The Merci Train, 1949

France has been an ally and friend of the United States from the very beginning. In 1777, the Marquis De Lafayette journeyed to the United States to assist General George Washington with our Revolutionary War against England. The Marquis De Lafayette crossed the Atlantic in a vessel that he himself had outfitted. He was most welcomed by General Washington, given the rank of Major General and a position on General Washington's staff. The Marquis was in command of the vanguard of the American forces at the capture of Cornwallis which gave this young Nation its Independence and Freedom.

In the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the United States was recognized as an "independent nation" for the very first time.

For the United States' centennial celebration, the people of France gave us the largest statue in the world, "Liberty Enlightening The World." The "Statue of Liberty" designed by French Sculptor Frederic Bartholdi in 1885 and also known as "Lady Liberty," was placed on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor and was dedicated the following year. Bedloe's Island is now known as Liberty Island.

In 1949, the people of France again sent a gift to the people of the United States, "The Merci Train", also known as "The Thank You Train", "The Gratitude Train" and "The Train De La Reconnaissance Francaise". The Merci Train was sent in appreciation of the food and other items of "The Friendship Train" (see Issue number 39 of The Railroad Press) that were sent to France in late 1947 and 1948. The Merci Train consisted of forty-nine 40 et 8 French railway cars loaded with gifts, one for each of the then 48 states and one whose contents were to be divided between the District of Columbia and the then Territory of Hawaii.

The Times, The Place

The time was shortly after the end of the Second World War. France and the rest of the world had just been through two major wars in thirty years. The year was 1948, an unparalleled drought was ending in Europe and the Europeans were struggling to recover from that unkind act of nature and a major conflict.

[photo] The freighter "Magellan" passing the Statue of Liberty with another gift from France to the United States in its hold -- the 49 railway cars of the Merci Train. Courtesy of New York Times Pictures.

[photo] Playing of the French and American National Anthems at the Washington, D.C. welcoming ceremony for the Merci Train, on Sunday, February 6,1949. Attending this ceremony were French Ambassador Henri Bonnet, Vice President Alben W. Barkley, Drew Pearson and top-ranking government officials along with representatives of the Diplomatic Corps. National Park Service Photograph, Courtesy of the Harry S. Truman Library.

The entire world was working to recover from the recent war and each country was facing their own difficult times. Western Europe was threatened by a Communist takeover; in fact, the Communist Party had a strong foothold in Western Europe, especially in France and Italy. In December of 1947 and early 1948, the French Communist Party unsuccessfully tried to prevent the unloading of the food from the ocean freighters that delivered the very successful American Friendship Train project organized and conducted by the Washington Post columnist Drew Pearson.

The French longshoremen not only defied the Communist Party, they unloaded the food and other gifts from the freighters by donating their services - they unloaded the gifts from the Friendship Train free from any cost.

Every French citizen wanted to participate in the Merci Train project which was an expression of appreciation for the food and other gifts sent to the French people by the American people through the Friendship Train, and, many of them did. The French people were left with very little after the recent war with Nazi Germany; they had only those possessions that they were able to hide from the Nazis. They made personal sacrifices in that many parted with family heirlooms so that they could send a gift to a friend in America. Yes, the people of France were experiencing difficult financial times and were in destitute circumstances, yet, they gave from the heart. They gave what they had to the Merci Train projects for they all wanted to express their gratitude to their friends on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and they did express their gratitude - they sent the American people the Merci Train.

The Plan, The Objective

The objective was very simple, the French people desired to extend their gratitude to the American people for the food and gifts given them by the American Friendship Train Project. The plan was not as simple, as soon as the food and gifts from the Friendship Train started reaching France in late 1947, several people and organizations presented the thought, the idea of doing something to express appreciation to the American People.

[photo] The North Carolina 40 et 8 Merci Train car in 1987 after having been restored. This car is now on display at the North Carolina Transportation Museum at Spencer, North Carolina. Photo by Jim Wrinn.

One of the ideas put forth was from a French Railway worker, a veteran of the French military, Andre Picard, who proposed taking a 40 et 8 railway car, recondition it, fill it with gifts from the French People and send it to the United States so that it would arrive in New York on December 17, 1948, exactly one year to the day that the first ship. The American Leader, carrying food from the Friendship Train, docked at the Port of Le Havre.

