Here is a link to 32 photographs of this coach.
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www.flickr.com]
My initial impression was that this car was some sort of homemade freelance coach made from Quincy & Torch Lake RR car parts. But after learning more, I am astounded to see what it is.
I do not believe that it was made from a Q&TL car. There might be some connection to Q&TL parts, considering that the Q&TL remained intact so long after abandonment. But Quincy Mining Co. was always adamant that nothing was for sale. And I do not know of any passenger car left over from the Q&TL. Also, in looking at the photos, I rather doubt that this car was built from scratch. There may be some restoration work there, but if so, it was top notch, museum-quality work.
It would be very interesting to learn the exact origin of this car. The most curious detail is that the car is lettered for the Lac La Belle & Calumet Railroad and it is named Redjacket. The LLB&C was an early pioneering narrow gage railroad running from Lac La Belle to Delaware, Michigan in the “Copper Country.” It had nothing to do with the Quincy & Torch Lake RR, but both railroads were in the same general area, about 30-40 miles apart.
Redjacket was the name of a Calumet & Hecla Mineshaft, but there is an earlier origin to the name. I don’t exactly recall what that was, but I can dig up the information in my references.
I do not know if the LLB&C ever owned a coach named Redjacket, but the LLB&C railroad name on the car is a railroad that existed in a rather early period. The LLB&C was absorbed by the Keweenaw Central RR shortly after 1900. So, while this coach does not have air brakes, it appears to represent a car from the pre-air brake era.
I have to wonder if this was not actually an authentic car that was somehow saved from the LLB&C RR. It seems rather unlikely that somebody in Wisconsin who was building a backyard railroad would scratch build a car with the utmost of craftsmanship and then letter it for some really obscure historical railroad that disappeared around 1900. I would really like to learn more about this car.
