Builder: Pullman
Built: 1918
Type: Combine
Status: Operational

Car No. 892 was built at the Pullman Company’s shops on the south side of Chicago in 1918 for use on the Illinois Central Railroad. It is a “combine” type passenger car, meaning half of the car is used for storing passengers’ luggage, while the other half has typical coach seating.

Combines were usually used on local or regional passenger train operations where the lack of baggage brought aboard by passengers eliminated the need for a full baggage car. Combines could be found on railroads all over North America throughout the first half of the 20th Century.

No. 892 was retired by the Illinois Central in 1947 and subsequently sold to the American Steel Foundries (ASF) Company. ASF made slight modifications to the car and used it for testing new braking systems. One of the modifications made was the removal of the floor in the baggage section of the car. Thick glass was put in its place so employees could safely observe the braking equipment up close while the car moved around. This unique feature remains in the car to this day, allowing passengers a rare opportunity to watch the tracks pass directly below them.

The Monticello Railway Museum is very fortunate to have No. 892 in its collection. Other cars of this type were scrapped decades ago, and today, No. 892 is the only surviving example. The car is almost always used alongside Rock Island No. 2541 on our regular weekend excursion trains.