NORFOLK & WESTERN #1827

Builder: Pullman Standard
Built: 1947
Type: Coach
Status: Operational

Norfolk & Western coach No. 1827 rolled out of the Pullman Standard factory in 1947. It was built for the Boston & Maine Railroad as their No. 4803 and carried the name Blackbird during its time there.

Later on, it was sold to the Wabash Railroad, who dropped the name and renumbered the car No. 1420. It was used on their famous streamlined passenger trains, such as the Bluebird and Cannonball.

In 1964, the Wabash was merged into the Norfolk & Western (N&W) Railway. The N&W renumbered the car again to No. 1827, and continued to use it on their passenger trains until the 1971 formation of Amtrak. Sometime later, the car was sold to the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS). For many years, the NRHS used #1827 on steam locomotive excursions throughout the eastern United States, oftentimes pulled by famous locomotives such as Norfolk & Western Nos. 611 and 1218, Southern No. 4501, Frisco No. 1522, and others.

In 1982, the Norfolk & Western merged with the Southern Railway to form present day Norfolk Southern (NS). NS continued to operate steam train excursions into the early 1990s, but after the 1994 cancellation of the railroad’s steam excursion program, use of No. 1827 and the Roanoke Chapter’s other passenger cars was very limited. In 2010, No. 1827 was acquired by the Monticello Railway Museum, and it arrived in Monticello in August of that year. Since then, the car has been frequently used on our trains, mostly during special events.