On Feb. 4, 1975, Newberry Electric Corp. in Richmond, Calif., received a call from the Freedom Train Project asking if a crew of electricians could be ready tomorrow. Time was running short, and the company needed 12 train cars to be custom wired with only nine days until delivery.

Members of Martinez Local 302 were on site the next morning.

The Freedom Train Project was one of the many public events that were part of the U.S. bicentennial celebration in 1975-76. The project had assembled a 26-car steam-powered train dubbed the American Freedom Train and filled the 12 display cars with thousands of artifacts documenting the country’s proud heritage.

Beginning its journey in Wilmington, Del., on April 1, the train made stops in all 48 contiguous states. Over the next 21 months, it traveled up the East Coast, across the Midwest and the Great Plains, to the Pacific Northwest and down to Southern California, then to Texas and the South, finally arriving in Miami on Dec. 26, 1976.

At each stop, history came alive through 12 specially designed exhibit cars that were converted from New York Central and Penn Central baggage cars.

Displayed inside were over 500 treasures of Americana, along with special effects to immerse visitors in sights and sounds for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Some of the notable artifacts were George Washington’s copy of the U.S. Constitution, the original Louisiana Purchase, Judy Garland’s dress from “The Wizard of Oz,” Joe Frazier’s boxing trunks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s pulpit and robes, and a rock from the moon.

Two of the cars had large windows installed on either side, allowing visitors to see the exhibits day and night. These cars held a fire engine from George Washington’s Friendship Fire Company; a 1904 Oldsmobile Runabout; a replica of the Apollo lunar rover; a map of the train’s journey; and the Freedom Bell, a replica of Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell.

But none of this would have been possible without the dedication and expertise of IBEW members. After receiving the call from the Freedom Train Project, members of Local 302 were on the job the next morning.

They performed seven 10-hour days, one 14-hour day and one 24-hour day to wire all 12 display cars. Each car had a 480-volt power system, a 120/208V lighting system, a 480V HVAC system, a 24V fire alarm system, a 24V telemetry system, a 480V moving walkway and a 32V emergency lighting system. Power was provided by two generator cars with a 535 MCM feeder running the length of the train with tap-offs to each car.

Despite stressful conditions and the daunting time crunch, Local 302 members had the train ready to roll at 8 a.m. on Feb. 14 for its journey to Delaware.

At the conclusion of its journey, the American Freedom Train had traveled 25,833 miles over 21 months and stopped at 138 cities. In 1977, the National Museums of Canada bought 15 of the cars and used them on a rail tour across Canada as the Discovery Train, a mobile museum focusing on the country’s history, which ran from 1978 to 1980.  

Visit nbew-ibewmuseum.org for more on how to support the IBEW’s preservation of its history. Have a an idea for this feature? Send it to [email protected].