Historic Merci Boxcar, gift of France, restored and returned to Utah State Railroad Museum
by Tim Vandenack ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- The historic Merci Boxcar, given to Utah by the French government after World War II, has returned to Ogden after its renovation.
- It is one of several historic train cars outside Union Station, home to the Utah State Railroad Museum.
- The restoration work was completed in Wyoming and the revamped boxcar was placed in its new resting spot on Tuesday.
OGDEN — A historic boxcar given to Utah in the late 1940s by the French government as a show of thanks after World War II has returned to its resting spot in Ogden after a massive restoration effort.
"I'm very pleased," said Bill Dodge, who helps lead Support Ogden Union Station, a group tasked with preserving the historic train station in the city, home to the Utah State Railroad Museum and the Merci Boxcar.
The boxcar — one of numerous the French government gave to the United States — had seen better days when it was shipped from Union Station on May 1, 2024, to Vintage Rail Restorations in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for an overhaul. "The paint was peeling badly, etc., etc. ... It was looking pretty bad," Dodge said.
The overhaul was completed last year, but the blue boxcar only made its way back to Ogden on Monday, after completion of its new resting spot off the southeast corner of Union Station. A crane lifted it into place on Tuesday and Mike Pannell of Vintage Rail Restorations was there, giving the boxcar some finishing touches as Dodge looked on.
"We saved as much of the original wood that we could, but there wasn't much," Pannell said.
Much of the white oak in the actual boxcar had rotted, requiring replacement, as did the train car's doors, made of poplar. The metal underbody, while intact, had rusted in spots and also required work. "Lots of repairs, quite a bit of welding," Pannell said.
As home to the Utah State Railroad Museum, Union Station houses numerous historic train cars. The Merci Boxcar had sat outside Union Station, subject to the elements, which led to its deterioration and subsequent calls from train enthusiasts for its restoration.
"The restoration work was beautifully done. This truly honors the important legacy of the Merci train and of the 40 and 8 boxcars to our veterans and other citizens. Being able to celebrate it in its new display location gives it a place of honor," said Hope Eggett, administrator of Museums at Union Station. The "40 and 8" reference refers to the notation on the box cars, in French, that they can hold 40 men or eight horses.
49 Merci Boxcars
Dodge said France gave the United States a total of 49 Merci Boxcars after World War II as a show of thanks for the American public's support in post-war recovery efforts. Forty-eight of them went to each of the 48 U.S. states at the time, with the 49th meant as a joint gift to Hawaii, then a territory, and Washington, D.C.
The varied boxcars originally date to the late 1800s, Dodge said, and had been used to ship military troops during World War I and World War II. They have vents that can open, allowing for entry of air, but they don't have seats and are hardly regarded as luxury travel. Given their role in the war effort, though, they have "a real place in the heart of veterans," Dodge said.
Placards on the outside of the Merci Boxcar represent the French provinces of the World War II era.
According to Dodge, city officials budgeted some $150,000 for the Merci Boxcar restoration effort and the Union Station Foundation pitched in $75,000. A covering is to be placed over the Merci Boxcar to protect it from the weather and a formal dedication is scheduled for July 4, hosted in part by American Legion Baker Merrill Post 9, based in Ogden.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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Tim Vandenack
Tim Vandenack covers immigration, multicultural issues and Northern Utah for KSL. He worked several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden and has lived and reported in Mexico, Chile and along the U.S.-Mexico border.