This Merci Boxcar is located in Hays, KS at the Veterans Memorial park.
France sent 49 boxcars to the United States as a thank you for the food and and other supplies that the US sent to France and Italy in 1947. The boxcars arrived February 3, 1949 in New Jersey, filled with thousands of gifts of gratitude that included a variety of toys, clothes, furniture, statues and ornamental items.
The boxcars were referred to as forty-and-eight. They hauled 40 men or eight horses to and from the front lines during WW 1.
The 49 boxcars were distributed among the 48 American states. The remaining boxcar was shared between Washington DC and Hawaii
Here is a link about the boxcars and you can look up the one for your State Merci America
Farmer Days 
Thanks for sharing. First I’ve heard of this!
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Stop by there sometime and see it. There are phone numbers posted you can call for a tour of the box car. I can’t imagine 40 people in there with no seats or bathroom!
Then eat at the Fuzzy Taco! I like the avocado taco.
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I’d never heard of this! What a wonderful thing. I followed the link and discovered that the Texas boxcar is in Austin, at Camp Mabry. That’s very near to a blogger I follow who posts a “good news” post every Friday. This would be right up his alley. Perhaps he can get over there and photograph ours. Thanks for sharing!
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I hadn’t heard of them either. Found it searching for “things to do” in Hays. Some of the items that were in the boxcar in area museums. Quite a find.
Let me know if your fellow blogger does a post on the one in Austin.
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I will. I’ve sent him the information already!
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That is pretty neat.
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i hadn’t heard that story-and how sweet! Thank you! Michele
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I just happened upon this. I hadn’t heard of them either. I looked to see where the one in Nebraska, but it was scrapped out. How sad. There are some of the gifts in area museums in Kansas, thankful that some were donated to them.
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You tossed a pebble into the great bloggy sea, and look how far the ripples spread! Not only did John post about our Texas train, think how many other people may go out and find the one in their state now!
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That is so exciting!! John’s post was wonderful and how fun would it have been to be on his tour!! Thank you for letting him know about the Merci America!
The boxcar in Nebraska was sold for scrap iron. I’m hoping there aren’t anymore that met that fate.
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I have another blogging friend who lives in Lansing, Michigan, where that state’s Merci train car lives. I need to let her know about it, too!
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I’m so sorry that I took so long to reply. I didn’t see the comment. I have switched to Jetpack and it’s a learning curve!
Thank you for letting your blogging friend about the Merci boxcar. Not all of them have survived. The one up in Nebraska was sold for scrap iron. How sad!
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