Railroad Limo - 1954 75 Series modified for Railroad use

[Derham]

Well this is the strangest Cadillac limousine I've seen:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/that_chrysler_guy/4925148404/in/photostream/

The manager of the New Haven Railroad ordered a 1954 75 Series limo to be modified with railroad fittings to ride the rails.

Perhaps if Mr. McGinnis felt the appointments and comfort level of his rail cars were inadequate for his use, he should have upgraded the aesthetics and ride comfort of his rail system, rather than downgrade the aesthetics of a design and engineering icon like the 75 Series.

Perhaps then passenger rail service in the US would be more popular.

[Mike Josephic CLC #3877]

I've seen a number of these over the years in many makes converted to
"railroad configuration".  A neighbor of mine one had a GMC Suburban with
railroad gear attached since he supervised maintenance for a large area.

Mike

[Alan Harris CLC#1513]

Anybody else notice the small 1941 style hubcaps?

I thought that they were long gone by 1954. Has anybody ever seen another 1954 that had them?

[Davidinhartford]

Those are my pics.  McGinnis had an ego as big as his Cadillac.   LOL
Pretty neat how the bumpers are notched for the Hi-Rail equipment to fit into when raised.
Here are the larger versions of the pics.

[weephee]

There is also one of these in the Railway Museum  in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada.   It belonged to the Canadian Pacific Railroad president.   I believe it's fully restored and operational.

Larry McPhee

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

As an aside, I wonder how often they had to change the tyres, as running on the rails would surely wear a groove in the centre of the tread.

Bruce.

[David Temple]

Evidently the owner's wealth meant having to change the tires often was of no concern.

[Bob Hoffmann CLC#96]

Notice the special offset wheels. They were required to increase the tread width to match the rails. The wheels could not accept full discs.
Bob

[Jeff Maltby 4194]

During the course of building Hetch Hetchy dam in Yosemite during the teens, they outfitted a Cadillac for rail duty. This might of been the first one ever modified ? Click on pic's to enlarge.