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MÄRKLIN & RAILROADS

www.trains-and-trains.dk : A personal view by Christian Vinaa


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  • Scale and size
    • 5", 1, LGB, H0, TT, N, Z
  • Electricity - Electronics
    • Turnouts
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    • Light barrier
  • Real trains ( scale 1:1 )
    • Real trains - scale 1:1
    • Selection of train videos
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USA : The Merci Box car in Vermont (VT)



"The Merci Train" - "The Gratitude Train" - "Train de la Reconnaissance Francaise"

Table of Contents :

Small stories :

David C. White - Farmer in Kansas Ruth Nathanson - High school senior from New York City


Individual states :
Bold = new content. (G) = can be seen on Google Streetview.

Arizona - Alabama - Arkansas (G) - California (G) - Colorado - Connecticut - Delaware (G) - Florida (G) - Georgia - Hawaii - Illinois - Indiana - Iowa (G) - Kansas - Kentucky - Louisiana (G) - Maine - Maryland - Massachusetts - Michigan - Minnesota - Mississippi - Missouri - Montana - Nebraska - Nevada - New Jersey - New Hampshire (G) - New Mexico - New York - North Carolina - North Dakota - Ohio - Oklahoma - Oregon (G) - Pennsylvania (G) - Rhode Island - South Carolina (G) - South Dakota (G) - Tennessee (G) - Texas - Utah (G) - Vermont - Virginia - Washington (G) - Washington DC - West Virginia (G) - Wisconsin - Wyoming (G).



On this page :
The boxcar - The gifts - My photos

under work The Vermont boxcar is still being researched.

Main sources :

www.newspapers.com ➚ www.mercitrain.org ➚

Most of the information below has been collected from old newspaper articles.


When researching the "Merci Train" it is important to distinguish between :
  • The individual boxcar given to a state.
  • The "Merci Train" as a name for the 49 boxcars sent by France.
  • The "Merci Train" as the name for the transport of the boxcars to each individual state :
    The 3 sections : New England - Southern - Western.
  • The contents - gifts - that were in each boxcar.
  • The fact that the 40 & 8 Society's made / and still make replicas, of varying likeness, of the French boxcar to use as floats in parades.
Using various search words and combinations of words is necessary :
"Merci Train" - "Gratitude Train" - "French / merci / gratitude car / boxcar" - "thank you train" - "french gift"

The official French name for the "Merci Train" was :
"Train de la reconnaissance française" - as written on one side of the boxcars.
However the term "train de la reconnaissance" can also be used for the first train travelling on a newly laid track and even as a military term for a "scouting" trip.

Known missing facts are shown with "_____" or a what

Vermont :

merci gratitude train Vermont
From www.freeprintoutmaps.com ➚

The Vermont boxcar

The boxcar was delivered to the capitol of each state; - in Vermont it was Montpelier.

The boxcar can now ( 2015 ) be found at the Vermont Veteran's Military Museum and Library ➚, Camp Johnson National Guard Camp, Colchester, Vermont.

Information about the Vermont "Merci Train" boxcar and the gifts is really hard to find.


1948 - January 1949

Same history as the other 48 boxcars.

Repaired, repainted ( "slate grey" ) and decorated with shields and signs in France.
Shipped to the USA on the Magellan.

February 1949

  • Wednesday, February 02, 1949.
    • Loaded off the "Magellan" at the Weehawken docks, Erie Railroad Pier North H, New Jersey.
    • Placed on a US-railroad flatcar and shunted onto "New England Section" of the "Merci Train".
    • Guarded by railroad-police till departure.
  • ****day, February **, 1949.
    Arrival in Montpelier



"Merci Train" Committee in Vermont :

Known gifts from the Vermont "Merci Train" boxcar

  1. Sevres porcelain vase.
    • From : French President Vincent Auriol.
    • Allocated to : Governor .
    • Present or last known location : ?
    • Other remarks :
  2. Fine embroidered handkerchief.
    • From : Mme. Nellie Bouillon - Moulies Allier.
    • Allocated to : Jacksonville - Whittingham Library .
    • Present or last known location : ?
    • Other remarks : Came with poem / verse.
  3. Silver jam pot with a pottery cover.
    • From : Mme. Nellie Bouillon - Moulies Allier. ?
    • Allocated to : Jacksonville - Whittingham Library .
    • Present or last known location : ?
    • Other remarks : Came with poem / verse.
  4. 43 dolls from different sections of France.
    • From :
    • Allocated to : Vermont Historical Society.
    • Present or last known location : Vermont Historical Society.
    • Other remarks : On display at exhibit February 1964.
  5. Paintings - craftwork - vases - needlework, statues, many "treasured family heirlooms".
    • From :
    • Allocated to : Vermont Historical Society.
    • Present or last known location : Vermont Historical Society.
    • Other remarks : On display at exhibit February 1964.

My photos of the Vermont "Merci Train" boxcar

Location :
Vermont Veteran's Military Museum and Library ➚,
Camp Johnson National Guard Camp,
Colchester,
Vermont.
Street name is : "Academy Lane".

You can download my Google Earth kmz-file with the positions of all the remaining 43 boxcars.


Click on an image to enlarge :

Coming soon !







Copyright © Christian Vinaa
2014 -
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and are used on this website for purely informational purposes.

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