National Register Listing

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Business Car No. 101

a.k.a. The Abraham Lincoln

Bruce and Lee Rds., Othello, WA

Built as a passenger coach in 1910 by the Pullman Company and rebuilt in 1929 to serve as the private car of the railroad president, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Business Car No. 101 is a rare surviving example of the private railroad cars of the early 20th century and one of the oldest operable Pullman cars in the country. The car is distinguished by an exterior that reflects state-of-the-art technology from the period and an elegant interior with walnut paneling, beam ceilings, built-in furniture, two staterooms, an office, an observation deck and parlor, a dining room with walnut cabinetwork and furnishings, a complete kitchen, and servants' quarters.

Pullman, the world's leading manufacturer of railroad cars, underwent significant technological changes in 1910, the year the nominated car was built. Almost overnight, the company switched from production of 60 foot, varnished wood cars to production of 80 foot cars built of riveted steel. Electricity replaced gas lighting and fabricated wood and steel trucks were replaced by massive structural steel units. On the interior, heavy, dark Victorian appointments (complete with wood carvings and tapestry fabrics) were replaced by designs of simpler elegance with clear woods, straight moldings, and light accents of polished bronze hardware (except in bathrooms and kitchens, where the firm introduced nickel-plated brass fixtures).

In the spring of that year, anticipating the opening of its new Western Pacific Railway (the latest transcontinental route to the Pacific), the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad ordered 51 of Pullman's new steel passenger cars. Car No. 845 (which was renumbered by the railroad as Car No. 926) was completed in the fall of 1910 at a cost of over $13,000. The car reflected many of the changes at Pullman. The coach was nearly 80 feet long, with room for 84 passengers, and was both luxurious and conservative with Mission Style paneled walls and beamed ceilings.

Car No. 926 was part of a fleet that remained the premiere passenger equipment on the Denver and Rio Grande line through the boom period of the late 1920s. In 1929, No. 926 was one of two coaches (then 19 years old) selected for conversion into railroad office cars at the railroad shops near Denver. Car No. 926 emerged that year as Business Car No. 101, a rebuilt luxurious executive suite for the president of the company. The car was given a streamlined appearance, placed on modern six-wheel trucks, and equipped with two staterooms, an office, bathrooms, a dining room, servants' quarters, a kitchen, and an observation parlor and deck. The interior was finished with walnut paneling and ceiling beams as well as walnut furniture including the stateroom beds, dining room china cabinet, and dining room table and chairs (all of which remain). The car represented the ultimate status symbol of the age. In 1937, in a continuing attempt to modernize the car, No. 101 was given a vaguely Moderne appearance by rounding out the clerestory profile and covering the windows.

Business Car No. 101 is the only Denver and Rio Grande business car from the period to survive intact. Companion Business Car No. 100 was destroyed by fire; the other business car, No. 102, was completely rebuilt after World War II. Most business cars from the early 20th century met similar fates. In fact, of the few thousand private or business cars ever built in America, about half of those that survived underwent major rebuilding and modernization after World War II; about a quarter of the extant cars caught fire when coal cinders ignited the horsehair insulation; and many remaining retired cars have been sold for scrap. Today, only about five fully operational, mostly original pre-World War II private cars are known to exist in the United States. Of these, Business Car No. 101, now renamed the Abraham Lincoln," is the oldest approved for operation on Amtrak rails.

Local significance of the object:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1988.