New Jersey’s long-lost “Merci Train” boxcar has been rediscovered and will be fully restored.
The car, missing for more than 60 years, was located in a warehouse in Kansas City, Missouri.
France originally gifted it in 1949 as a symbol of gratitude for America’s aid during and after World War II; it was lost less than a decade later, in 1958. The National WWI Museum and Memorial saved the car in 1993 after it was discovered in a Tennessee field.
It was identified as New Jersey’s car in 2024, and he Museum and Memorial donated the car to the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey. It will undergo a full restoration at URHS’s Boonton Yard.
The restoration and exhibit are expected to be completed by the debut of Memorial Day 2027.
France sent 49 boxcars to the United States in February 1949 as part of the Gratitude Train or “Merci Train.” All 48 states at the time received one, and the then-Territory of Hawaii and the District of Columbia shared a 49th boxcar.
The cars were filled with thousands of sentimental gifts from French citizens. New Jersey Gov. Alfred Driscoll received New Jersey’s car during a ceremony in Trenton; more than 20,000 people attended.
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