Merci Train

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Merci Train
File:Friendship car at the National Railroad Musem.jpg
Photograph of boxcar from French "Merci train," a gift from France to the United States in grateful recognition of U.S. aid to France after World War II.

The French Gratitude Train (French: Train de la Reconnaissance française), commonly referred to as the Merci Train, were 49 World War I era "forty and eight" boxcars gifted to the United States by France in response to the 1947 U.S. Friendship Train. It arrived in Weehawken, New Jersey on February 2, 1949.

Background

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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.[1] Donations for 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 Honour medal purported to have belonged to Napoleon.[2]

History

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Main article: Forty-and-eights
File:Photograph of boxcar from French "Merci train," a gift from France to the United States in grateful recognition of... - NARA - 200078.jpg
Merci Train presentation ceremony in the Fourteenth Street yards opposite the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Washington, D.C. in 1949.[3]

The boxcars were "forty-and-eights" used during both world wars. The term refers to the cars' carrying capacity, said to be 40 men or eight horses.[4] 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 and the Territory of Hawaii) laden with various treasures, as a show of gratitude 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 Friendship Train sent by the American people to France in 1947. Each of the Merci Train boxcars carried five tons of gifts, all of which were donated by private citizens.[5]

The Train and all 49 cars arrived aboard the Magellan on February 2, 1949, with over 25,000 onlookers in attendance. On the side of the gift-laden French freighter was painted, "MERCI AMERICA".[5] Immediately the trains were distributed amongst the states.

Boxcars

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The Merci Train boxcars were opened and turned into travelling exhibits before each state committee distributed the entire contents. The 43 surviving boxcars are on public display within each state as follows:

Boxcar Image Location City or town Notes
Alabama U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Huntsville The Alabama State Archives has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[6]
Arizona File:Boxcar of French Gratitude Train-1949.jpg McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Scottsdale The Arizona Capitol Museum has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[7]
Arkansas File:Merci Train boxcar, Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, 2022-09-04, TJ 01.jpg American Legion Post 41
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Helena–West Helena The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[8]
California American Legion Post 509
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Fresno
Colorado Unknown Car has been lost. The Woodruff Memorial Library has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[9]
Connecticut Destroyed The Abbey of Regina Laudis was gifted a French church bell from the boxcar.[10]
Delaware File:Delaware Merci Train.jpg American Legion Post 6
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Seaford Owned and maintained by Forty and Eight Voiture 1320 of Sussex County[11]
Florida Holly Hill City Hall
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Holly Hill The city hall has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[12]
Georgia File:Merci Boxcar, Georgia 2.jpg Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Kennesaw The Georgia State Archives has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[13]
Idaho Old Idaho State Penitentiary
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Boise The Idaho Historical Society has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[14]
Illinois Unknown Possibly abandoned and destroyed at the old 1948-1949 Chicago Railroad Fair site.
Indiana Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Fort Wayne The Fort Wayne History Center has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[15]
Iowa Antique Acres
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Cedar Falls The Iowa Historical Society has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[16]
Kansas [1] Veterans Memorial Park
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Hays Owned and maintained by Forty and Eight Voiture 1543 of Ellis County[17]
Kentucky File:Boxcar 735.jpg Kentucky Railway Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		New Haven The Kentucky Historical Society has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[18]
Louisiana File:Old Louisiana State Capitol Merci Train.jpg Old Louisiana State Capitol
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Baton Rouge
Maine Railway Village Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Boothbay The Maine State Museum has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[19]
Maryland File:Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum Merci Train.jpg B&O Railroad Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Baltimore The Montgomery County Historical Society has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[20]
Massachusetts Destroyed scrapped in the 1960s
Michigan American Legion Post 183
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Lansing Owned and maintained by Forty and Eight Voiture 946 of Eaton County.[21]
Minnesota Minnesota Military Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Little Falls Owned and maintained by Forty and Eight Grand Voiture du Minnesota.[22]
Mississippi File:Jackson December 2018 38 (Merci Train).jpg Old GM&O Depot
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Jackson The Museum of Mississippi History has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[23]
Missouri Dakotaland Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Sedalia Owned and maintained by Forty and Eight Voiture 333 of Pettis County.[24]
Montana Montana Military Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Fort Harrison The Montana Historical Society has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[25]
Nebraska Destroyed partially scrapped in 1951, remainder converted to shed and destroyed in 1961. The Nebraska Historical Society has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[26]
Nevada Nevada Merci Train car Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Boulder City The Nevada State Museum has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[27]
New Hampshire 126 Reed St.
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Manchester Saint Anselm College has a collection of gifts from the boxcar.[28]
New Jersey File:Merci Train Boxcar 2025.jpg United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey Kansas City, MO Had been missing since 1958, with unverified claims that it had been scrapped, the boxcar was rediscovered in Tennessee by the National World War I Museum and Memorial in 1993, and placed in storage in Kansas City, Missouri. The car was confirmed as the New Jersey boxcar in 2024, and donated to the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey, who plans to restore it at their Boonton yard.[29] The New Jersey Museum has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[30]
New Mexico Expo New Mexico
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Albuquerque The fair grounds has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[31]
New York Forty and Eight Voiture 92
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Whitesboro The Met has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[32]
North Carolina File:North Carolina Merci Car - May 2024.jpg North Carolina Transportation Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Spencer The North Carolina History Museum has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[33]
North Dakota North Dakota Heritage Center
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Bismarck The State Historical Society of North Dakota has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[34]
Ohio Camp Perry
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Near Port Clinton The Ohio Historical Society has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[35]
Oklahoma J. D. McCarty Center
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Norman The Oklahoma History Center has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[36]
Oregon File:Oregon Boxcar.jpg Simpson Park
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		North Bend The Benton County Historical Society has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[37]
Pennsylvania File:MerciCar.jpg Fort Indiantown Gap
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Near Jonestown The Blair County and Lycoming County historical societies have collections of gifts from the boxcar.[38]
Rhode Island Museum of Work and Culture
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Woonsocket The museum has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[39]
South Carolina Memorial Park
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Bishopville
South Dakota State Fairgrounds
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Huron The Dakotaland Museum has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[40]
Tennessee American Legion Post 145
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Bristol The Tennessee State Museum has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[41]
Texas Texas Military Forces Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Camp Mabry The Briscoe History Center has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[42]
Utah File:Utah's boxcar 1949 French WW2 Gratitude Train.jpg Utah State Railroad Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Ogden
Vermont
File:VT Merci Train Boxcar.jpg
 Vermont National Guard Library and Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Colchester The Vermont Historical Society and the Wood Art Gallery have collections of gifts from the boxcar.[43]
Virginia Virginia War Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Newport News
Washington Sarg Hubbard Riverside Park
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Yakima The Karshner Museum has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[44]
West Virginia File:In Welch, WV.jpg Veterans' Park
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Welch Tu-Endie-Wei State Park has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[45]
Wisconsin File:Friendship car at the National Railroad Musem.jpg National Railroad Museum
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Ashwaubenon The Hoard Historical Museum and the Wisconsin Historical Society have collections of gifts from the boxcar.[46][47]
Wyoming American Legion Post 6
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Cheyenne The Wyoming Museum has a collection of French gifts from the boxcar.[48]
Territory of Hawaii File:Merci Car Hawaii.jpg Hawaiian Railway Society
Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. 		Ewa Beach

References

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Further reading

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  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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