Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Office Car 98

Office Car No. 98: A Restored Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Classic

Built by the Pullman Company in 1917, Office Car No. 98 was originally delivered as No. 99 for Daniel Willard, president of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Designed as a private executive railcar, it reflected the comfort, craftsmanship, and prestige associated with top-tier railroad travel in the early twentieth century.

The car featured a kitchen, crew quarters, a dining room, three staterooms, a lounge, and an observation platform. Its interior showcased rich mahogany, vermilion, and oak paneling, brass fixtures, and leaded glass windows. In 1918, the car was renumbered No. 98. Around 1930, it was reassigned to a B&O vice president based in Baltimore.

In 1938, Office Car No. 98 received air conditioning and interior updates, including a revised bedroom arrangement that created two washrooms between Staterooms A and B. In 1940, the car was reassigned again, this time to General Manager F. G. Hoskins in Baltimore.

A major modernization followed in 1955 after the car was reassigned to B&O’s Central Region in Pittsburgh. Updates included sealed windows, a streamlined turtleback roof, improved climate control, and refreshed interior finishes and equipment. After another reassignment in 1960, the car was sold in 1962 to a member of the InterMountain Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, where it saw continued use on excursion service.

In 1965, the car was sold again to a Chicago insurance executive. Early in 1966, while returning from Florida, it was involved in a rollover derailment that nearly ended its service life. Instead, the decision was made to restore it, and the car spent six months in the shop undergoing repairs. Later in the decade, it passed to another private owner, an industrialist and CNO&TP executive, who brought the car to Chattanooga and later Atlanta under the care of the Southern Railway System.

The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum acquired Office Car No. 98 in 1977. It soon became one of the most admired cars in the museum’s collection. During refurbishment in the early 1980s, the car was named Eden Isle and repainted from Pullman Green into TVRM’s Colonial Red. More recently, it underwent the final stages of a six-year restoration to return it as closely as possible to its circa 1955 appearance and operating condition.

Today, Office Car No. 98 is available for charter on select TVRM excursions. With its refined interior, distinguished history, and carefully restored details, it remains one of the finest examples of private railroad travel preserved at TVRM.

Support the Restoration of Office Car No. 98

Office Car No. 98 represents an important part of American railroad history and the tradition of private rail travel. Support from donors helps preserve this remarkable car for future generations to experience and enjoy. Donate now to help continue the preservation of this Baltimore & Ohio Railroad classic.