Byron Faidley Quoted in Garden & Gun Magazine Article The digital collections manager presented historical facts concerning Merle Haggard’s personal dome car currently in use by the Virginia Scenic Railway.

By Brian Laubscher
April 21, 2025

Byron Faidley, digital collections manager in the University Library at Washington and Lee University, was recently quoted in a story published in Garden & Gun magazine.

The article, titled “Waitin’ for a Train: Now You Can Actually Ride in Merle Haggard’s Personal Dome Car,” tells the backstory of a customized personal train car formerly owned by the legendary country music singer. The dome car, now in possession of the Virginia Scenic Railway, will become a star of the Railway’s new three-hour ride-and-dine tours through the Shenandoah Valley, offering passengers a front-row seat to the Valley’s stunning landscapes and musical lore.

The article focuses on Haggard’s love affair with locomotives and how he came in possession of the Silver Palace, a swanky 1948 observation car originally built for the Western Pacific Railroad. A train enthusiast and historian, Faidley provided historical facts about Haggard’s acquisition of his custom train car.

“Long story short, it looks like Haggard leased the car for about a year, starting in 1985,” said Faidley in the article. “During that time, the car underwent or was undergoing major renovations, after which it ended up getting repossessed by the folks that leased it to him in 1986. Haggard filed for bankruptcy in 1992, so he may have been overly ambitious with a rail car restoration project. Most folks are. All of the alimony — Haggard famously had five wives — and drugs probably didn’t help either.”

Faidley joined W&L in 2014, first serving as a senior collections assistant, before assuming his current role in July 2024. He previously served as a lead interpreter and docent for the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railway Historical Society and museum host for the Alleghany Historical Society. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Virginia Military Institute and a Master of Arts in nonprofit leadership studies from the University of Lynchburg.

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