Virginia & Truckee Coach No. 12 was built by the J.G. Brill & Company of Philadelphia prior to 1874. It is awaiting restoration and is on display in the annex building of the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, NV.
The text of the exhibit sign follows:
Virginia City & Truckee Railroad
J.G. Brill Coach No. 12
Coach No. 12 was built by J.G. Brill & Company of Philadelphia prior to 1874 as a demonstration car along with its twin coach, No. 11. Ornately styled with arched clerestory and rounded corners, these experimental coaches were purchased at a bargain price of $2,500 each and entered service on the V&T in April of 1874.
Coach No. 12 was part of the
New Philadelphia summer
Express passenger train from 1874 to 1878 when it was relegated to picnic, fair and excursion service. Sold to Paramount Pictures in 1938 for $500, Coach No. 12 began a long and successful career in the film industry, including Cecil B. DeMilles’ iconic
Union Pacific.
Brill Coach No. 12, along with its twin, No. 11, returned to Carson City and the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Dec. 1971.
V&T cars No. 11 and No. 12 are the only two Brill coaches known to exist. Both are un-restored and considered to be in very good condition for their age and many years of service.
Below is information from the Friends of the Nevada State Railroad Museum
website .
NEVADA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM
V&T Coaches No’s. 11 & 12
Coaches Nos. 11 and 12 are two of the more unique cars in the entire Virginia & Truckee collection; ornately styled with the unusual arched clerestory roof and rounded end construction. The two passenger cars were built sometime prior to 1874 by J. G. Brill & Co. of Philadelphia, Pa. as demonstration cars. They were 2nd class coaches, as denoted by their lack of end windows. No other cars like them exist today. They are in remarkably good condition, considering their age.
Measuring some 47 feet in length, the cars are of all wood construction. Inside, a light oak paneling adorns both the regular and the separated smoking sections. Louvered shutters, which can be raised and lowered, kept the sun at a distance, while above, 28 alternating small red and white glass windows with etched floral designs added an elegant touch to the clerestory.
Purchased for $2,500 each, coaches 11 and 12 entered service in April of 1874 following minor alterations and additions by the V&T shop crew. Operating only a few years in the Lightning Express, they were relegated to secondary and picnic train service by the late 1870s. After 64 years of use, Paramount Pictures acquired the two cars for $500 each in 1938. Their first role before the cameras was in the Cecil B. DeMille railroad epic Union Pacific. After some 30 years of film chores the cars returned to Carson City in 1971. Both of these cars are awaiting restoration by the Museum.