Damn Backward Unoriginal Neanderthal City! This Should Be OURS!

[Ocklawaha]

Finally something we all talked about in the A. Phillip Randolph charette. A. Phillip Randolph and the fantastic Pullman Company organization of the first Black Labor Union. Starting with a club, "The International Society For The Prevention Of Calling Pullman Car Porters George," which counted KING GEORGE of England among its members, to the formation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the bigger then life Randolph was a Jacksonville Product.

So where are the "idea" people on this? Shouldn't we raise the bar - claim it and push it over the top as a regional celebration in Mr. Randolph's Town? Where is the Visitors Bureau? Parks? Special Events? and of course the wonderfully empty halls of the largest railroad station in the South? Where the hell is Jacksonville?

Why is it that a first tier city will proclaim a holiday, have a parade, get major national corporate sponsors, and host nationally acclaimed bash.

I know, I know, this is Jacksonville, home of Southern Rock, Randolph, Bob Hayes, and the American Negro league of Baseballers. COWFORD! Moo!

Where's my REBEL YELL? DAMN! JUST DAMN!

All Aboard? Amtrak to Honor Pullman Porters
By Martin Finucane
The Boston Globe - via reprint in Mass Transit Magazine

MASSACHUSETTS - They spent their working lives on the rails. Now Amtrak is offering retired Pullman porters another ride: a free trip to a celebration of the role they played in the rise of American railroads.

``They are a part of America's history,'' Darlene Abubakar of Amtrak said in a statement. ``Amtrak wants to find these extraordinary gentlemen and honor them.''

The passenger railroad said that every year there are fewer surviving Pullman porters. The railroad is hoping to get five to 10 to attend a celebration May 9 at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, said spokesman Hank Ernest. Celebrations have already been held in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Oakland.

Pullman porters, who were black, tended to the needs of passengers who rode in Pullman first-class sleeping cars.

But the role they played in history was much bigger than that, said Larry Tye, author of ``Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class.''

Tye said Pullman porters formed the first successful African-American trade union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Pullman porters also played key roles at the dawn of the civil rights movement. And many of the porters' descendants can be found now among members of the black middle class

The Pullman porters were a fixture of the railroads from the end of the Civil War to the late 1960s.

Amtrak asked that retired Pullman porters, their families, or their friends contact Saunya Connelly at 202-906-4164 or e-mail her at connels@amtrak.com by April 14.

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

We have street named after him, but Chicago has a museum.

A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum
http://www.aphiliprandolphmuseum.com/

Btw, Edward Waters College has a permanent exhibit.  So we have the bones with this issue, we just need to do a better job of promoting and polishing them.

[Ocklawaha]

The Randolf - Pullman musem of Jacksonville, started at one table in the charette and swept over the room like a wildfire. I think most of the groups proposed such a museum, and most also pointed out the North end of the Boulevard as the perfect site. They came up the the rail cars, and decided that parking lot was big enough and close enough to the old railroad to the North to bring in trains!

I had some of the history, and they just took off with it. It was a very popular idea.

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

I was not there, so I don't know, but I wonder if charette participants knew that there is a permanent Randolph exhibit at EWC?  Or that their master plan shows the inclusion of an on-campus museum complete with a pullman car?  It sounds like EWC would be a good organization to partner up with.



Image from EWC campus photo tour: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/361/117/

[Ocklawaha]

Guess the artist didn't know what a Pullman car would look like from the air... (Uh Ahem)... Pssst. "That's a Streetcar".  Oh well it's a great plan, but I wish it was on Randolph. It COULD still be a EWC project off campus, it would draw a hell of a lot more visitors.

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

Guess the artist didn't know what a Pullman car would look like from the air... (Uh Ahem)... Pssst. "That's a Streetcar".  Oh well it's a great plan, but I wish it was on Randolph. It COULD still be a EWC project off campus, it would draw a hell of a lot more visitors.

OCKLAWAHA

Yeah, it looks like the artist got confused.

