Louisville and Nashville Combine Car Number 665
Encyclopedia
The Louisville and Nashville Combine Car Number 665, also known as the "Jim Crow Car", is a historic railcar on the National Register of Historic Places
, currently at the Kentucky Railway Museum
at New Haven, Kentucky
, in southernmost Nelson County, Kentucky
.
The Combine car was built at the American Car and Foundry Company
located in Jeffersonville, Indiana
in 1913; a custom design given to it by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
. It was number 865, later numbered 665. It served at least three different branches of the L&N: Maysville Branch, Glasgow Branch, and Springfield Branch.
Its nickname, the "Jim Crow Car", relates to the Jim Crow laws
of pre-1965 United States, which allowed for separate facilities for blacks under the policy of separate but equal
. A law passed on May 24, 1892, called the Separate Coach Law, specifically declared that railroad passenger cars must be segregated. It is the only preserved two wood side steel car; one of only two ever made. The car is 77.5 feet (23.6 m) by 9.66 feet (2.9 m) and weighs 104300 pounds (47,309.7 kg). It has a central baggage section separating two passenger sections. Each passenger section has a bathroom where waste was deposited on the rails, and a cast iron stove.
In 1919 the L&N was forced by law to have a separate coach for blacks; often white drunks would be placed in the black car instead of one of those for whites.
In 1958 the car was given to the Kentucky Railway Museum by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
When The General
of Great Locomotive Chase
fame was undergoing restoration in 1962 by the L&N, the Combine Car was hooked up to The General to test how well the engine was repaired. During the trips the Combine Car held several different artifacts related to the Chase, for its passengers to admire.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, currently at the Kentucky Railway Museum
Kentucky Railway Museum
The Kentucky Railway Museum, located in New Haven, Kentucky, United States, is a non-profit railroad museum dedicated to educating the public regarding the history and heritage of Kentucky's railroads and the people who built them. Originally created in 1954 in Louisville, Kentucky, the museum is...
at New Haven, Kentucky
New Haven, Kentucky
New Haven is a city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 849 at the 2000 census.New Haven was founded as Pottinger's Landing in 1781 and later named New Haven by Samuel Pottinger after the Connecticut town...
, in southernmost Nelson County, Kentucky
Nelson County, Kentucky
Nelson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 43,437. Its county seat is Bardstown. The county is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
.
The Combine car was built at the American Car and Foundry Company
American Car and Foundry Company
American Car and Foundry is a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches under the brand names of ACF and ACF-Brill. Today ACF is known as ACF Industries LLC and is based in St. Charles, Missouri...
located in Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...
in 1913; a custom design given to it by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
. It was number 865, later numbered 665. It served at least three different branches of the L&N: Maysville Branch, Glasgow Branch, and Springfield Branch.
Its nickname, the "Jim Crow Car", relates to the Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
of pre-1965 United States, which allowed for separate facilities for blacks under the policy of separate but equal
Separate but equal
Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law that justified systems of segregation. Under this doctrine, services, facilities and public accommodations were allowed to be separated by race, on the condition that the quality of each group's public facilities was to...
. A law passed on May 24, 1892, called the Separate Coach Law, specifically declared that railroad passenger cars must be segregated. It is the only preserved two wood side steel car; one of only two ever made. The car is 77.5 feet (23.6 m) by 9.66 feet (2.9 m) and weighs 104300 pounds (47,309.7 kg). It has a central baggage section separating two passenger sections. Each passenger section has a bathroom where waste was deposited on the rails, and a cast iron stove.
In 1919 the L&N was forced by law to have a separate coach for blacks; often white drunks would be placed in the black car instead of one of those for whites.
In 1958 the car was given to the Kentucky Railway Museum by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
When The General
The General (locomotive)
The General is a type 4-4-0 steam locomotive that was the subject of the Great Locomotive Chase of the American Civil War. The locomotive is preserved at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-...
of Great Locomotive Chase
Great Locomotive Chase
The Great Locomotive Chase or Andrews' Raid was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civilian scout James J...
fame was undergoing restoration in 1962 by the L&N, the Combine Car was hooked up to The General to test how well the engine was repaired. During the trips the Combine Car held several different artifacts related to the Chase, for its passengers to admire.