Author: Mike Nova

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Successful aesthetist says she’s now ‘50 and lonely’ because she ‘forgot’ to have kids during busy life

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The ‘illegal orders’ minefield, a food-price win for Americans and other commentary

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Before Air Force One, US presidents traveled aboard a luxury train car. Look inside the ‘White House on wheels.’

presidential train car
The Ferdinand Magellan was in presidential use from 1943 to 1954.

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

  • The Ferdinand Magellan, also known as US Car No. 1, was used by US presidents between 1943 and 1954.
  • It was the president’s official transportation in the days before Air Force One.
  • The car used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower can still be borrowed.

Long before the primary transportation method for US presidents was Air Force One, they traveled the country aboard a 10-foot-wide train car.

The Ferdinand Magellan, a Pullman car rebuilt in 1942 for presidential use, was the president’s official mode of transportation between 1943 and 1954. The car is also known as US Car No. 1.

The armored car was the heaviest railcar ever built in the US after it was fitted with detailed security features and enlarged spaces for President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the height of World War II.

Today, it is the only passenger train car to ever be declared a National Historic Landmark.

While it pales in comparison to the Air Force One in space and technology, the Ferdinand Magellan allowed the president to continue his duties in comfort while on the move. The car was often accompanied by other train cars dedicated to radio communications, White House staffers, and members of the press, making it a “White House on wheels.”

Take a look and see how US presidents traveled in the days before Air Force One.

US Car No. 1 was presented to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in December 1942.
roosevelt on us car one presidential train car

Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

On December 18, 1942, the Pullman Company presented a luxury train car that had been rebuilt at the request of the US Secret Service, which had determined that the president needed a secure way to travel during wartime.

Roosevelt most often used the car to travel from Washington, DC, to his home in Hyde Park, New York. The president insisted on not surpassing a speed of 35 miles per hour when traveling aboard the Ferdinand Magellan, making his journeys less efficient and heightening security measures, per the White House Historical Association website.

He last rode the car on March 30, 1945, when he visited his Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia, where he died a few weeks later.

During his time, the president rode over 50,000 miles aboard the presidential train car.

It was most famously used in 1948 during Harry Truman’s “whistle-stop” campaign tour.
truman presidential train car

Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

While the car was built with Roosevelt in mind, including certain designs that would allow him to use a wheelchair on the train, it was his successor, President Harry S. Truman, who used it the most.

The president, who, unlike Roosevelt, opted for a speed of 80 miles per hour, employed the car in his iconic 35-day whistle-stop tour during his reelection campaign in 1948, where he delivered 356 speeches from the back of the Magellan, per Architectural Digest.

By the time Truman’s successor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, took office, more efficient air travel was starting to replace rail travel, and the US Car No. 1 was used for the last time in 1954.

The car was last used by Ronald Reagan during a commemorative whistle-stop tour in Ohio in 1984.
reagan presidential train car

Dirck Halstead/Getty Images

In 1984, Reagan brought the Magellan out of retirement for a one-day whistle-stop tour through Ohio during his reelection campaign.

The president traveled from Dayton to Perrysburg and stopped at five locations to give speeches from the rear platform of the presidential car.

Today, the US Car No. 1 sits in a small museum near Zoo Miami.
gold coast train museum in Miami, Florida

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

In 1959, the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami, Florida, acquired the car, which in 1958 had been declared surplus and donated to the Smithsonian, which had no way to store it.

Since then, the car has stayed in South Florida, where it is now open to the public.

The Gold Coast Railroad Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. A regular adult ticket for the museum costs $12, and tickets for the presidential train car cost an additional $10.

To carry the president, the unique armored car had enhanced security features.
presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

The car, which is 84 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 15 feet tall, was covered with over 1/2 an inch of nickel-steel armor on its sides and featured 3-inch-thick bulletproof glass windows.

It was also the heaviest train car built in the US. After it was refurbished for presidential use, the train car weighed 285,000 pounds, making it much heavier than modern-day war tanks, which often weigh around 100,000 pounds.

The car also had its name, Ferdinand Magellan, removed from its sides in an effort to conceal the president’s presence, although its design often stood out.

Other security features included two escape hatches and a complex security protocol, which included diverting traffic on the rails to ensure that no train traveled ahead or behind the president for at least 30 minutes. Operating under the code name POTUS, the president’s train always had the right of way.

Passengers boarded from the front of the train, which housed the staff quarters and kitchen.
hallway inside us presidential car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

The entrance through which presidents and their guests would’ve entered is at the front of the car.

In the kitchen, an onboard chef had access to ovens and refrigerators.
kitchen inside presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

The train’s dedicated chef prepared the president and guests’ meals inside this kitchen.

On the other side of the kitchen, the staff had pantry space to plate the dishes.
pantry presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

The kitchen was also equipped with a pantry and a full-size metal sink.

The car housed two staff members: a chef and a porter.
staff quarters in presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

Near the kitchen, the two-person staff had sleeping quarters that featured an upper and lower berth.

The dining and conference room was in the main cabin of the car.
presidential train car dining room

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

The presidential car’s main cabin featured a 6-foot solid mahogany table where the president and his guests — often diplomats or foreign leaders — could gather for dinners or meetings.

The dining room had its own set of presidential fine china.
china plates inside presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

Presidents and guests didn’t have to sacrifice the White House‘s luxuries while they were on the move — the dining room had its own set of china decorated with the presidential emblem.

