Thursday, August 15, 2013

Eleanor Roosevelt Rail Car




Entrance to Eleanor Roosevelt's  Private Railroad Car, right into the lounge for the Secret Service,


they traveled with her as photographers, using their cameras to scan the crowd.



  The Govt. did not want it known they were with her to protect her, so they pretended to be her personal photographers. This allowed them to use there cameras to scan the crowds and it appeared she was unprotected...


Where she slept



Her private lounge, which was the largest part of the car.


with it's own private sink and for some reason the names are on the water in English and French. And of course the MadSnapper in the private station.


where the others of her party slept... Note the tiny rooms


Below is how the room looked, above is with the seat open to sleep. Some had the double seat, others the single seat, each had it's own bathroom.


And below is the kitchen that fed them all.



 I took my two friends to show them this car, and sadly, the museum had to sell the car to keep the rest of the cars running.

there were fans in all the rooms...  NOTE:  MadSnapper is Taking a few days off...


36 comments:

Deb said...

So interesting... Nice but not over gone... To bad our politicians today have to go overboard on things being super plush.,. Enjoy your time off

My Mind's Eye said...

MS thank you for sharing this part of history. I never knew any of this info. Don't you just love the retro furnishings and colors.
Have a lovely time off
hugs Madi and mom

Anonymous said...

Very interesting pics.

Linda P said...

Always learning something from what you share, Sandra. Have a good time off whatever you're doing!

TexWisGirl said...

the covert photographers is interesting. i don't think i'd like those traveling accommodations.

have a good few days away!

Rose said...

Gee, I would love to see this is person...I hope someone bought it that will keep it open to the public somewhere.

Have a fun few days off...hope nothing is wrong.

Susannah said...

Thank you for sharing some the history of Eleanor Roosevelt. Too bad they had to sell some of it.

I hope you are going to relax or go somewhere for a few days. A change is good.

Ginny Hartzler said...

I LOVE this, and do NOT remember ever seeing it! You got all kinds of good shots, and this is widely unknown stuff. The Secret Service lounge looks nicer than HER rooms!! And of course I see YOU there, apparently you applied for a job as a super secret Mad snapper. Are you O.K.?

Inger said...

You must have been in Madsnapper Heaven! All that old stuff. Shiny and everything! I took some pictures of the old tow truck this morning, but I had Samson too, they are not good enough. Will try again. Have a nice time off.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

I love these photos, it's all so retro!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Sandra, I loved seeing these train pictures and learning a bit more about Eleanor Roosevelt. There's just something about trains, isn't there?!

Suburban Girl said...

Enjoy your days off.

That car doesn't look very presidential by today's standards. I can't quite see Michelle Obama in that bed. hahaha.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Beautiful shots, Sandra. I enjoyed seeing the train and hearing the story about Eleanor's body guards posing as photographers.

Enjoy your time away. I'm going to be taking a break myself. My home has been sadly neglected and it's time I did something about it. See ya later!

Miss Debbie said...

Very interesting. It probably was plush for the day. I took a train ride to Mississippi with my two little boys once to visit family. It was fun...especially eating in the dining car!

Unknown said...

Interesting. It doesn't pay to be claustrophobic when traveling by rail.

Dee said...

I love all the retro...thanks for sharing...this was fancy for back then...times sure have changed.

LindyLouMac said...

How interesting and so very different to the train I just posted about. :)

Marie said...

This is one of my favorites! Great photos and info!
Where are you going?? What are you up to???

Ann said...

quite interesting. Now could you imagine the current first lady traveling like this...lol
Enjoy your break. I hope it's for something fun

Chatty Crone said...

I guess that back then this was top of the line luxury. Today not so much. But very very interesting - I love stories from history.

Have a nice few days off - hope all is okay!

Anonymous said...

Now that was most interesting. How you are able to get all the awesome pictures that you do is amazing to me. Hugs

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Thanks Sandra for the photo tour and commentary. Quarters sure seemed cramped in the cars. Enjoy your time off and the weekend too.

George said...

Some of those old railroad cars were very elegant. I wonder what happened to this particular railroad car? Enjoy you break.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Oh My... That brought back so many train memories of mine. My Daddy worked for the railroad --so we traveled alot by train. When I was 8 we went to California from Virginia on trains to attend my brother's wedding. I slept in berths like you showed. Sometimes we got a 'compartment'--our own little private room. I remember the dining car --and the smoking car where my Dad would go to smoke.... I have such great memories of those days.

Have a nice blog break.

Hugs,
Betsy

his_girl_friday said...

Very cool!

Catherine said...

That is one fancy way to travel!!
Happy weekend Sandra!
xo Catherine

Betty Manousos said...

oh sandra! what a great find!

such an interesting post/story/info!
thanks for sharing these most interesting photos.

enjoy your well deserved break!

happy weekend~

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the tour of Eleanor R's rail car- photographers are great spies.

photowannabe said...

What a great tour.
Too bad they had to sell the most interesting car, photography speaking.
Enjoy your few days off. Hope you get the batteries recharged.
Happy snapping.

EG CameraGirl said...

How sad they had to sell part of this collection to maintain the rest. Hmmm. It's such a great glimpse back in history.

Michaele said...

I had no idea Thanks for the look

Gail said...

Was that a Samsonite Suitcase? Looks just like the set my sister had for college years ago.

SquirrelQueen said...

It's a shame they had to sell this piece of history. I hope it went to another museum. She was a great lady.

I wonder why the Secret Service did not want anyone to know they were protecting the First Lady. They are easy to spot these days.

Unknown said...

This was very interesting to see, thank you for sharing. Enjoy your weekend.

Lisa said...

So Very interesting and full of history.

jo(e) said...

That is so cool!