NICKEL PLATE ROAD #1907

Builder: Unknown
Built: 1929
Type: Open Air Flatcar
Status: Operational

The Monticello Railway Museum is one of the few places in the country where one can ride a historic freight car. Vista Gon No. 1907 was built in 1929 as a flatcar for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (better known as the Nickel Plate Road). Little is known about the car’s origin, but like other flatcars of the time, it was used for transporting large loads that would not fit in boxcars, hopper cars, or tank cars. Farm equipment, automobiles, and building materials are among the types of freight No. 1907 likely carried. A photo of this car in service on the Nickel Plate can be seen on page 77 of volume 2 in the book, “Nickel Plate Color Photography of Wills McCaleb”, showing the car in Madison, IL, loaded with a semi truck trailer, in some of the first uses of TOFC (Trailer On Flat Car) rail service.

After being acquired by the Monticello Railway Museum, volunteers came up with an idea to transform No. 1907 into a rideable open air passenger car for use on our excursion trains. In 1992, the car’s deck was replaced, short walls and railings were added on all four sides, and wooden benches were installed in the center of the car. The transformed No. 1907 made its debut at the museum in July 1992 and has been operating ever since, offering a unique riding experience to passengers.