CLIFTON FORGE, VA (LOOTPRESS) – The Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society has received a $2,478.01 grant from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Society of Pennsylvania to create a new mobile exhibit, “Dwight D. Eisenhower and the C&O’s ‘Cold War Soldier.’”
The Virginia-based nonprofit, which preserves the legacy of the C&O Railway, was selected for the grant following a competitive application process.
“The Society received over $67,000 in grant requests and we had $45,000 to give. You were chosen to receive this grant based on the merit of the project as presented in your application,” the Eisenhower Society wrote in a notification letter.
The grant application was submitted by Rick Gartrell, a member of the C&O Historical Society’s Board of Directors and its operations director.
The upcoming exhibit will explore the little-known connection between President Eisenhower and the C&O Railway, focusing on Eisenhower’s 1956 trip with C&O President Walter J. Tuohy aboard the office railcar “Chessie 29.”
The journey played a critical role in the construction of the once-secret congressional bunker beneath The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
“We were pleased to receive a grant request from the C&O Historical Society as their efforts to educate others about this part of Eisenhower history is just the type of project we like to support,” said Carol Hegeman, Executive Director of the Eisenhower Society.
The mobile exhibit will feature tabletop displays, artifacts, and freestanding elements designed to tell the story of how Eisenhower and Tuohy agreed, while aboard Chessie 29, to collaborate on the covert construction of a nuclear fallout shelter for Congress beneath The Greenbrier.
The exhibit will be displayed at the C&O Historical Society’s museum locations in Clifton Forge and St. Albans, West Virginia, and is expected to travel to other sites.
“We are humbled to receive such a high honor from the prestigious Dwight D. Eisenhower Society. The receipt of this grant is a wonderful and encouraging milestone. I’m also pleased with this newfound partnership with an organization that believes, as we do, in preserving and sharing these chapters of history,” said Mark Totten, Member of Board of Directors for the C&O Historical Society.
According to the Society, “Chessie 29” is now considered the most famous surviving passenger car from the C&O Railway.
Once the personal office car of President Tuohy, the 83-foot railcar was used for business travel across the C&O’s network, which stretched from Virginia to Michigan and into Ontario.
The car is named after the C&O’s iconic mascot, “Chessie the Railroad Kitten.”
Totten emphasized the historical significance of the car: “Throughout the 20th century, railroad passenger cars crisscrossed the United States by the tens of thousands, transporting Americans in wartime, peacetime, and sometimes providing the backdrop for other historical events. Chessie 29 stands out as ‘the room where it happened’ for West Virginia’s once-secret congressional bunker.”
The Greenbrier bunker, intended to serve as a secure location for Congress in the event of nuclear war, remained classified until 1992. The exhibit aims to educate the public about this Cold War chapter and the railcar’s role in it.
“Eisenhower always said as president that he ‘kept the peace,’ but as a Five-Star General, he knew the importance of always being prepared. Sharing Eisenhower’s plans for the continuity of government in the event of a nuclear attack is an important story to tell through this new exhibit. The fact that it will be portable and can be displayed at many locations means that more visitors will learn the story,” said Hegeman.
The C&O Historical Society now owns Chessie 29 and intends to restore it as a rolling museum.
“On the list of surviving equipment from America’s golden age of railroad travel, few passenger cars carry the historical richness and connections to world history like Chessie 29,” said Totten.
“In the context of the Cold War’s fears and President Eisenhower’s quiet but necessary reactions to them, Chessie 29 was the backdrop for what is now nearly unthinkable, as the secret bunker was to be vital for the continuity of our legislative branch of government. The former office rail car tells this story and preserves the legacy of Eisenhower’s actions in the early years of the world’s nuclear tensions,” Totten added.
“We are pleased to support this exhibit as it coincides with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Society mission to promote the memory and legacy of leadership of Dwight D. Eisenhower through educational programs, scholarships, grants, and special events,” said Hegeman.
