by Train2009
Private cars Pacific Union and Babbling Brook went on Train 253 on Saturday 6/10/2023. I Caught it in Phlipse Manor in Sleepy Hollow, NY.
Railroad Forums
Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman
JUST AFTER DAWN, AMTRAK’S EMPIRE Builder passenger train pulls into the station at Whitefish, Montana, as it does every day on its cross-country journey from Seattle to Chicago. The train usually consists of two locomotives and a string of utilitarian passenger cars. But on this morning, two of the cars, directly behind the locomotives, disrupt that familiar conformity.
Unlike the regular Amtrak cars, these ones look just like they did decades ago: One is polished stainless steel and the other a rich brown and orange with yellow stripes. The passenger cars, named “Blue Ridge Club” and “Pacific Home,” were built decades before the others, in an era when rail cars still got names instead of numbers. They are among a few dozen privately owned vintage cars that still ply the rails, offering a lucky, dedicated, or well-heeled few a chance to experience a bygone era of train travel. On this day, a group that boarded the train in Seattle the night before will be getting off to explore nearby Glacier National Park. And when that happens, people like Lou Capwell and Laura Stantz spring into action, preparing the vintage rail cars for the next group of passengers, who will be boarding just a few stations down the line.
Capwell and Stantz are among a small group of people who keep these vintage rail cars—and the first-class experiences they aim to provide—rolling decades after this type of travel began to disappear in the United States. As the train heads east along the southern edge of Glacier National Park, Capwell quickly changes beds, restocks the bar and cleans the common areas, while Stantz gets to work in a rolling kitchen that can only be described as minuscule. Outside that small kitchen, the rail cars have all the comforts of home. The rear end of the car, near the big picture windows, has plush couches. Toward the middle, near the bar, there are leather seats and tables where people can share a meal or play games. On the other end of the car, there are small private rooms, where riders can sit and watch the scenery during the day or sleep at night (the seats can be turned into beds).
...
jhdeasy wrote: ↑Mon Aug 07, 2023 9:47 amThey were on the tail end of 49 tonight.jhdeasy wrote: ↑Sat Aug 05, 2023 8:25 pm Private cars PACIFIC HOME and PACIFIC ISLAND on train 49(06) from NYP to CHI.Amtrak cancelled train 49(06), so this private car move should happen on train 49(07).
Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Tue Aug 08, 2023 5:56 am Has the date these cars are set to leave CHI on #5 also been set back?They traveled on train 5(09) from CHI to EMY. Experienced a very long multi-hour delay at Truckee with motive power problems. Used a UP loaner to head west from Truckee and arrived EMY 16 hours 2 minutes off the advertised.
I just might find myself trackside (800ft away) taking a peek.
Railjunkie wrote: ↑Mon Aug 07, 2023 10:42 pmI cut one of the Pacific cars yesterday off the tail of AMT 48 and placed in the storage yard up against the NYC3. Guess a trip today on AMT 290 to Burlington? That is what the yardmaster told me was going to happen. We will see what happens this afternoon.jhdeasy wrote: ↑Mon Aug 07, 2023 9:47 amThey were on the tail end of 49 tonight.jhdeasy wrote: ↑Sat Aug 05, 2023 8:25 pm Private cars PACIFIC HOME and PACIFIC ISLAND on train 49(06) from NYP to CHI.Amtrak cancelled train 49(06), so this private car move should happen on train 49(07).
jhdeasy wrote: ↑Sat Aug 05, 2023 8:25 pm Private cars PACIFIC HOME and PACIFIC ISLAND on train 49(07) from NYP to CHI, continuing on train 5(09) from CHI to EMY.Saw it on that date in Hastings, NY
PACIFIC ISLAND was named MOUNT VERNON by previous owner; has reverted to original name under new owner.
Railjunkie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 20, 2023 8:12 amI believe PACIFIC ISLAND will be making the trip to Burlington Vermont.
I cut one of the Pacific cars yesterday off the tail of AMT 48 and placed in the storage yard up against the NYC3. Guess a trip today on AMT 290 to Burlington? That is what the yardmaster told me was going to happen. We will see what happens this afternoon. The