Links to other Friendship Train information and similar trains:

www.MerciTrain.org -- Everything you ever wanted to know about the 1949 French Merci Train and its 49 French '40 et 8' boxcars (forty men or eight horses) on display in virtually every state of the Union.

www.FreedomTrain.org -- The Freedom Train (1947-1949) ran at the same time as the Friendship Train. The two crossed paths one time -- in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

www.ThemeTrains.com -- A website about 'trains with a theme', including the Merci Train, France's 1949 answer to the 1947 Friendship Food Train.

Boxcar Diplomacy: Two Trains That Crossed The Ocean -- by Jane Sweetland is a deeply researched account of the Friendship Train's journey across the United States and its connection to France's "Merci Train."   The information about the Friendship train and the Merci train gifts plus the personal and often moving stories add the gifts add to the book's feeling for humanity and those suffered in World War II.

The Merci Train Wedding Gown -- a novel by Linda Baten Johnson. In 1949, Betty Jackson, novice reporter, covers the Merci Train car arrival in New Orleans. The boxcar is one of forty-nine cars sent by the French as a thank you you for the Friendship Train of food America sent to France.  The boxcar was crammed with gifts.  Two specific items pique Betty's investigative interest.  The first is a wedding gown for a woman with a twenty-four-inch waist, and the second is a personal bequest from a French doctor to a man named Sam Parker, a handsome fellow who attends a university near Betty's home.  Could these generous gifts create chaos and conflict in a segregated South rather than the harmony and gratitude the French intended when shipping them to Louisiana?.

The Friendship Train of 1947 -- Enjoy this historical fiction account of The Friendship Train told from the point of view of thirteen-year-old Jimmy Burns. The Friendship Train is a compelling read for adults as well as youngsters. Teachers may download extension activities to go with the book on the author’s web site at www.lindabatenjohnson.com