Railroad business cars, later renamed work cars, were the ultimate badge of distinction for superintendents who were the most visible and highest ranking railroad company officials in each district. These cars allowed them to not only go on tours of inspection of their districts, it also enabled them to take local dignitaries, such as elected officials, along for the ride in splendid privilege. Private railroad cars, of which these are the equivalent except for the most affluent trappings, were once the signature prestige vehicles of their day, the equivalent of modern, luxury appointed private jets. they were expensive to buy, operate and maintain. In the days of bad roads and no aircraft, these business cars made a great deal of sense.

The '404' is one of the first significant pieces to be acquired by TTM.. It was donated by Neil Boldrick in the early 1970s. It is a 60 foot long, 60 ton, Business Car. It is one of 17 such cars built by the Pullman Company on plan 4977, and was delivered to the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad on January 26, 1926. It was assigned to the Superintendent of AT & SF's Eastern Lines, Eastern Division whose headquarters were located in the second floor of the depot at Emporia, Kansas. The AT & SF, Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe, is now part of the BNSF, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

The 404 arrived at the museum on August 15th, 1979. It was 75% donated to the museum by board member Neil Boldrick. This is a common practice among donors. It allows them to have a say in the care and possible disposition of their gift. Neil also paid 75% of the usual exorbitant cost to transport any railroad equipment to the museum, as we have never managed to get a link to the mainline so tantalizingly close on the other side of Wetmore Road. After the old depot from Converse, it was one of the museum's first most significant acquisitions. The McKeever did not arrive until four years later.

The car is in pretty good condition and is still be capable of being moved as part of a train. Unfortunately, because our static display is facing in the "wrong" direction, it is pretty much stuck in place. The car has been the recipient of a lot of care and attention. The rust you can see under the west end windows actually came from the inside, from accumulated water from leaking windows. All the car's windows are in the process of being repaired or replaced and we hope at that time to cut out the affected area, weld in new steel and then repaint the car. All of this takes time, of course, not to mention fantastic amounts of money. As we are an all volunteer organization entirely dependant on revenue from visitors - we don't get any state or local government funding, and have yet to receive any grants from any charitable foundation - progress is somewhat slow. But progress is indeed being made and the work is coming along.

Santa Fe Business Car 401 has not been quite so lucky. It is privately owned and stuck in Seguin. The spur tack that once served the siding is long gone, with a business located where the tracks used to run, although the rails set into the road are still there. The car is all but abandoned and was used, like so much derelict railroad equipment, by vagrants as sleeping quarters. The car is absolutely trashed on the interior, with evidence of fires and casual vandalism. The City of Seguin is keen to rid itself of this eye sore so the car's days are probably numbered. The site itself was significantly improved and the car sealed. It was offered to the museum but we were obliged to decline, as we do not have the money to move it and have no need for still more "ugly duckling" railroad junk. We are not sure if it has sufficient structural integrity to survive a move. If the car is destroyed, we do hope to acquire one or two pieces of equipment and fittings from it.

As you can see in the following images, the brutal Texas weather is taking its toll on our static display. We need your help to restore these historically significant railroad cars and to prevent them deteriorating again. It can be done! It must be done! It will be done! Please se the text following these two groups of pictures, one of the exterior and the other of the interior, to see find out how to help.

We need your help! Despite our best efforts over the decades, the ravages of time and the Texas heat have caused much damage to our entire static display, which consists of the McKeever, the Santa Fe 404 business car and #6, our 1911 Baldwin steam locomotive. We would like to place a cover over the entire length of the display and completely restore the McKeever and 404. The costs are almost staggering.

The McKeever, the 404 and #6 have received continual care. They have been painted and repainted many times. Much interior work has also been performed. The McKeever was completely reupholstered. We have also worked through the interior of the 404, painstakingly refurbishing it back to how it looked in the 1920s. However, both of these cars are 80 years old. Years of exposure to the sun and the rain has caused much of the wood around the windows to deteriorate. This in turn allowed water to enter the cars, making them rust from the inside out.

Our plan this time involves not only a comprehensive exterior and interior restoration but also a full sized shade to completely cover the cars and the locomotive. This much needed addition will protect the cars from the worst of the sun and rain into the future.

We are trying to raise funds from many different sources including some charitable foundations but it is really important to raise as much as possible from our visitors and friends. We need to show how much people care about saving these important historical pieces for another 80 years and beyond!