Uncommonwealth: Segregation-era rail car being restored in Kentucky for Smithsonian [View all]
STEARNS — In the corner of a chilly McCreary County railway shop sits a piece of American history that millions from around the world will tour: a restored Southern Railways "Jim Crow" car with separate sections for black and white passengers.
The 80-foot car includes separate restrooms for its segregated passengers; 22 of each race could ride, although white passengers got a tad more legroom between seats. The restrooms for blacks were hardly big enough to turn around in, while the restrooms for whites included lounges with sofas and, in the men's room, for cigar-smoking and spittoons.
The car probably was used from 1940 to 1960. Southern Railways operated in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.
"It depicts the realities of how segregation was," John Rimmasch, head of Wasatch Railroad Contractors, said while striding through the car, now painted sylvan green on the outside....
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/11/10/2924097/uncommonwealth-segregation-era.html#storylink=cpy
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