- Merci Train
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The Merci Train, also known as the French Gratitude Train or the Forty and Eight, was the 1949 Europe-US response to the Friendship Train. Composed of 49 cars and filled with "gifts of gratitude", the Merci Train arrived in New York City on February 3, 1949 and was divided amongst the 48 states with the remaining car to be shared by the District of Columbia and Hawaii.[1]
For the veteran's organization, see Forty and Eight veterans organization.Quarante et huit
(Forty-and-eights)
Forty and Eights boxcar at the Kentucky Railway Museum.Capacity 40 men or 8 horses or 20 tonnes (19.7 long tons; 22.0 short tons) of supplies Operator French Army and French railways Specifications Weight 7.9 tonnes (7.8 long tons; 8.7 short tons) tare Braking system(s) Air Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Contents
Background
The idea to send a "Thank You" gift to the United States for the $40 million in food and other supplies sent to France and Italy in 1947 came from a French railroad worker, and World War II veteran, named Andre Picard.[2] Donations from the Merci Train came from over six million citizens of France and Italy in the form of dolls, statues, clothes, ornamental objects, furniture, and even a Legion of Honor Medal proponent to have belonged to Napoleon.[3]
The "Forty-and-eight" Boxcars
Forty-and-eights were French 4-wheel covered goods wagons used as military transport cars. The term refers to the cars' carrying capacity, said to be 40 men or eight horses. Built starting in the 1870s as regular freight boxcars, they were originally used in military service by the French army in both World Wars, and then later used by the German occupation in World War II and finally by the Allied liberators.
In 1949, France sent 49 of those boxcars to the United States (one for each State then in existence and one for Washington, D.C. and Hawaii to share) laden with various treasures, as a gift for the liberation of France. This train was called the Merci Train, and was sent in response to trains full (over 700 boxcars) of supplies known as the American Friendship Train sent by the American people to France in 1947.
The Train and all 49 cars arrived aboard the Magellan bearing a banner which read: "MERCI AMERICA" on February 3, 1949 with over 25,000 onlookers in attendance. Immediately the trains were distributed amongst the states.
Current Status of Boxcars
Many of the trains were opened and turned into exhibits before distributing the objects as each state saw fit. Most states continued to exhibit the boxcars to the public after their gifts were distributed.
Currently, 43 of the 49 boxcars are still in existence. The state boxcars of Massachusetts, Illinois, Nebraska, Connecticut, and New Jersey are known to have been destroyed, and the Colorado boxcar has been missing since 1954, and its current whereabouts remain unknown. The remainder of the boxcars are displayed at various parks and museums in their respective states, such locations include:
Florida Holly Hill, Florida 1065 Ridgewood Av US1 by City Hall Ohio Camp Perry Several of the gifts are now housed at the Ohio Historical Society.[4] Georgia Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History Kentucky Kentucky Railway Museum Pennsylvania Fort Indiantown Gap Maryland B&O Railroad Museum Hawaii and District of Columbia Hawaiian Railway Society Wisconsin National Railroad Museum Utah Utah State Railroad Museum Alabama Veterans Memorial Museum website Washington Sarg Hubbard Park website Maine Boothbay Railway Village website Nevada Nevada State Railroad Museum website Arizona McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park website See also
Forty and Eight veterans organization
References
- ^ "MerciTrain.org". http://www.mercitrain.org/.
- ^ "Merci Train".
- ^ "WWII Encyclopedia: The Forty and Eight". http://www.skylighters.org/encyclopedia/fortyandeight.html.
- ^ "Whatever Happened to Ohio's Gratitude Train?". http://ohiohistory.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/whatever-happened-to-ohios-gratitude-train/.
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