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This old railroad car may not look like much, but the options for distance learning were pretty limited back in the day. Still, you could probably smoke in this classroom.
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The Pullman Company built this all-steel rail car as an 87-seat coach-smoker for the Maine Central Railroad in 1914. The car's numbers and seating capacity changed a few times, but you can bet that "No Smoking" signs were neither added nor removed.
In 1955,
the car was converted to a classroom that traveled
from one end of the Maine Central Railroad to the other. At various yards and terminals, employees gathered in the "Instruction Car" to learn the latest in mechanical and operating rules and practices.
For the instructor, a railroad employee called the Rules Examiner, the Instruction Car also served as a hotel room. The overnight accommodations included a washroom and bunk room along with a basic kitchen.
After its retirement from the Maine Central in 1985, the Instruction Car was sold to the Conway Scenic Railroad. Today, it sits on a siding at the train station in North Conway, New Hampshire.
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