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The symbol of the Merci Train above, shown next to the French flag, is a frontal view of a steam engine with flowers on the pilot which are symbolic of Flanders Field, where many American "Doughboys" from WW1 are buried. The drawing was adopted as the official symbol of the French Merci Train Committee, and a plaque of the drawing was placed on each of the Merci box cars. The committee also had gift tags made bearing the symbol, and one accompanied each of the more than 52,000 gifts that came in the box cars.
The Merci Train was a train of 49 French railroad box cars filled with tens of thousands of gifts of gratitude from at least that many individual French citizens. They were showing their appreciation for the more than 700 American box cars of relief goods sent to them by (primarily) individual Americans in 1948. The Merci Train arrived in New York harbor on February 3rd, 1949 and each of the 48 American states at that time received one of the gift laden box cars. The 49th box car was shared by Washington D.C. and the Territory of Hawaii.
Parades and ceremonies of welcome were conducted in the state capitols and major cities of almost all the states. The largest and most attended was in New York City where more than 200,000 people turned out to welcome that state's assigned box car.
A description of all of the gifts that were in the box cars would fill many books, and the stories of the origins of those gifts would fill many more. The box cars themselves were antiques by 1949, having been built between the years of 1872 and 1885, which means that those still surviving today are more than 100 years old.
This site has a photo of each of the remaining box cars and pictures of some of the more than 52,000 gifts that the train originally delivered to America. To view photos of any of the surviving boxcars, click on the "Existing Merci Boxcars" link in the red link list at the left, and then click on the links to the individual states. In addition to the photographs of the cars, the viewer will also find significant facts about each state's boxcar, photos of the gifts (if any are known), and the location, address and local contact information.
The Merci Train played an important, but little known (today), role in the historical friendship that has existed between our two nations since before America gained it's independence. In fact the French people fought with us to achieve that status, and also gave us another gift which has become an important symbol of America's freedom around the world, The Statue of Liberty. It is the author's hope that his work about The Merci Train will revive interest in the story and remind people on both sides of The Atlantic that international friendship is an important commodity, and well worth the effort it requires to preserve it.
The Merci Train Website Correspondent is now Roxanne Godsey, Please Email her at
roxannegodsey@hotmail.com© 1999 through 2008 by Earl Bennett. This material may not be reproduced in any form with out the written consent of the author.