Today, the room displays an example of the glass used in the car’s windows.
bulletproof glass inside presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

The 3-inch-thick laminated bulletproof glass windows were installed when the car was refurbished for the president’s use.

The windows were sealed, so to keep the car ventilated there was a simple form of air conditioning in which fans pushed air cooled by blocks of ice.

The car included two guest bedrooms along with a presidential suite.
stateroom inside presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

The first of two guest bedrooms aboard the US Car No. 1, Stateroom D, included an upper and lower berth, where guests could sleep, and an in-room bathroom.

In these guest rooms, Truman welcomed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during his visit to the US in 1946, during which he delivered his iconic Iron Curtain speech.

The presidential suite included the president’s sleeping area.
president's bed in presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

Designed to accommodate Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wheelchair, the president’s room included a full-size bed, a dresser, and an in-room toilet.

Like most rooms in the car, it was also connected to a telephone, which was extremely rare at the time.

The connecting bathroom inside the presidential suite featured a bathtub, toilet, and sink.
first lady's bathroom in us car one presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

The presidential suite bathroom, equipped with a bathtub, toilet, and sink, connected the president’s and the first lady‘s rooms, staterooms B and C.

The bathroom also contained an escape hatch, which was added as a security measure during the car’s refurbishing.

The first lady’s room was located parallel to the president’s.
the first lady's room in the presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

Inside the first lady’s quarters was a bed and a dresser, although she didn’t have an in-room bathroom.

The secondary guest bedroom could also be used as a breakfast or gathering room.
stateroom in presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

Located towards the back of the car, Stateroom A, the second guest room aboard the Magellan, featured convertible berths, like the other guest room, that could also be used as a breakfast, gathering, or office space for the president or his guests.

The upper berth could be raised into the ceiling, and the lower one could be converted into a sitting booth with a pull-out table.

The presidential car was often attached to train cars housing Secret Service, White House staffers, and the press.
historical photo inside presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

The Ferdinand Magellan functioned as a White House on wheels, and was often attached to train cars dedicated to Secret Service, White House staffers, and reporters traveling with the president.

The US Car No. 1 was also often accompanied by two communications cars equipped with control consoles for radio broadcasts and telegraph communications so the president could be reached while he was on the move, per Atlas Obscura.

A narrow hallway led from the staterooms to the observation deck.
hallways inside presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

A slim, wood-paneled hallway led from the four staterooms to the observation deck at the rear of the car.

The observation lounge featured some of the presidential car’s original furniture.
observation lounge inside presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

The observation room was also enlarged during the refurbishing of the car, allowing it to function as a secondary gathering room for the president and his guests.

During the refurbishment, a submarine escape hatch was added to the car.
escape hatch on presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

Part of the car’s security modifications included the addition of escape hatches, like this submarine hatch on the observation lounge.

Today, the observation lounge shows signs of hurricane damage that the car has sustained.
hurricane damage presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida, and among its many damages were some sustained by the Magellan.

Although minor, a small window crack shows how the presidential car has stood the test of time.

Traveling presidents could address crowds from a podium on the car’s rear platform.
presidential train car podium

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

At the end of the presidential car was an exposed podium from where the president often addressed crowds.

During Truman’s whistle-stop tour, he spoke from the podium repeatedly, often addressing crowds in different cities within the same day.

The preserved train car stands as a remnant of US history and of how presidents spread their message.
presidential train car

Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider

Inactive as the president’s main form of transportation for over 70 years, the Ferdinand Magellan stands as a memory of America’s past.

However, our tour guide pointed out that the car is still on a track connected to current-day railroads and can be requested for use at any moment by the sitting US president.

Although I doubt Donald Trump would want to travel aboard the historic cabin, a modern-day president going on his own whistle-stop tour on US Car No. 1 remains a possibility.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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Inside the factory where NYC’s food carts get ingredients

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Read the original article on Business Insider
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‘Conversations : News Review – 906 AM 11302025’ by Mike Nova 2 is on #SoundCloud https://on.soundcloud.com/p8zWggT6dWzwhc8lTz #Conversations – #News Review – AM 11/30/2025 Here are some of the top news headlines for #Today, Sunday, November 30, 2025: U.S. News California Mass Shooting: Four people are dead and at least ten others wounded after a shooting at a family gathering in a banquet hall in Stockton, California. The suspect remains at large, and authorities believe it was a targeted attack. National Guard Shooting: A National Guard member wounded in a recent shooting near the White House is “fighting for his life”. House and Senate committees have launched inquiries into reports that t

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Biden’s deadly border policy: Letters to the Editor

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#Conversations – 1 https://thenewsandtimes.blogspot.com/2025/11/conversations-113025.html #Audio https://ttsmp3.com/created_mp3_ai/a432c9f6e97bdafc8828a497d15478c7.mp3 Conversations – #News Review – AM 11/30/2025 Here are some of the top news headlines for today, Sunday, November 30, 2025: U.S. News California Mass Shooting: Four people are dead and at least ten others wounded after a shooting at a family gathering in a banquet hall in Stockton, California. The suspect remains at large, and authorities believe it was a targeted attack. National Guard Shooting: A National Guard member wounded in a recent shooting near the White House is “fighting for his life”. House and Senate com