Presidential Rail Car, U.S. Number 1

Ferdinand Magellan

A National Historic Landmark

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Self Guided Tour

What you would be seeing, if you were at the Museum

To enter the car from the rear, one climbs the steps to the open platform enclosed with polished, brass railings. This platform was often used by the President for making speeches, especially when the car was used for "whistle stop" campaign trips. The famous news photo of Harry Truman holding up a copy of the Chicago Tribune with a banner headline stating "Dewey Defeats Truman" was taken on this platform on Wednesday, November 3, 1948, at the St. Louis, Union Station. (The St. Louis Union Station has been preserved and converted to a shopping mall. It's a beautiful facility worthy of a visit!) A copy of this photo is displayed in the car.

Inside, through the armored rear door of the car, is the spacious and restful observation lounge. It is decorated using cream colored woodwork, green carpeting and light brown, tufted wall covering resembling leather. All furnishings, fixtures and equipment throughout the car, are the original equipment that was onboard when the car was turned over to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1942. Although portions of the interior have been repainted as part of the Gold Coast Railroad Museum's restoration and preservation program, the paint has been carefully matched with the original color so that the decor remains unchanged.

Each room in the car has a telephone. When the presidential train was standing in a station, the telephone system was connected to a trainside telephone outlet provided by the local telephone company. When the train was moving, external communications were handled by Army Signal Corps personnel in communications car number 1401, a converted, Baltimore and Ohio combine car, which was used for the president's communication equipment. In later years, this car was replaced by a converted hospital car renamed the General Albert J. Myer.

Between the observation lounge and the dining room are four bedrooms, lettered "A" through "D". Rooms "A" and "D" are identical guest rooms. Each contains an upper and lower berth, vanity, closet, dresser, wash basin, toilet, and medicine cabinet. The lower berth converts into a double seat with a table, while the upper berth retracts into the ceiling. Rooms "B" and "C", with their connecting bathroom, form the presidential suite. Bedroom "B" is the First Lady's bedroom. It has a single bed, larger than a standard Pullman berth, dresser, closet and wash basin. The connecting bath has a shower, bathtub, toilet, and wash basin. Room "C" is the President's bedroom. It is the largest of the bedrooms and contains, in addition to the standard equipment, a commode chair which was installed for President Roosevelt who was a semi-invalid due to polio. Also exhibited in the room is a special wheelchair built for Mr. Roosevelt's use onboard this railcar. The chair is narrow enough to have adequate clearance through the doors and hallways of this railcar.

The dining/conference room is the largest room in the railroad car. The solid mahogany table is 38" x 72" (96.3 cm x 183 cm) and seats eight. This is where the president entertained official visitors while aboard the Magellan. Among the many world leaders entertained in this room was Sir Winston Churchill, who visited both President Roosevelt and President Truman aboard the car on different occasions. This room also contains the small writing desk which was used by the president when needed for official business. Displayed in a cabinet above the desk are samples of china and silverware used on the car as well as other memorabilia from the period when the car was in frequent use by the president. Included in this display is a water glass and a box of matches which were used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on his last trip on the Magellan from Washington, D.C. to Warm Springs, Georgia, on the day before his death in April, 1945.

Through the door at the front end of the dining room is the hallway and door that divides the presidential area from the staff area of the car. Located here is the pantry and steward's quarters, the latter containing a small upper and lower berth, a lavatory and shower and a small closet. Overhead are hot and cold water storage tanks and ventilation equipment. Next is the galley, containing a charcoal stove and an ice box (not a refrigerator). This where the meals were prepared for the presidential party. Finally on either side of the front entrance aisle are an ice hatch and storage compartments. Air conditioning was provided throughout the car by filling the ice storage bunkers with 12, 500 pound (227 kg) blocks of ice. As the ice melted, the chilled water runoff was pumped through copper coils in the ceiling. The air inside the car was circulated over these coils and the cooled air was used to ventilate the car. The warm water that had flowed through the coils was pumped back to the ice bunkers and sprayed over the blocks of ice. In the 1970's the system was converted to mechanical refrigeration, using some of the original cooling coils as part of the chiller system.

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