The Coopersville & Marne (C&M) Railway offers theme trains and excursion train rides on seven miles of track between downtown Coopersville and Marne, Michigan. These one and a quarter hour trips pass through countryside and family owned farmlands traversing an open deck girder bridge, four creek and one road bridge before arriving at the village of Marne. In Marne, passengers watch as the engine is uncoupled from the east end of the train and recoupled to the west end for the return trip. (Find out more about the C&M by clicking HERE.)

The C&M receives weekly requests about handicap accessibility. Families and groups with handicapped individuals are welcomed to ride the train but liability insurance requires that they provide their own assistance to embark and debark the train cars. This project will equip a railcar with an onboard handicap platform lift, a handicap accessible restroom, and wheelchair tie downs. The railcar will be leased to the C&M for operation on the family friendly attraction based in Coopersville, Michigan.

The WMSIH initiated a nationwide search for an appropriate railcar which could accommodate an onboard lift mechanism. What we found was in our own backyard. The railcar eventually purchased for the project was owned by Jeff and Sheryl DuPilka. Jeff is one of the founders of the C&M Railway.

This "heavyweight" Pullman sleeper was built by the Pullman Car Works of Chicago, Illinois and put into service as the La Reine on the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) Railway's Panamerican line in October 1929. By December of 1948 the car had long since lost it's star status and as part of the Pullman antitrust solution was sold to the Pennnsylvania Railroad. It eventually was put into work train service for track repair and wreck recovery at which time most of the sleeping compartments were removed for work areas. Through private owners it changed hands multiple times until being purchased by the DuPilkas. (For the full story of the La Reine's history click HERE.)

The car is ideally suited for conversion to handicap accessibility. Termed heavyweights, these sleepers were of all steel construction weighing about one ton per foot. This all steel car has been inspected and found to be structurally sound. The steel construction will support the mechanisms necessary for onboard lifting equipment and the open work areas will accommodate the handicap restroom as well as seating areas and wheelchair tie downs.

In addition, the six remaining open section sleeping compartments in the center of the car will be renovated to operational condition to add a historical perspective. Educational materials about the Pullman Company and rail transportation will be developed describing the "golden age" of rail transportation (1930s – 1940s) and the "largest hotel in the world" operated by the Pullman company with upwards of 100,000 occupied beds per night during it's heyday.

The historical value of the railcar and the choice of contractor for the project has been endorsed by The Henry Ford Museum. (Click HERE to download a PDF of this letter. The free Acrobat Reader application must be installed on your computer to read this file. Click HERE to download a copy.)