B&O No.445 Coach

B&O No.445 Coach

B&O No.445 Coach

Name: B&O No.445

Railroad of Record: Unknown

Type of Car: Day coach, Narrow-vestibule car

Class: B&O Class A

Manufactured by: Pullman Company

Date Built: c.1890

By the early 1890s, traveling by railroad had become safer and faster. Cars were still built of wood, but they were longer, more efficiently heated, and some had air brakes and automatic couplers. Many cars also featured enclosed narrow vestibules which allowed passengers to walk freely throughout the entire train. This, in turn, allowed the railroads to create more specialty cars.

The No. 445 was built by the Pullman Company for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western around 1890. During the Fair of the Iron Horse, the No. 445 was rebuilt to resemble a typical B&O Royal Blue day coach. The coach could carry 58 passengers and was outfitted with closed vestibules, steam heat, Pintsch gas lighting, automatic couplers, and air brakes. The No. 445 is currently displayed in a close approximation of the livery used in the early 1890s on the B&O's New York-Washington Royal Blue line, even though it probably did not wear these colors originally.