| This former Army hospital car named AZALEA was photographed at the New Orleans Public Belt’s engine terminal. Its interior had been stripped and it had been partially modified with an open platform. Coincidentally, it had been built with an open platform, but that was at the near end of the car! It was built by Pullman Car & Manufacturing Co. as a Plan 3959 3-compartment/2-drawing-room/lounge observation car, probably CENTRAL HOUSE (Lot 4886) on 11 September 1925 or CENTRAL POINT (Lot 4971) on 1 October 1926. It was remodeled as a U.S. Army HOSPITAL WARD CAR in 1943, and subsequent owners included William O. Savage then Al K. Nippert who donated it to the Louisiana Railway Heritage Trust. After this shot was taken, its remodeling was completed in 2005 by the Louisiana Steam Train Association (LASTA) as hospitality car LSTX 5 JEFFERSON. |