French Boxcar

During World War I and II, army troops were transported around France in trains, often in boxcars stenciled “Hommes 40-Cheveaux 8” to indicate a capacity of 40 men or 8 horses. After World War II, the people of France sent the Merci Train to the United States in 1949 as a gesture of gratitude for American aid to France. It consisted of 49 '40 & 8' boxcars, with one for each of the 48 states and one shared by the District of Columbia and the Territory of Hawaii. Utah’s boxcar, built in 1885 in Lyon, France, was presented on February 22, 1949, filled with items donated by the people of France. Some of those artifacts remain in the care of the Utah Historical Society. The boxcar was later restored by the 40 et 8 Grande du Utah, the local chapter of La Société des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux, in a project headed by Byron Lewis with grants from the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation and Weber County RAMP.

Ogden, Utah · United States