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Recent Posts Archives Categories Meta Syndication Meta 2025 Roosevelt Island Historical Society Roosevelt Island Historical Society Mar 31 Monday March 31 2025 ONE OF 48 GIFTS FROM FRANCE BEING RETURNED TO ITS HOME STATE By admin 40 and 8New Jerseys Merci Train BoxcarReturning Home MondayMarch 31 2025New York AlmanackISSUE1414 40 and 8 New Jerseys Merci Train Boxcar Returning Home March 28 2025byEditorial Staff New Jerseys Merci Train boxcar missing for nearly 45 years and feared to have been destroyed is being returned to New Jersey. In 1949 France gifted the United States 49 boxcars the French Gratitude Train Train de la Reconnaissance franaise as a symbolic gesture of gratitude for American aid during and afterWorld War II. The 130yearoldrailroadcars known as 40 and 8 boxcars had been used to transport troops during theFirst World Warand used again in the Second World War and by occupation forces after the war. The boxcars arrived in Weehawken New Jersey on February 23 1949 filled with gifts from ordinary French and Italian citizens.