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Ringling railcar on its way back to original splendor

Photo courtesy Pullman Archives, Newberry Library, Chicago

A group of volunteers are helping to restore John Ringling's original railcar, the Wisconsin. The railcar, which is now at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, dates back to 1905.

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By JACKIE BARRON

jbarron@wfla.com

Published: July 3, 2009

Updated: 07/03/2009 12:04 pm

SARASOTA - It's called the Wisconsin.

The personal railcar of circus magnate John and Mable Ringling dates back more than 100 years to the days when Ringling rode the rails between New York and Sarasota.

"And we found that John Ringling might have been the youngest person in the United States in 1905 to own his own personal, private car," says Deborah Walk, who oversees the circus museum and archives at the Ringling Museum of Art.

She said the arrival of the Wisconsin back then made for big news.

"A private car, because there was so few of them, was an event for any town," she said.
Mahogany woodwork and stained-glass windows made it a "palace on rails."

Walk compared the 79-foot railcar to "a Faberge egg." It has eight rooms, stretching from a kitchen to an observation lounge.

The Wisconsin arrived on the Ringling grounds, 5401 Bay Shore Road, last August.

Making it shine again has taken months and a team of volunteers.

"We have a woodworker, we have people who have spent 500 hours cleaning the windows," Walk said.

David Duncan spends five to seven days a week reconstructing the kitchen and replicating the profile of the original Pullman millwork.

He called working on the Wisconsin the opportunity of a lifetime.

"To be able to re-create something from the past so that people today can understand it, I think 'Wow, it's fabulous,'" Duncan said.

Inside and out, the tiniest details demand weeks of attention. A Ringling staffer has worked for hours touching up hand-painted work on the car's ceiling.

The museum allows the public to watch the work in progress.

"We have a couple from Naples who come up every other week just to see the work being done," Walk said. "It is incredible because it is a wooden car and was miraculously saved for over 100 years. This is going to be something that one cannot see in any other place in the U.S."

Reporter Jackie Barron can be reached at (813) 221-5708.

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