eNews
Volume 7 | June 12th, 2020
How Did That Hospital Train Car Get Into the Museum Courtyard?   
Long a dream of the Museum's Founders and early Curator Tom McMasters, the Hospital Ward Train Car made its debut at its very own train station located on the Museum grounds in July 1994. A centerpiece artifact of the museum, the 1953 train car became the first of an ever growing collection of medical evacuation vehicles proudly displayed at the Museum. How it got to Winslow Station is its own unique story. For a cost of about $65,000 the Foundation purchased a hospital train car from the Pittsburgh Railroad Association so they, in turn, could use the money to purchase a railroad engine.
After purchase, the hospital car was moved to a location south of San Antonio where it remained until the land it was on was sold and a new staging area was needed. The car moved next to a spot near Fort Sam Houston.

Since you can't have a railroad car on display without train tracks, Brigadier General Charles Elia got busy obtaining a set of tracks from the cold storage area at Fort Sam Houston. These were moved via pickup truck, with a police escort, to the museum grounds and installed many months prior to arrival of the hospital car.

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Due for a Cleaning
Meanwhile the train car itself was getting a good cleaning before being turned over to a contractor for final restoration. Brigadier General Elia, Brigadier, General Lillian Dunlap, Major General and Mrs. Marge Bishop, and Alice Neel rolled up their own sleeves to get the cleaning job done. The team removed asbestos and copper water pipes. The 4 people in the photo are: MG Neel, BG Dunlap, Mrs. Alice Neel and Marge Bishop. 
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On The Road Again
After restoration, the car was ready for display at the new Museum. Carefully placed on a set of wheels and attached to a tractor trailer, it moved from Converse down Rittiman Road and on to Post; rolling grandly down Garden Road with another police escort.
Finally Home
In these photos, the car passes the AMEDD Center and School.You can also see the old WWII era wooden chapel in the background that once stood near the Museum site. 
Once on the Museum grounds, the train car "arrived" at Winslow Station and was hoisted into its final place on the tracks via crane.

See the train car with your own eyes! Plan your visit by clicking the button below:
Visit the AMEDD Gift Shop
Did you forget to stop by the gift shop before leaving the museum? No need to worry! You can check out the AMEDD's Gift Shop website.

AMEDD Medical Museum Foundation | (210) 226-0265 | ameddmuseumfoundation.org
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