Vintage railcar to debut: Old train once seated passengers according to their races

PARRISH — She was a beauty in her time, but reflected the mores of her day: White passengers sat separately from blacks in trains that criss-crossed Manatee County during the Jim Crow years.

Now, the mid-1920s railcar, which was originally split into two racially separate compartments, has been restored and is ready to debut Saturday, carrying passengers at a fall event sponsored by the Florida Railroad Museum Inc.

“‘Colored’ sat on one end, and ‘whites’ on the other,” explained Glenn Miley, superintendent for mechanical and track at the museum, who for months has been helping with the car’s restoration.

The car carried roughly 50 white passengers and 20 black passengers, with a partition separating them, he said. Coach 821 even provided separate bathrooms, depending on race.

Built by American Car & Foundry, it carried passengers across the Seaboard Air Line Railroad system, which included track in Manatee and Sarasota counties, Miley said. The railroad’s corporate descendant is CSX railroad, he added.

“Chances are this car went right through here, stopped at Bradenton, stopped at Sarasota,” said Miley.

It carried military troops during World War II. Passengers remained separated by race until segregation began to fade in the United States during the 1950s. Then, the railroad modified the car, transforming the “colored” section into a smoking lounge, Miley said.

The car continued to traverse Florida cities as late as 1966; it was later purchased by the Clinchfield Railroad for excursion trips, according to the museum Web site, www.frrm.org.

In 1979, it was donated to the Kentucky Railway Museum, and this year, the Florida Railroad Museum traded another car for it so the 821 could return to its native state.

It will be featured during this year’s Pumpkin Patch Express at the museum, 12210 83rd St. E., Parrish. Car 821 will operate along with five others, two engines and a caboose, Miley said.

The car retains its original brass light fixtures, doorknobs and key holes, he said. It has no air-conditioning but sports windows that open to the breeze, a new interior paint job done in “banana-split” yellow, and seats re-upholstered in a rose color.

When volunteers get around to refurbishing the exterior, the car will be painted either a Pullman green or a light gray, colors among the original scheme, said Miley.

When it is finished, restoration probably will have cost the museum $8,000, plus hundreds of volunteer hours, he said.

Chris Maness, a museum employee who helps to maintain track, said he worked on the car’s antiquated electrical system.

Asked if it was a time-consuming endeavor, Maness smiled and replied, “Yes, very.”

The Pumpkin Patch Express, a fall museum event that entails a 13-mile round-trip between Parrish and Willow, is slated for Saturday and Sunday. But Miley said tickets are nearly sold out, and the museum cannot add more trains because it lacks enough volunteers to service them. For information, call (877) 869-0800.

The nonprofit museum uses its historic railcars to carry passengers on weekend excursions from its train station in Parrish to its rail yard in Willow.

It offers special weekend events throughout the year so residents can enjoy the adventure of a ride on a real train and learn a little history as well.

Sara Kennedy, Herald reporter, can be reached at (941) 745-7031.