated life when the studio used it in Centennial Summer. No one realized that the car had attended America’s actual 1876 centennial celebration in Philadelphia. In 1956, coach No. 17 witnessed Elvis Presley’s film debut in Love Me Tender.

After that, the studio lost interest in railroad equipment. The car sat neglected in a remote location in Malibu Canyon, California. No more movie stars. Just woodpeckers that pecked holes in its old siding.

Woodpeckers pecked through the car's siding to store acorns while it sat outside between movies.

Background: The car repainted and lettered as Pennsylvania Railroad No. 17 for Centennial Summer in 1946. Courtesy of Nevada State Railroad Museum.

Short Line Enterprises 1972-1988

In 1972, a group of rail enthusiasts formed a company called Short Line Enterprises. They wanted to preserve historic railroad equipment no longer wanted by Hollywood. Short Line bought Coach No. 17 in 1972. Once again, this car found life in movies. This time, it was in TV movies. In 1974, they used the car in Mrs. Sundance starring Elizabeth Montgomery. In 1980, No. 17 appeared in Kenny Rogers as The Gambler and (1983) Kenny Rogers as the Gambler: The Adventure Continues.

Short Line installed this bracing to help support the sagging car before moving it to Alta Loma, and later Jamestown, California in 1976. Courtesy of Nevada State Railroad Museum.

Use in these movies undoubtedly saved the old rail car’s life. The company had to stabilize the 111-year-old coach. They propped up the roof and installed a partition to correct twisting. They replaced the side most damaged by the woodpeckers and painted the car moss green. They painted the lettering, “Denver & California Western” for the movie.

This partition was added to correct twisting and help support the car's roof before filming in 1983. Courtesy of Nevada State Railroad Museum.

Background: Short Line replaced and painted the siding green, and they added “Denver & California Western” lettering for the second Kenny Roger’s Gambler movie. It is seen here during filming at Jamestown, California in 1983. Courtesy of Nevada State Railroad Museum.

Preservation at the Nevada and California State Railroad Museums

In 1988, Short Line sold the car to the Nevada State Railroad Museum. The 2019 approach of the Transcontinental Railroad’s 150th anniversary renewed interest in the car. Should they restore it? To do so would require replacing all the car’s wooden components. And what time period should it represent? They made a decision. It should remain as it is.

Restoration experts installed wooden bracing to help support the clerestory. They also reinstalled tie rods that the V&T had removed. Tie rods keep the clerestory from spreading apart.

Stop and take another look at Coach No. 17. What do you see? Do its nooks and crannies look different to you now that you know its stories? This car didn’t survive because of its superior design. You might say it was its history that preserved it. For over 150 years, numerous parties found use for it. It had purpose.

A large steel beam now supports the body of the wooden car instead of the truss rods.

In 2022, the Nevada State Railroad Museum loaned this historic car to us. The California State Railroad Museum is delighted to share the stories of this car. As we have seen, our lives are made of railroad stories too. What’s yours?