Apr. 30—Intermittent rain fell outside the Pullman Troop Sleeper USAX 7118 on a Tuesday evening earlier this month. Light through the windows lit the historic railroad car.

The only sounds came from Wabash Valley Railroad Museum co-founder Bill Foster as he explained the troop sleeper's backstory.

Seventy-nine years ago, though, the car likely was filled with noises never forgotten by its passengers.

Twenty-nine young Americans at a time occupied its 50 1/2-foot-long confines, along with a porter. Those passengers were among 44 million members of the U.S. armed services to be transported across the country on troop sleeper cars for duty in World War II. The Department of Defense contracted Pullman Company to build 2,400 troop sleeper cars to move troops for deployments or training. Pullman equipped the steel units with high-speed, swing-motion trucks (the chassis) and dual air brakes to allow the passenger trains to run up to 100 mph.

"They rode pretty rough," Foster explained inside the troop sleeper, which sits on the museum grounds at 1316 Plum St. on Terre Haute's north side.

The mostly teenage and 20-something servicemen undoubtedly heard the squeals and rumbles of a speeding rail car, adding to their thoughts of what was ahead of them. The carbon-steel bunks were stacked three high, with the middle bunk capable of folding into a sofa during the day. "They were packed in like sardines," Foster said of the soldiers.

So, they obviously heard each other talking about hometowns, girls, parents, jobs and, of course, the war. They would've heard water running at the four washstands, mounted in twos at both ends of the cars, or from the two enclosed toilets, one at each end. They heard the ruffle of sheets and slapping of pillows as the porter prepared the beds each night. They heard the breeze through the 20 small windows of the cars, which weren't air-conditioned. They heard the hiss and screech of the brakes as the men reached the destination.

Their orders for war duty were about to begin.

The Wabash Valley Railroad Museum acquired Troop Sleeper 7118 — constructed in 1943 at a Pullman factory in Michigan City — in 2014. The car lived multiple identities after World War II ended and the military sold off the troop sleepers. It became a signals and communications car for Chicago & Eastern Railroad. Later, a L&N Railroad bridge gang used it. Then as CSX Railroad emerged in the 1980s, that company began purging excess equipment and the car — twice renumbered — wound up sitting in the North Alabama Railroad Museum.

Eight years ago, the Alabama museum put out word that it was scrapping the troop sleeper. Foster and the Wabash Valley Railroad Museum bought the car for its scrap price and enlisted a local company to move it back to Terre Haute, an entire process that cost nearly $15,000.

"I think it's worth it, because it's unique," Foster said.

Car 7118 is indeed unique, and will become more so once it's fully restored. "Today, there are very few [troop sleepers] still around, with only a handful restored to their original appearance and condition," said Frank Hicks, a longtime volunteer and historian at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Ill.

'Rust bucket' when it arrived

Back in Terre Haute, the Wabash Valley Railroad Museum team plans just such a restoration. Resources are needed, though.

It's come a long way since arriving on a semi-tractor trailer in 2014. "This was a real rust bucket when we got it," Foster said.

Flooring around the toilet areas had rotted through. The railroad companies that used the car after its war duty cut holes into its middle section. Foster spent much of the past four years replacing the damaged steel. New side doors were made to replace the old ones, which were stolen and damaged by vandals in Alabama. Windows were replaced and given new pine sashes, which will also be replaced later with mahogany sashes. New vents were installed on the roof. Handrails for the doors were fabricated.

Several local companies have donated materials or services in-kind to replace lost or decayed elements.

And, donors from the Wabash Valley and beyond contributed to a matching-grant fundraiser challenge this winter on Facebook, generating more than $2,000 in contributions to help give the car a new permanent floor.

More upgrades are needed, though. Among several changes necessary getting a fabricator to craft more steel window tracks (only 10 of the original 24 remain), rebuilding a portion of the bunks on one end to give visitors an idea of the war-era atmosphere, while installing informational displays on the other end. The goal is to complete the troop sleeper's renovations by the 80th anniversary of D-Day in 2024.

"It's neat," Foster said. "If people come and check it out, they'll see it's unique. It'll grow on you."

For now, visitors to the Terre Haute museum can only view the troop sleeper's exterior. "It's really unsafe for anybody to visit [inside] it," Foster said. The remodeling plan — which Foster estimates will cost another $20,000 — will allow people to tour its interior, once completed.

Not a luxurious ride

Troop Sleeper 7118 should be attention-getting for military history buffs and veterans, especially surviving World War II and Korean War vets who actually rode in such cars. They didn't ride in luxury, it should be noted.

"When most people think of Pullman, they think opulent, fancy-dancy cars that railroad executives and the wealthy ride in," Foster said. "These weren't like that. They were made cheap and dirty — a barracks on wheels."

Troop sleepers were, though, staffed by a Pullman porter, just like the high-class passenger trains. The porters were black men, and with the era of racial segregation and discrimination still in place during World War II, their quarters were separated from the troops' bunk areas. Porters climbed a ladder to sleep in a loft bunk at the end of the car, behind a curtain, Foster explained.

Women who went to work in factories during the war, famously known as "Rosie the Riveters," built many of the troop sleepers. Foster said.

Troop Sleeper 7118 joins a varied roster of "rolling stock" train cars at the Wabash Valley Railroad Museum. The collection includes a 1914 Pennsylvania Railroad caboose (or cabin car), a 1947 switcher locomotive, a 1978 Conrail caboose, and a 1922 New York Central Railroad boxcar. Haley Tower — which housed an operator to keep railroad traffic safely moving for a century — was moved 50 feet to its current location at the museum in 1999, and its 1926-vintage interlocking system still works. The museum also has the Spring Hill Tower, which guided rail traffic in southern Vigo County for decades, as well as the late 1800s-era Turner Depot.

In 1999, Foster and a handful of other railroad enthusiasts and former railroad workers launched the local museum, which is operated by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Haley Tower Historical & Technical Society.

Richard Jackson was among the organizers, and several of his family members have served as volunteers and museum members, too. Jackson lent a hand as volunteers worked on the flooring in Troop Sleer 7118 this month. Its restoration is especially important for future generations, he believes.

"Terre Haute has quite a heritage for railroads," Jackson said. "That kind of stuff needs to be preserved for people who've never seen it. And it's a shame that some of it goes away."

Mark Bennett can be reached at 812-231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.