From this idea of one railway car of gifts, the idea grew to forty-nine railway cars of gifts, a whole train load of gratitude. Once the plan for the forty-nine railway cars of gifts was sanctioned, the plan was further developed to ship this train to the United States on three Liberty Ships. This too would change.

France wants to send a bread-and-butter gift to the United States, but nobody knows how to address the package.

A group of young French people has formed a "National Organizing Committee for the Train of Appreciation" which they would rather call just "The Thank-You Train".

They want to thank America, not only for the "Friendship Train" but also for the millions of food packages, the adoption of French villages by American towns, the gifts of all kinds that America has sent.

Drew Pearson summed up the idea of the Merci Train quite well in his Washington Merry-Go-Round Column which appeared on page 15-B of the July 1, 1948 edition of The Washington post:

French Gratitude

Here is the inside story of the "Train of Gratitude", the French reply to the Friendship Train.

The idea began with the French Railway Workers Veterans Association, who hauled the Friendship Train through France and who knew about the great job the American Railroads -- both executives and brotherhoods - did in handling the train in the U.S. Simultaneously, Commandant Guy de la Vasselais, former chief of liaison of the Third Army and a friend of the late General Patton, conceived a similar idea. Both took the project to President Auriol of France, who brought them together.

It was the French railway veterans who first proposed sending 48 of the old railway cars used by American troops in World War I (40 men - 8 horses). They suggested sending one car to each of the 48 states as a permanent souvenir.

Accordingly, permission has been given by the French National Railways to send the cars, and the French Line has agreed to transport them to the United States without charge.

The French veterans also proposed loading these cars with gifts for the American people, but have ruled out any food, drink or luxury items. Also they do not want to send anything to Americans made out of raw materials received under the Marshall Plan. Therefore they plan to send typically French nonluxury items such as Sevres pottery, Limoges porcelain, Baccaret crystals, engraved woodwork, Annecy church bells, Brittany bonnets, peasant costumes plus history documents of mutual interest to the two countries.

To Visit 48 States

The "Train of Gratitude" will travel through France, just as the Friendship Train traveled through the United States, picking up gifts from local organizations. Upon arrival in the United States, it is planned to send three or four sectional trains to different parts of the country, dropping off one car in each state.

The distribution of the gifts in the United States will be left entirely to each state. The historic boxcars will be given to the forty eight veterans or to whichever veterans groups is designated by the different states.

"It is also planned to combine the Train of Gratitude with a letterwriting project called "Merci des Enfants" ("Thanks to the Children"). Each boxcar will contain letters from the children of France to the children of America thanking them for the Friendship Train.

When Congress learned about the French Train of Gratitude, only 36 hours of the session remained. However, it rushed through a special bill exempting the French gifts from custom duties. It was Senators Taft and Millikin, former Speaker Sam Rayburn and Congressman Aime Forand of Rhode Island, who pushed the bill through in such record time.

[Author's Note: This bill in Drew Pearson's Washington Merry-Go-Round Column was H.J. RES. 433, 80th Congress, 2nd Session & was signed by President Truman.]

The Merci Train In France

Now that they had a plan, the people of France responded to the Merci Train project in earnest. The collecting of gifts and assemblage of the Merci Train were very similar to the collecting of food and assemblage of the Friendship Train in America. French Railway 40 et 8 cars were circulated around France and the people would bring their gifts to the railway stations where the cars were located. At many of these stations, the volume of the gifts surpassed the capacity of the railway cars, thus many gifts intended for the people of the United States were left behind on the railway stations' platforms.

However, before the cars could be circulated, they had to find forty-nine of these cars as they were built starting in the early 1870's and not very many were still in existence in 1948. The French War Veterans Railway Workers searched the rail yards and rail stations in order to find forty-nine of these railway cars and refurbished them to mint condition for the Train of Gratitude. Once the forty-nine 40 et 8 railway cars were located, the Nationalized French Railway System donated the cars to the Merci Train project, their gift to the people on the other side of the Atlantic.

After the forty-nine cars were filled with 52,000 gifts from the people of France, the French Railways collected all of the cars and moved them to Paris where they were actually assembled into the Merci Train. On January 6th, when the Merci Train was ready for departure from Paris, the honor of giving the signal to start the Merci Train on the next portion of its journey was given by young Michele Rannou, the daughter of a French Railway worker. Slowly, the train started while a host of camera shutters clicked and little Michele waved goodbye with the station chief s sign.

