The Rail Car Grand Isle

The Rail Car Grand Isle. . The Rail Car Grand Isle (1899) was one of the last private cars built by the Wagner Palace Car Co. before Pullman took control of the company at the end of 1899. The car was used by Dr. William Seward Webb and the Rutland Railroad until 1914, when it was given to Dr. Webb's friend, Edward C. Smith, President of the Central Vermont Railroad and a former governor of Vermont. Mr. Smith used the car for family excursions to their vacation home in Ontario. The car's mahogany-paneled parlor, elegant dining room, staterooms, and plush furnishings are typical of the private luxury cars that became important symbols of rank to railroad men, business tycoons, and public figures of the final quarter of the 19th century.

Dr. Webb, educated as a physician, was persuaded by his father-in-law, William Henry Vanderbilt, to give up the medical profession and join the family's network of railroad enterprises. As president of the Rutland Railroad and the Wagner Palace Car Company, Webb and his wife, Lila Vanderbilt Webb, lived for part of the year in Shelburne, Vermont, commuting to New York City and other destinations with relative ease. Mrs. Webb's private car, Marquita, was similar to the Museum's Grand Isle.

When purchased for the Museum in 1960, the Grand Isle had been converted for business use, its paneling painted, fixtures replaced, and plush furnishings removed. J. Watson Webb, Jr., Dr. Webb's grandson, supervised the car's renovation to evoke the grand days of luxury rail travel and commemorate his family's role in the railroad industry.