The private business car “Navy Inspection #118” is leaving Newport News, Va. today,
Saturday Jan 28, 2023, for most likely its final trip on Amtrak trains.
This beautiful car has been generously donated, by its gracious owner, to the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio.

The first leg will be to Washington D.C. on the Northeast Region train #124, then departing
D.C. for New York City on Sunday evening.
Monday, January 30th, will see the car depart for Pittsburgh, Pa. on the “Pennsylvanian”.

Arrangements through local railroads with then complete the journey to Sugarcreek.
Be sure to look for Navy 118 to pass by, as it heads West to begin a new chapter of its
illustrious railroad career that started 109 years ago, 1914, on the Union Pacific Railroad.
More updates to follow.

Built by Pullman in Lot #3978 to Plan #2619 in December 1914 as a 60 seat chair-8 seat smoker, UP #741, to #1210 in April 1916, rebuilt as business car #118 in January 1938*, to #114 (2nd) in December 1951, to #120 (3rd) in April 1957, sold in June 1970 to Houston Allred in Wichita Falls**, later resold to Tyler Robbins, #800188, was at one time named Cleveland before gaining the current Inspection Car Navy 118 identity.

*Some source info instead shows a rebuild date to business car in 1931, not 1938.

**Was sold to Allred along with the #122 (2nd) (ex-#113 [1st], exx-#117, exxx-#1209, nee-#740).

So what's the story behind it's current identity? Was one of the owners at one point a naval officer or something?

Correct.

As posted on Don Strack's Utah Rails website:Source: https://utahrails.net/pass/pass-heritage-fleet-2.php#up120third

Is this the car that was parked at the Pentagon in the late 1970s?

Wesp- Answer: yes it is. He was actually a Navy reservist and I believe an enlisted PIO specialist but I could be wrong (long time ago). I once rode the car behind Amtrak from Chicago to Michigan (somewhere can't remember). Exciting standing on the open [platform at speed. The car is a converted Harriman and had just been overhauled with rebuilt trucks that had poorly calibrated springs- we bounced around a bit But fun. Ned.

Until I retired at the end of 2019, I was the Navy's Trackage Subject Matter Expert responsible for inspection of all the Navy's Railroads as well as Crane rails.

I've gotten any number of comments over the years from people complaining about how the government could provide me with such a car to asking for a ride on it and why I never visited their base with it. The the irony is that I've not only never been on it, I've never even seen it in person. :-)

Mr. Robbins kept the car on the Coopersville & Marne at Coopersville, MI, for many years.

Rainier Rails is correct. There was a dedicated siding with shore power, water and a phone line connection. When Amtrak reconfigured the station and track arrangement in Grand Rapids it made it difficult to transfer the car to the GRE and C&M. That's about the time storage ended there.

I was stationed at the Pentagon from 1975 - 1980 and saw that car there. I visited it once and the guy was very friendly and welcoming. Its interior was like the living room of a house. That track had been for coal coming to the power plant and was later used for the Freedom Train's visit. That is when they traded locomotives.

"I was stationed at the Pentagon from 1975 - 1980 and saw that car there. I visited it once and the guy was very friendly and welcoming. Its interior was like the living room of a house. That track had been for coal coming to the power plant and was later used for the Freedom Train's visit. That is when they traded locomotives."

Are you sure it was that car? I am thinking that it was another car that Tyler Robbins owned, the former NYC sleeper-lounge "Big Moose Lake". I thought he didn't acquire the former UP Biz car until some years later.

It's been awhile but when I met him and rode the car in Chicago in 2007 or so I think he told me it was the same car. but I could be wrong. When he had it at the Pentagon I was stationed in DC at the time and recall seeing it in Trains magazine??? I think. with a picture. Maybe?
Ned

A request was made that I post the history of this car...

NYC #10600 Big Moose Lake, 6DB sleeper-22 seat buffet lounge, 1 of 16 such cars built by P-S in 1948 in Lot #6790 to Plan #4124, #10600-#10615. These cars have not had such a good preservation record as their Budd-built counterparts in the Stream-series (11 cars, #10620-#10630), but the Big Moose Lake is still extant. Sold to Mr. Robbins in 1967, and later resold...now located in Madison, WI, painted in Armour Yellow and lettered as MILW Camp Randall [sic*]; also modified with an open platform.

*The actual MILW Camp Randal (not Randall) was a heavyweight buffet lounge solarium (originally a 12-1 named Madison, built by Pullman in 1910, Lot #3787, Plan #2477C), and is also still extant.

One, maybe two, other cars from the Lake-series are also known to still be extant:

#10603 Mirror Lake, sold in 1967 to Ted Church and later stored in Flippin, AR...this car was one of many acquired by Iowa Pacific, but remained in situ in Flippin, no clue on the current status following the IPH bankruptcy.

#10614 Tupper Lake may also be around somewhere, as it became GE dynamometer #100. (Was known to still be extant as of 7 years ago.)