Preserved MILW passenger cars?

[Scoring Guy]

Is the 261's "Wisconsin River" an actual Milwaukee Road car? It has all square windows. I don't know the answer, YOU tell me.

Excuse my error, I meant to write "Minnesota River". But the question remains the same.

[Scoring Guy]

I would also question the numbering of the Combination car listed as "on display at La Crosse, Wisconsin" as being car # 425. Car #425 almost certainly was a full coach car, with 13 square passenger section windows, and five more square windows for the dressing rooms; only the door had a round window.. The car at La Crosse, which is probably car #206 or 207, is a combination "Express-Coach" with nine square passenger section windows, and single round windows for the toilet, vestibule door and express door. There is no visible number on the car at this time.

[PRRGuy]

Nope, The Minnesota River was a Ex US Army car purchased from Amtrak.

As for the car in Lacrosse, WI I'm thinking 425 might be X425. It could possibly be the former MOW number?

[MilwaukeeRoadfan261]

To clear up the whole Minnesota River thing, here is the description of the car off of the MILW 261 website.

-Built in 1954 by Pullman-Standard for service on the “Pioneer Limited” &”Olympian Hiawatha.”
-Among the last passenger cars purchased by the Milwaukee Road.
-Never used in Amtrak service, it was retained by the railroad for executive use until sold to first private owner in 1978.
-Acquired by the Friends of the 261 in 2001.

Here is what it says on the MILW 261 Wikipedia page.
-"Minnesota River" 31, Sleeper. One of the last new cars bought by the Milwaukee Road in 1954.

The unofficial Milwaukee Road 261 website even says it was the last car built for the Milwaukee Road by Pullman Standard for use on the Olympian Hiawatha.

Rapido Trains even made the Minnesota River in HO and N scale in both the 1955 Hiawatha Orange and Maroon and UP Armour Yellow/Harbor Mist Gray schemes.

In other words it is a Milwaukee Road car. Just because it doesn't have the Milwaukee Road signature oval windows doesn't mean it wasn't a Milwaukee Road car. Super Dome 53's lower level windows are another example

[MilwaukeeRoadfan261]

Forgot to add this and I don't know if I can edit a post, but there where more than one order of River series sleepers. There was the first which was #'s 19-26 and the second one which was #'s 31-32. The "Minnesota River was part of the second order and they varied in appearance because the first order had the alternating High-Low-High-Low windows in the center of the car and #'s 31 and 32 had the alternating High-Low-High-Low windows at the end.

[Scoring Guy]

First of all, to answer my own question, (the last) Two of the "River" sleepers were produced with all square windows (i.e. sans the traditional Milwaukee oval windows)

New Info: The collection at Charles City, Iowa just received the last remaining tap car of the Oly Hi, which may be the car referenced in the PRRguy post. It's currently painted an ugly green - was part of some dinner train operation.

[Zanperk]

The forum at Railway Preservation News has a running thread on the extant branchline combines. Some are in better shape than others, though it seems certain the interiors were all gutted before going into MOW service.

OTOH 1915 Pullman obs Lake City was used as a crew car and survived relatively intact. Eventually it ended up being restored by an individual in Wisconsin and now donated to IRM.