When the Army sold the TC-497 for surplus, it ended up making its way to a local surplus and salvage yard – Jet Sales Company. The two power cars were cut up and sold as scrap, while the trailers were sold and sent to Nome, AK for a special dredging machine called Gold Digger. The story around Gold Digger is extensive in my book if you want to learn more. However, the Control Car, or the primary driver car, was saved.
The Control Car remained at Jet Sales Company until it was purchased by the Yuma Heritage Center for preservation. When the TC-497 was sold, a 3′ wide, 5′ tall cabinet held a variety of original manuals that were included in the Overland Train. Fortunately, we were able to save these manuals. The outside covers are in pretty bad shape, but the interior pages are near mint! Thank you Jensen.