[photo] National Commander of the American Legion, Perry Brown, placing the Flambeau that was ignited at the French Tomb of the Unknown at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. George Tames, New York Times Pictures.

From Paris, the train with its 250 tons of gifts travelled to the port city of Le Havre where it would be loaded on a French Line freighter for shipment to the American people. Gifts continued to flow to the Merci Train even as its forty-nine cars filled to capacity were being moved to the port and approximately 9,000 gifts were left sitting on the docks as the freighter "Magellan", with the Merci Train in its hold, set sail for the United States.

Among the people dedicated to the Merci Train project was American born Josephine Baker who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 3, 1906. As a dancer and later as a singer, Miss Baker came to symbolize the vitality and beauty of Black American Culture. She performed in dance troupes and chorus lines as well as Broadway shows until she moved to Paris in 1925 to dance at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. Miss Baker became a popular music hall entertainer in France as well as a film star until her career was derailed by the Second World War. Miss Baker became a French citizen in 1937. During the war, she worked with the Red Cross and was an active member of the French Resistance. She also entertained Allied Troops in Africa and the Middle East.

For her efforts, the French Government awarded Josephine Baker the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour with the Rosette of the Resistance. After World War II, Miss Baker pursued other interests and performed only occasionally until her death in Paris on April 12,1975.

40 et 8 Railway Cars

The 40 et 8 railway car was selected for the Merci Train due to its significance to the American soldiers of WW I and WW II. Many of the American GI's in the European theater of war were transported around France in these cars; in fact, after World War I, in 1920, the American Legion formed a fraternity within its organization named for these railway cars, "La Societe des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux".

A brief look back at the French Railways' freight cars shows that the railways were first used in warfare during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. It was soon established that the railway cars could be used quite successfully to transport many items essential to warfare, including freight, arms, ammunition, food, soldiers and animals such as horses and mules.

Authorities soon recognized the contribution the railways made to the war effort and in preparation of possible future conflicts passed a regulation in 1874 that all covered freight cars had to have noted on each side their capacity in the number of men or animals, horses or mules for that car. Thus, the 40 et 8 railway cars were inscribed "Hommes 40, Chevaux 8" (40 Men, 8 Horses). Other railway cars were labeled according to their size with their capacity for men and horses, some were larger and some smaller than the historic 40 et 8 railway cars, all of this making it easier to plan future troop movements.

The 40 et 8 cars were constructed of wood with four wheels, a metal undercarriage and measured approximately 21.5 feet long and 8.5 feet wide. The size and construction of these railway cars was typical of their period.

After the cars were rebuilt to new condition for the Merci Train, they were further enhanced by having shields of the Coats-Of-Arms of the forty French Provinces attached to their sides, twenty shields per side. A plaque with the Great Seal of The United States was also attached to both sides of the cars along with a red, white and blue stripe running diagonally across the sides of the cars. The white portion of this stripe on one side of the car was inscribed the title, "Gratitude Train" and in the white portion of the stripe on the other side of the car was inscribed the title, "Train De La Reconnaissance Francaise".

After the Merci Train cars were delivered to the capitals of each state, the welcoming celebrations held and the gifts unloaded, most of the 40 et 8 cars were then presented to the American Legion's fraternity, La Societe des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux, or some other veterans organization. Many of the cars were placed on display, some in museums, some in parks, some as a part of a memorial. Many remain in this role today, each reminding us of the sacrifices the French people made in order to express their appreciation to the American people by sending us the Train of Gratitude.

Magellan

The French freighter "Magellan", transformed from an ore carrier to a jewel of France's Merchant Marine Fleet, was "Queen of the Seas" for nineteen days while transporting the forty-nine railway cars of the Merci Train from France to the United States.

The Merci Train arrived at the French port city of Le Havre on January 6th where it was prepared for shipment to the American people. The French firms of Comite Central des Armateurs de France and the Union Nationale des Industries de la Manutention dans les Ports Francais, contributed without charge, the transporting of the Merci Train on the freighter Magellan and the stevedoring services of loading the forty-nine cars of the Merci Train with its 250 tons of gifts onto the freighter Magellan for the its passage to the American shores.

