Troop sleeper
Encyclopedia
In United States railroad terminology, a troop sleeper was a railroad passenger car which had been constructed to serve as something of a mobile barracks (essentially, a sleeping car
) for transporting troops over distances sufficient to require overnight accommodations. This method allowed part of the trip to be made overnight, reducing the amount of transit time required and increasing travel efficiency.
personnel. As there were not enough cars and coaches available to meet the massive need for troop transit created by World War II
, in late 1943 the U.S. Office of Defense Transportation contracted with the Pullman Company
to build 2,400 troop sleepers, and with American Car and Foundry (ACF) to build 440 troop kitchen cars.
This new rolling stock was either converted from existing boxcar
s or built from scratch based on Association of American Railroads
(AAR) standard 50'-6" single-sheathed steel boxcar designs, and were constructed entirely out of steel with heavily reinforced ends. In some instances baggage car
s were converted into temporary kitchen cars before ACF could complete its order. The cars were painted the standard Pullman Green and affixed with gold lettering. Along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's
(ATSF) "Surf Line
," trains consisting of 10-12 former Southern Pacific
interurban trailer cars, owned by the U.S. Maritime Commission
but bearing ATSF markings, were fitted with conventional knuckle coupler
s at each end of the trainset and pressed into service to handle the additional passenger loads.
Equipped with special Allied Full Cushion high-speed swing-motion trucks
, Pullman troop sleepers were designed to be fully interchangeable with all other passenger equipment. The units came equipped with end doors similar to those found on standard railway cars, but had no vestibules
. Loading and unloading of passengers was accomplished via wide doors positioned on each side at the center of the cars with built-in trap doors and steps. Light and ventilation was provided by ten window units mounted on each side, each equipped with rolling black out shades and wire mesh screens.
Troop sleepers, generally intended for use by enlisted personnel, were equipped with bunks stacked 3-high, and slept 29 servicemen plus the Pullman porter. Every passenger was provided with a separate Pullman bed, complete with sheets and pillowcases that were changed daily. The berths were laid out in a cross-wise arrangement that placed the aisle along one side of the car, as opposed to down the center. Though the upper berths were fixed, the middle and lower sections could be reconfigured into seating during the daytime. Weapon racks were provided for each group of berths. Four washstands (two mounted at each end of the car) delivered hot and cold running water. The cars also came outfitted with two enclosed toilets and a drinking water
cooler.
, also joined the trains to provide meal service en route (the troops took their meals in their seats or bunks). As the cooking was performed by regular U.S. Army cooks, the cars were outfitted with two Army-standard coal
ranges. The cars were also equipped with a pair of 200-gallon cold water tanks and a 40-gallon hot water tank; supplies were stocked on open shelves with marine-type railings, a bread locker, a large refrigerator
, and a series of built-in cabinets and drawers. The cars served approximately 250 men each, and were typically placed in the middle of the train so that food could be served from both ends.
Troop hospital cars, also based on the troop sleeper carbody, transported wounded servicemen and typically travelled in solid strings on special trains averaging fifteen cars each. Each had 38 berths for patients, 30 of which were arranged in the central section of the car in three tiers on each side. There was also a section with six berths which could be used for isolation cases as well as private compartments for special cases. Each unit was ice air-conditioned and came fitted with a shower room along with a modern kitchen with the latest equipment.
s, while others remained in sleeper configuration for use in maintenance of way (MOW) service as bunk cars for the maintenance workers. Subsequent conflicts have not created the need for such an arrangement, partially due to the much smaller level of manpower involved but primarily due to the wider use of aircraft
for long-distance transportation of troops.
Today, preserved troop sleepers can be seen in several railroad museums across the United States.
Troop sleeper #7437 is on display at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD. It was purchased as surplus by the Western Maryland Railroad and used on work trains as crew quarters. The museum has restored it to its original outside appearance. The inside has half the beds put back and the other half has displays about the B&O RR during the war.
Sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
) for transporting troops over distances sufficient to require overnight accommodations. This method allowed part of the trip to be made overnight, reducing the amount of transit time required and increasing travel efficiency.
Background and development
Between December, 1941 and June, 1945 U.S. railroads carried almost 44 million armed servicesArmed Services
Armed Services is a collective term that refers to the major organisational entities of national armed forces, so named because they service a combat need in a specific combat environment. In most states Armed Services include the Army also known as Land Force or Ground Force, Navy also know a...
personnel. As there were not enough cars and coaches available to meet the massive need for troop transit created by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in late 1943 the U.S. Office of Defense Transportation contracted with the Pullman Company
Pullman Company
The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
to build 2,400 troop sleepers, and with American Car and Foundry (ACF) to build 440 troop kitchen cars.
This new rolling stock was either converted from existing boxcar
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
s or built from scratch based on Association of American Railroads
Association of American Railroads
The Association of American Railroads is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America . Amtrak and some regional commuter railroads are also members...
