Object ID:
2007.026.013
Scope & Content:
Newspaper clipping about Chapel Car 5 and associated business card from Everett Herald.
Article:
A New Role of 100–Year–Old Railcar
By Ned Carrick
Staff Writer
Snohomish– Arthur H. Hodgins has one of the more unusual summer projects underway in his back yard.
He is now in the process of placing and restoring a 70–foot long railroad car for use as a covered patio beside his above ground swimming pool.
Yesterday he had the car, a former church–owned traveling chapel, moved to his double lot at 315–17 Avenue F.
The railroad car, which has reposed alongside of Highway 2 between Snohomish and Everett for many years as a roadside diner, was in the path of an interchange under construction at the bottom of Fobes hill.
"I wanted to have it from the bulldozer," Hodgins said.
He estimates the car's age at nearly 100 years.
"I know it came to Everett right after World War II and was being lived in by a family at thtat time," he said.
I've always been interested in transporation," Hodgins, who is in the Merchant Marine, said. "When I saw it was being vandalized after it was bought by the highway department, I felt I should do something."
Vandals took their toll of the historic car, ripping off all brass and other metal fittings and breaking all but one window.
Tthe car carries the name "Message of Peace" and was operated by the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Tthe two names are still visible under fading coats of paint.
Hodgins said the car served as the private residence and chapel of a minister who traveled thoughout the country in the early 1900s.
"It was used during the war, then condemned," he said, explaining that because of its construction it could no withstand the stress of being in the middle of a train.
"It would have been pulled apart. It had to ride at the end of a train," he said.
Hodgins plans to restore the interiorand exterior during his spare time, putting it to use as a picnic or seating ara beside his pool.
BACKYARD PROJECT– Regular commuters between Snohomish and Everett will recognize this railroad car as the highway diner at the bottom of Fobes Hill. It was moved yesterday to the backyard of A.H. Hodgins, 317–15 Avenue R, Snohomish, where it will be restored and used as a covered patio and picnic area beside a swimming pool. Tthe diner and other businesses in the area were in the path of a highway intersection under construction. At left, the mover carefully backs his 70–foot long load around a residential intersection in Snohomish. Below a worker examines framework under the car. Stress rods below the car still are doing their job. The moving operation took most of the day yesterday. The car was a private church–owner missionary car.
Business Card:
The Everett Herald
Everett, Washington
Ned Carrick
East County Editor
Phone 259–5151
Res 568–6545
Article:
A New Role of 100–Year–Old Railcar
By Ned Carrick
Staff Writer
Snohomish– Arthur H. Hodgins has one of the more unusual summer projects underway in his back yard.
He is now in the process of placing and restoring a 70–foot long railroad car for use as a covered patio beside his above ground swimming pool.
Yesterday he had the car, a former church–owned traveling chapel, moved to his double lot at 315–17 Avenue F.
The railroad car, which has reposed alongside of Highway 2 between Snohomish and Everett for many years as a roadside diner, was in the path of an interchange under construction at the bottom of Fobes hill.
"I wanted to have it from the bulldozer," Hodgins said.
He estimates the car's age at nearly 100 years.
"I know it came to Everett right after World War II and was being lived in by a family at thtat time," he said.
I've always been interested in transporation," Hodgins, who is in the Merchant Marine, said. "When I saw it was being vandalized after it was bought by the highway department, I felt I should do something."
Vandals took their toll of the historic car, ripping off all brass and other metal fittings and breaking all but one window.
Tthe car carries the name "Message of Peace" and was operated by the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Tthe two names are still visible under fading coats of paint.
Hodgins said the car served as the private residence and chapel of a minister who traveled thoughout the country in the early 1900s.
"It was used during the war, then condemned," he said, explaining that because of its construction it could no withstand the stress of being in the middle of a train.
"It would have been pulled apart. It had to ride at the end of a train," he said.
Hodgins plans to restore the interiorand exterior during his spare time, putting it to use as a picnic or seating ara beside his pool.
BACKYARD PROJECT– Regular commuters between Snohomish and Everett will recognize this railroad car as the highway diner at the bottom of Fobes Hill. It was moved yesterday to the backyard of A.H. Hodgins, 317–15 Avenue R, Snohomish, where it will be restored and used as a covered patio and picnic area beside a swimming pool. Tthe diner and other businesses in the area were in the path of a highway intersection under construction. At left, the mover carefully backs his 70–foot long load around a residential intersection in Snohomish. Below a worker examines framework under the car. Stress rods below the car still are doing their job. The moving operation took most of the day yesterday. The car was a private church–owner missionary car.
Business Card:
The Everett Herald
Everett, Washington
Ned Carrick
East County Editor
Phone 259–5151
Res 568–6545
Search Terms:
Chapel Car 5
Chapel Cars
Chapel Cars
Date:
May 14, 1971
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