Union Pacific #907149 at the Illinois Railway Museum in 2004

Union Pacific #907149 was built in 1939 by the railroad as #9195, one of 100 cars for the railroad’s new Challenger Merchandise Service. Challenger Service trains carried “Less-Than-Carload” (LCL) Merchandise Shipments and provided overnight service between several pairs of cities across the Union Pacific system. The U. S. entering World War II forced the service to end in 1942, and the cars, including 30 more built in early 1941, were assigned to carrying express freight in Union Pacific passenger trains until Amtrak’s creation in 1971. Some of the cars found further use in maintenance service, including #9195, which became storage car #907149 until its retirement.

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