Personally, I wouldn't mind future cultural attractions being planned a little closer together with what's already in place.  Having these things within walking distance of each other makes it easier to create vibrancy in a compact setting.  Allowing them to feed off of each other would result in the highest level of visitors for each individual facility.

[Ocklawaha]

Yes, Lake, I agree 100%, get these attractions bunched between Jacksonville Terminal and A. Phillip Randolph.

Another problem with the drawing, look closely at the drawing and the walk? from  the parking lot into the SIDE of the "Pullman". Now I KNOW he was looking at a Streetcar, A Peter Witt Streetcar with a center entry to be exact. Sorry but the Pullmans would have vestibules on either end, some only on one end, and yet others with NO outside entry (access through the train).

Streamline sleeping cars don’t arrive in the south until after WWII, orders had been delayed for the war effort. The new streamliners had been operating with older heavyweight Pullman cars either bought by the Railroads (with the break-up of the Pullman Co. ordered by the courts), or the remaining Pullman Pool cars. Some of these cars had been painted silver with simulated shadow line stripes to try and blend in with the new stainless steel cars. Bedrooms were in great demand for Florida service especially in the winter season. For this reason the older Pullman cars were hard to replace because of their large space and quiet smooth ride. Many room arrangements were offered to accommodate the needs of the first class patrons.

      The 10-6 (10 roomettes with six bedrooms) was the most common car with ACL, FEC, SAL, & SOU all ordering them.

     ATLANTIC COAST LINE & FLORIDA EAST COAST joint order from the Pullman Co received ACL (25) FEC (7) cars for Champion service and the seasonal Florida Special in 1949. ACL cars had Purple Letter boards, black roofs and trucks, named after counties or cities. The FEC cars had stainless steel roofs named after South American Countries. The ACL cars went to SCL with 20 going into the Amtrak system (five destroyed). FEC sold all seven cars to CN in 1967.

    SEABOARD AIR LINE received 15 cars from Pullman in 1949 for the Silver Meteor and Silver Comet. The cars had a corrugated roof to match the Budd Cars. All with silver trucks and full diaphragms. These cars were also used on the new Silver Star. Seaboards cars were all named after cities online. Cars continued on to SCL with 14 going to Amtrak.

    The BUDD Co also built 10-6 sleepers for Seaboard. In 1949 A total of six cars, all with silver trucks and full diaphragms. These cars were named after south Florida cities. The main difference between the Pullman built cars and the Budd cars was the floor plan was reversed. These cars also continued in SCL service and Amtrak.

   SOUTHERN Railway (24) and CNO&TP (5) ordered cars from the Pullman Co. receiving them in 1949. These cars were ordered for Crescent and seasonal New Royal Palm service & later the year around Royal Palm. Cars had stainless steel roofs, full diaphragms and black trucks.   Cars were named in the River Series. A few of these cars went to Amtrak after 1978

I've been in many of these cars, I distinctly remember the FEC Panama, and the ACL's Ortega River.

OCKLAWAHA

[mtraininjax]

Snoozeville - Get the schools funded before we embark on wishful projects. How many people know we have a maritime museum downtown? How many people attend MOSH every year?

[thelakelander]

According to the Jax Biz Journal's 2008 Book of Lists, MOSH had 165,412 visitors in 2006.  This was down from 176,038 in 2005.  Jax Zoo was the most popular attraction in town with 710,000 visitors in 2006.

[mtraininjax]

Maritime museum? Right next to MOSH?

[cline]

Jax Zoo was the most popular attraction in town with 710,000 visitors in 2006.

It is a real shame that Zoos were specifically left out of the stimulus package.  I think the Jax Zoo is awesome. 

[thelakelander]

No data was available for the maritime museum.  However, I do know that they have been storing things in warehouses because of the lack of space.  In the past, they also have mentioned raising funds to construct their own building, if the city could give them a MOSH type deal for waterfront property.  Unfortunately, the city could care less about the maritime museum.