Trains, Missiles, and more Trains
Let's take a tour
By Jim Bush
In addition to the usual model layouts and vendor booths at the 2025 Sherman Hill Train Show, I ventured into the shell of a once-functional locomotive. Though its lower and mid-sections have been removed, the engineer’s cab remains filled with levers, buttons, pullcords, lights, and doors—an immersive glimpse into railroading’s mechanical heart.
Inside that locomotive shell I met Michael Pannell, president of the High Plains Railroad Preservation Association and owner of Vintage Rail Restorations LLC. Michael’s workshop restores historic railroad equipment, but its location carries its own history: this parcel once housed the 565th Strategic Missile Squadron.
The 565 SMS activated at F.E. Warren AFB in 1958 as the second Strategic Air Command unit on nuclear alert with SM-65D Atlas ICBMs. Just east of Cheyenne the 565 SMS operated through the early 1960s before the squadron inactivated in March 1965. Michael notes that some launch pads, protective blast walls, support buildings and foundations are still intact—and he’s offering us a guided tour of the grounds.
Michael brings decades of restoration experience from England and Wyoming to every project. His portfolio spans Union Pacific wooden-era cabooses, historic boxcars, and now the meticulous rehabilitation of the Utah Merci Car. Michael combines archival research, original fabrication, and hands-on craftsmanship to preserve both structure and story.
In 1949, France dispatched the "Train de la Reconnaissance française”—49 boxcars bearing gifts—to thank the United States citizens for the 1947 Friendship Train filled with post-war aid. Each car, one per state (with D.C. and Hawaii sharing the 49th), carried handcrafted tokens from French citizens.
Originally at Ogden Union Station, Utah’s Merci Car arrived in Cheyenne spring 2024 for a two-year restoration under Michael’s direction. The process includes stripping the tar-paper roof and milling new period-correct boards, sectional removal of side planks for repair and preservation, sand-blasting undercarriage parts and fabricating missing metal components, repainting in the 1949 livery and reinstalling authentic shields and banners.
Wyoming’s Merci car lives under shelter at American Legion Post 6 in Cheyenne. Among its artifacts are the "Friendship Knot” woven from U.S. and French flag threads and a never-worn corkscrew wedding dress, preserved by the Wyoming State Museum (viewable by appointment).
With both Merci cars in Cheyenne, Michael aims to reunite these sisters for the first time since delivery in 1949. This brief reunion would allow side-by-side comparisons—an unprecedented event in Merci Train history.
In late 1947, columnist Drew Pearson launched the Friendship Train to gather food, clothing, and fuel for war-torn France and Italy. Covering 2,400 miles over 11 days, the train passed through Cheyenne on November 7 and ultimately filled [reports vary] over 700 freight cars—each parcel carrying personal messages of solidarity.
Whether you’re drawn by model railroads, Cold War relics, or Franco-American goodwill, this year’s show and its offshoot tours promise a once-in-a-lifetime journey through railroad—and world—history.
Interesting Links
· 565th Strategic Missile Squadron
· 565 SMS Assessor’s Greenwood Map
· Facebook Vintage Rail Restorations
· Facebook High Plains Railroad Preservation Association
I will push forward with coordinating a tour of this facility, it will likely be on a Saturday in late August or September. Due to numerous hazards on this site, it is not a tour for small children. Please let me know if you are interested in attending.
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