The Magellan, under the command of Captain Georges Icart, departed Le Havre on January 14th, thus beginning its nineteen day Atlantic crossing to New York where it arrived on February 2nd to a greeting surpassing those given the arrival of a passenger liner on its maiden voyage. As the gayly beflagged Magellan with the inscription "Merci America" adorning the sides of her hull, passed the Statue of Liberty, it was welcomed by a flotilla of small boats along with the Coast Guard Cutters Navesink and Sauk, police launches and four fireboats spraying columns of water into the atmosphere while formations of jet military aircraft, F-80's and F-82's, passed overhead.

The flotilla, along with six tugboats, escorted the Magellan to her berth at Pier 'H' in Weehawken, New Jersey. The six tugboats that escorted the Magellan and docked her were provided by the Moran Towing and Transportation Company as its contribution to the Merci Train project.

The unloading of the forty-nine railway cars of the Merci Train from the hold of the Magellan was handled by the John W. McGrath Corporation with the Merritt Chapman & Scott Corporation providing the two derricks necessary for this unloading. Just as the services of loading the Merci Train at Le Havre were provided by the French firms without charge, these two American corporations donated their services for removing the Merci Train from the hold of the Magellan.

By 1:00 P.M., the 40 et 8 car labeled for New York State was unloaded and being prepared for lightering to Pier 1 at the Battery. The next chapter of the Merci Train was about to begin, the distribution of the 40 et 8 cars to the state capitals and the welcoming celebrations afforded each car.

The Merci Train In The U.S.

In 1947, the Association of American Railroads made all of the necessary arrangements with the American railroads to transport the various sections of "The Friendship Train," which picked up donated food from across the 48 states and delivered this food to the New York Harbor for shipment to Europe, all at no charge.

Once again, the Association of American Railroads donated its services in making arrangements for the American railroads to deliver one 40 et 8 railway car from the Merci Train to each state capital and one to our nation's capital, which was later moved to the West Coast for shipment to Hawaii, again, all without charge.

The original idea was for the Merci Train to depart Weehawken in four sections and to follow the route of The Friendship Train, in reverse. This idea was accomplished as far as possible but the weather did not cooperate for movement on the Union Pacific Railroad, as the area served by this railroad had unusually heavy snows in February of 1949. Due to these snow storms, alternate routes were used for some of the Merci Train cars. Another deviation from the original plan was that two of the proposed sections of the Merci Train were combined prior to leaving the Erie Railroad's Weehawken Yards.

[photo] The Washington/Hawaii Merci Train Car at Washington's Fourteenth Street Railroad Yard. Please note that the Plaques of the Coat-of-Arms of the French Provinces have already been removed; also, in the left background is a car of the 1947 Freedom Train. State Department Photo by Werner, National Archives Collection.

One of the first railway cars of the Merci Train to be off-loaded from the freighter Magellan was the New York State Car. This car was transported from Weehawken to the Battery by lighter and then paraded to City Hall. The remaining forty-eight cars of the Merci Train were loaded on railroad flat cars in the Erie Railroad's Weehawken Yards as they were off-loaded from the Magellan, one 40 et 8 car per flat car. The 40 et 8 railway cars from France had to be transported on flat cars as they could not travel on the tracks of the American railroads due to a difference in gauge.

Originally, the Merci Train was to depart Weehawken in four sections, the Southern Section, the New England Section, the Near West Section and the Western Section which was to go to Chicago where it would be broken down into four smaller sections. However, the Near West Section and the Western Section were combined, so the Merci Train left Weehawken in three sections.

The Southern Section of the Merci Train, consisting of fifteen 40 et 8 cars plus coaches for dignitaries including French representatives of the Merci Train and Drew Pearson, who was the Secretary of "The National Friendship Train Committee To Welcome The French Train of Gratitude", was interchanged with the Pennsylvania Railroad and headed south at 7:00 A.M. on Saturday, February 5th.

Enroute to Washington, D.C., the Pennsy dropped off the New Jersey car at Trenton, the Pennsylvania car along with the West Virginia car were left at Philadelphia to make connections for Harrisburg and Charleston. The Delaware car was dropped at Wilmington and then delivered to Dover, the Maryland car was switched out at Baltimore where a welcoming ceremony was held prior to the car being delivered to Annapolis and the Washington, D.C., car was deposited in the Fourteenth Street Railroad Yards before the remaining nine cars were given over to the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad at Potomac Yards.

[photo] North Carolina's 40 et 8 Merci Train car being paraded down Fayetteville Street in Raleigh on a North Carolina Department of Highway's tractor-trailer. Between 15,000 and 20,000 people lined the parade route to welcome the gifts from the people of France. Photo courtesy of North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Reprinted by permission of "The News & Observer", Raleigh, North Carolina.