(AAR) standard 50'-6" single-sheathed steel boxcar designs, and were constructed entirely out of steel with heavily reinforced ends. In some instances baggage car
Baggage car
A baggage car or luggage van is a type of railway vehicle often forming part of the composition of passenger trains and used to carry passengers' checked baggage, as well as parcels . Being typically coupled at the front of the train behind the locomotive, this type of car is sometimes described...
s were converted into temporary kitchen cars before ACF could complete its order. The cars were painted the standard Pullman Green and affixed with gold lettering. Along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
(ATSF) "Surf Line
Surf Line
The Surf Line is a railroad line that runs from San Diego north to Los Angeles along California's Pacific Coast. It is so named because much of the line is near the Pacific Ocean, within less than 100 feet in places...
," trains consisting of 10-12 former Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
interurban trailer cars, owned by the U.S. Maritime Commission
United States Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...
but bearing ATSF markings, were fitted with conventional knuckle coupler
Coupling (railway)
A coupling is a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train. The design of the coupler is standard, and is almost as important as the railway gauge, since flexibility and convenience are maximised if all rolling stock can be coupled together.The equipment that connects the couplings to the...
s at each end of the trainset and pressed into service to handle the additional passenger loads.
Equipped with special Allied Full Cushion high-speed swing-motion trucks
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
, Pullman troop sleepers were designed to be fully interchangeable with all other passenger equipment. The units came equipped with end doors similar to those found on standard railway cars, but had no vestibules
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
. Loading and unloading of passengers was accomplished via wide doors positioned on each side at the center of the cars with built-in trap doors and steps. Light and ventilation was provided by ten window units mounted on each side, each equipped with rolling black out shades and wire mesh screens.
Troop sleepers, generally intended for use by enlisted personnel, were equipped with bunks stacked 3-high, and slept 29 servicemen plus the Pullman porter. Every passenger was provided with a separate Pullman bed, complete with sheets and pillowcases that were changed daily. The berths were laid out in a cross-wise arrangement that placed the aisle along one side of the car, as opposed to down the center. Though the upper berths were fixed, the middle and lower sections could be reconfigured into seating during the daytime. Weapon racks were provided for each group of berths. Four washstands (two mounted at each end of the car) delivered hot and cold running water. The cars also came outfitted with two enclosed toilets and a drinking water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
cooler.
Troop kitchens
Troop kitchens, rolling galleysGalley (kitchen)
The galley is the compartment of a ship, train or aircraft where food is cooked and prepared. It can also refer to a land based kitchen on a naval base or a particular formed household kitchen.-Ship's kitchen:...
, also joined the trains to provide meal service en route (the troops took their meals in their seats or bunks). As the cooking was performed by regular U.S. Army cooks, the cars were outfitted with two Army-standard coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
ranges. The cars were also equipped with a pair of 200-gallon cold water tanks and a 40-gallon hot water tank; supplies were stocked on open shelves with marine-type railings, a bread locker, a large refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
, and a series of built-in cabinets and drawers. The cars served approximately 250 men each, and were typically placed in the middle of the train so that food could be served from both ends.
Troop hospital cars, also based on the troop sleeper carbody, transported wounded servicemen and typically travelled in solid strings on special trains averaging fifteen cars each. Each had 38 berths for patients, 30 of which were arranged in the central section of the car in three tiers on each side. There was also a section with six berths which could be used for isolation cases as well as private compartments for special cases. Each unit was ice air-conditioned and came fitted with a shower room along with a modern kitchen with the latest equipment.
Afterlife and preservation
Troop cars saw service though 1947, after which many were sold by the U.S. Army Transportation Corps to the railroads and subsequently converted into mail cars, express service boxcars, or refrigerator carRefrigerator car
A refrigerator car is a refrigerated boxcar , a piece of railroad rolling stock designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Refrigerator cars differ from simple insulated boxcars and ventilated boxcars , neither of which are fitted with cooling apparatus...
s, while others remained in sleeper configuration for use in maintenance of way (MOW) service as bunk cars for the maintenance workers. Subsequent conflicts have not created the need for such an arrangement, partially due to the much smaller level of manpower involved but primarily due to the wider use of aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
for long-distance transportation of troops.
Today, preserved troop sleepers can be seen in several railroad museums across the United States.
Troop sleeper #7437 is on display at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD. It was purchased as surplus by the Western Maryland Railroad and used on work trains as crew quarters. The museum has restored it to its original outside appearance. The inside has half the beds put back and the other half has displays about the B&O RR during the war.
Sources
- Hediger, Jim. (2002). "Troop kitchen cars." Model Railroader 69 (2) 80–82.
- McGuirk, Marty. (2001). "Troop sleepers." Model Railroader 68 (12) 89–92.
- Pearce, Bill. (2005). "Express Reefer from troop sleeper in N." Model Railroader 72 (12) 62–65.
- Signor, John R., ed. (2004). "Troop Sleepers." The Warbonnet 10 (4) 31.
- Wider, Patrick C. (2001). "Troop cars." Classic Trains 2 (4) 84–87.
External links
- "Skilled Staff Operates Hospital Trains Carrying Wounded Veterans" article from the June 1, 1945 issue of The Falmouth Enterprise
- United States Army G-10 — photo and short history of a rare Medical Department version of a World War II Army "troop kitchen" car that has undergone a post-War conversion into a guard car, complete with a cupola.