Pullman "American Milemaster"

Pullman bought full-page ads in newspapers across the country in May 1939 inviting people to submit names for the car, with 25 grand prize winners getting a free trip to either the New York or San Francisco World’s Fair.  I could not find a follow-up item listing the winning names, only an item in the San Francisco Chronicle from August 26, 1939 indicating that the president of Pullman had selected 'American Milemaster' from the 25 winners. Otto Perry found the car on display at the New York World’s Fair in August 4, 1939, not yet bearing its name.

American Milemaster did end up on the Treasure Island Special for at least part of the 1940 season.  American Milemaster had quite a varied career afterwards – used on SP’s Lark, blunt ended in 1956, sold to SP, then to EMD as test car ET800, then to Conrail as rail analyzer car 22, passing to NS, and then to Delaware-Lackawanna, where a thread from 2023 reported it still existed in stripped-down condition.

What The New Roomette Car Is -- A private little world of your own on wheels! Compact, comfortable almost beyond belief! Within its tinted walls, at your finger's command, are a disappearing washbasin, enclosed wardrobe, a full length bed. 6 feel 5 inches long. Generous size, illuminated mirror. Magic vent to whisk cigarette smoke away. Concealed toilet facilities. A carafe of sparkling ice water within arm's reach.

The ceiling and reading lights are of a new, modern design diffusing a soft daytime brightness that's remarkably easy on the eyes. A movable, cushioned foot rest is another thoughtful touch. Yet the rate for one of these supremely comfortable Roomettes is little more than for a lower berth. (Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, May 7, 1939)

1 Car, Lot 6567, Plan 4082, Ordered 10/38, Delivered 7/39.

(1) Built as: 2 Bedroom, 1 Compartment, 1 Drawing Room, RE Observation Buffet 27-seat Lounge.

POOL (1) American Milemaster, SP (1) 400 in 1941, (1) 9500 in 1949, Retired 1965, Sold to EMD: Test car ET800,

Car sold by Pullman to SP in 1948, observation end squared off in 1957. The name "American Milemaster" was chosen as a result of a nationwide "name the car" contest. Built for Worlds Fair Exhibits.

American Milemaster was repainted to Armour Yellow and Chocolate Brown for COSF service in February 1940. During June 1940, it was painted two-tone gray for assignment to the seasonal Treasure Island Special and after the season ended, the car was transferred to the Arizona Limited. (page 243)

American Milemaster replaced George M. Pullman for the train's second season after being released from temporary COSF service in June 1940. (page 451)

[photo caption] "American Milemaster open to the public as part of the Pullman display train at the New York World's Fair. This car was one of four built in lot 6567 for initial assignment to New York Central's Southwestern Limited. Originally intended to be named Mohawk River, it was instead selected to be Pullman's premier exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair. A contest was held during the fair to select a permanent name for the car, with American Milemaster being selected as the winning entry. (page 453)

The traveling public enjoyed named cars. They were evocative of different places, different cultures, or of home. Names had powerful associational value, like all good advertising working on a subliminal level. Exotic names made this exotic form of travel even more so and added to the cachet of luxury and service. Public interest in Pullman car names was emphasized in 1939, when The Pullman Company staged a nationwide contest to select a name for a sleeping car on exhibition at the New York World’s Fair. A total of 780,000 names were submitted in a 60-day period. The name selected was AMERICAN MILEMASTER, a car which later became second SP-400 while in SP Lark service, then SP-9500, and eventually was sold and converted by General Motors to Engine Test #800.

The 6 section, 6 roomette, 4 double bedroom lightweight sleeping cars AMERICAN ELM, AMERICAN MANOR, AMERICAN CANYON and AMERICAN ROSE were withdrawn from Overland Route service in 1942 and 1943, exchanging their names for the numbers 513-516 respectively for LARK operation between Los Angeles and Oakland. Articulated chair cars 2404-2405 and 2406-2407, built for the 1937 DAYLIGHT trains, were assigned to the LARK in the 1940's. The LARK observation cars 400 and 401 were destroyed in wrecks in September 1941 and December 1942 respectively; they were replaced by the AMERICAN MILEMASTER and the MUSKINGUM RIVER (Pullman pool-service cars with the same accommodations) which became the second 400 and 401 respectively upon joining the LARK consists. (page 204)

The AMERICAN MILEMASTER was built in Lot 6597 in April of 1939 and the MUSKINGUM RIVER in Lot 6608 in June 1940 -- both cars were Plan 4082 with one drawing room, one compartment, two double bedrooms, buffet and observation lounge. The AMERICAN MILEMASTER, exhibited at the New York World's Fair of 1939, received its name as the result of a nationwide car-naming contest sponsored by the Pullman Company. Both cars were assigned to the ARIZONA LIMITED for the 1940-41 winter season, with the MUSKINGUM RIVER continuing in this assignment during the 1941-42 winter. The AMERICAN MILEMASTER and MUSKINGUM RIVER were re-designated cars 400 and 401 in December 1941 and June 1943 respectively for service in the Southern Pacific's LARK, replacing two similar cars which had been built in April 1941 with the numbers 400 and 401 for the LARK, but which had been destroyed in wrecks in September 1941 and December 1942. The cars which became the second 400 and 401 were in turn renumbered to 9500 and 9501 by the Southern Pacific (their postwar owner) in November and December of 1949. (page 244)

AMERICAN MILEMASTER AND MUSKINGUM RIVER

American Milemaster was built in Lot 6567, one of four cars intended for service on New York Central's Southwestern Limited. They were 1-drawing-room, 1-compartment, 2-double-bedroom observation cars Genesee River, Maumee River, Wabash River, and a car that was to be named Mohawk River but instead was selected to be the crown jewel of the Pullman Company's exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

As exhibited the car had no name but carried the words "Lightweight Room-Observation Sleeping Car" on its sides. A contest was conducted at the fair to select a name for the car; over 780,000 names were submitted during a 60-day period. The winning name: American Milemaster.

After the close of the Fair, in the autumn of 1939, American Milemaster returned to Chicago for refurbishing and assignment to the Pullman Pool. In February 1940 it was painted Union Pacific colors and replaced the ailing experimental car George M. Pullman in the City of San Francisco relief train hastily formed after the 1939 derailment at Harney, Nevada.

In June 1940 American Milemaster was again painted two-tone gray for service on the Treasure Island Special. The gray livery remained for the car's next assignment, the winter-season Arizona Limited between Chicago, Tucson, and Phoenix via the Rock Island and Southern Pacific.

American Milemaster received a more permanent assignment in December 1941. It replaced SP 400, a similar car that was destroyed in a rear-end collision shortly after entering service on SP's Lark (the Lark's Pullmans were numbered, not named).

Concurrent with the adventures of American Milemaster, another car, Muskingum River, was laid down at Pullman Car Works under Lot 6608. It was identical to the cars in Lot 6567 in every respect but one: its sides and roof were flat unpainted stainless steel. The car entered service on the Arizona Limited. In April 1943 it was assigned to the Lark to replace car SP 401, also destroyed in a rear-end collision.

Both cars served almost two decades on the Lark. They were both rebuilt with flat observation ends in 1956. The former Muskingum River was wrecked in 1959, but American Milemaster survives as the research car for Electro-Motive Division of General Motors.