The R.F.& P. delivered the Virginia car to Richmond on Monday, February 7th, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad delivered the North Carolina car to Raleigh on Tuesday, February 8th, the Southern Railway delivered the South Carolina car to Columbia on Wednesday, February 9th and the Georgia car to Atlanta the next day. The Florida Car was switched out at Atlanta and the cars for Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana headed west.

The New England Section of the Merci Train left Weehawken early on Monday, February 7th with cars for Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

The combined Near West and Western Sections with a total of twenty-seven cars left the Weehawken area on the New York Central Railroad at 6:00 P.M. on Monday, February 7th. While enroute to Chicago, this combined section of the Merci Train switched out the cars for Frankfort, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; and Columbus, Ohio, at Collingwood Yard, Ohio. The Michigan car was switched out at Toledo, Ohio, for forwarding to Lansing and the car destined for Indianapolis, Indiana, was switched out South Bend before the Merci Train arrived at La Salle Street Station in Chicago on Friday, February 11th at 8:00 P.M. with twenty-two cars.

Before leaving Chicago, the twenty-two remaining cars of the Merci Train were split into sections for three railroads, not four as originally planned.

The Chicago & North Western Railroad was assigned nine of the Merci Train Cars at Chicago. Four of these cars were headed for the Union Pacific Railroad at Omaha, Nebraska, but would never make this connection due to snow blocked lines on the Union Pacific. These four cars, for Utah, Idaho, California and Nevada, were set out at Council Bluffs, Iowa, for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. The Chicago & North Western delivered the Illinois car to Springfield, the Wisconsin car to Madison, the Iowa car to Des Moines and the South Dakota car to Pierre. The 40 et 8 car destined for Cheyenne, Wyoming, was interchanged with the Union Pacific once the weather allowed this.

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad had the honor of receiving seven Merci Train cars at Chicago. The CB&Q would deliver the Nebraska car to Lincoln, the Colorado car to Denver and the Minnesota car to St. Paul. Also at St. Paul, the Burlington would pass over to the Northern Pacific the cars bound for Salem, Oregon; Helena, Montana; Olympia, Washington; and Bismarck, North Dakota.

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad would leave Chicago on Saturday, February 12th with six of the 40 et 8 Merci Train railway cars. The Santa Fe would deliver the Arizona car to Phoenix, the Kansas car to Topeka, the New Mexico car to Santa Fe and the Oklahoma car to Oklahoma City. The other two 40 et 8 cars were dropped off at Kansas City where the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad would pick up the Texas car for forwarding to Austin and the Missouri Pacific Railroad would pick up the Missouri car for delivery to Jefferson City.

The Merci Train cars for Utah, Idaho, California and Nevada left the Chicago area on the Chicago & North Western and were to be handed over to the Union Pacific at Omaha. The heavy snows altered this routing and the Chicago & North Western gave these four cars to the Burlington at Council Bluffs. The Burlington moved the cars to Kansas City where the Santa Fe accepted them for movement to California.

The Santa Fe delivered the California and Nevada Merci Train cars to Los Angeles where the Southern Pacific Railroad had the pleasure of delivering the cars to Sacramento and Carson City. The Santa Fe set out the Utah and Idaho Cars at Barstow where the Union Pacific took charge of them and delivered the cars to Salt Lake City and Boise.

A welcoming celebration was held as each Merci Train car was delivered to a state capital, some celebrations being more elaborate than others, but all with the spirit of gratitude to the French people for the many gifts. The French Representatives of the Merci Train and Drew Pearson participated in many of the welcoming celebrations by being ferried back and forth between the different sections of the Merci Train. At each celebration, the French Delegation always expressed gratitude for the food and gifts of the Friendship Train and Drew Pearson and representatives of the various states always expressed appreciation for the gifts given each state.

Yes, the American railroads, as did the French Railway System, served the Merci Train project well. They delivered all forty-nine of the Merci Train cars in a timely fashion in spite of the harsh Winter weather that caused some changes in plans and schedules. From the first Merci Train car delivered on February 3rd to the Battery of New York on a lighter propelled by an Erie Railroad tug boat to the last Merci Train car delivered which was the Washington State car, delivered to Olympia on February 18th at 2:00 P.M., the American railroads performed admirably with the task given them.