Amtrak Baggage Cars

[Bill Anderson]

The Empire Builder passes through my town of Edmonds, WA. twice a day on its journey between Chicago and Seattle. On those occasions when I take photos, I usually just pay attention to the diesels and ignore the rest of the train other than to check for private varnish tacked on to the rear. This practise stems from the fact that the Empire Builder's cars are all standard Amtrak Superliners which look alike.

Reviewing my past photos, I now see that the Builder's baggage cars can vary greatly. These baggage cars are the Empire Builder's last vestige of Amtrak's pre-Superliner era when train sets were a mix of old streamlined cars purchased from railroads getting out of the passenger business.

Some of these baggage cars probably date back to the 40's and 50's and are therefore approaching seventy years old. Who knows how much longer they will be around?

I am going to start posting photos of these old baggage cars on this thread and I invite others to do the same. The roster geeks are free to respond with information about a car's history such as the former owner, construction date, and builder.

If you post a photo, please include the date, location, and the train.

 

[Bill Anderson]

I'll start the thread off with three photos.

#1: Baggage car #1757, Chicago bound Empire Builder (Amtrak #8), Edmonds, WA. 10-17-12. The baggage car is usually on the front of the train behind the engines, which tells me that the Builder was not wyed in Seattle.

#2: Baggage car #1252, Amtrak #8, Edmonds, WA., 10-16-12. Also see my "Pity Mile Post 17" thread for a better photo.

 

[SP&SFan]

Seattle wye issues - 10.17.2012

Bill,

Seattle Amtrak folks did not wye today's Coast Starlight either.. Believe I heard that their was a water main issue by the Coach wye.. The Coast Starlight had two engines pointing in a northward direction, so they added one to the south end of the train along with the BNSF #5099 as the leader..


SP&SFan

 

[bcp]

Approximate ages are here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Fleet_(Amtrak)

Bruce

 

[NM_RailNut]

Several of these baggage cars were rebuilt from coaches and lounge cars; single roll-up doors on each side and riveted panels where the window frames were (along with the passenger entrance doors still in place on one end, just as when they were still carrying passengers instead of their baggage) are the main indicators that the car in question wasn't always on the head end. Most of the cars that are used on the #3 and #4 Southwest Chief trains are of this type, although original Budd or St. Louis Car Co. baggage cars do show up from time to time.

 

[MP 6.7]

I once saw a bag car in the coach yard while walking to the M's game on which you could still see the outline of the Santa Fe lettering in the stainless panel above the Amtrak striping. One of those things that you could only see in the right light as the only evidence of the lettering was the difference in corrosion between the exposed metal and the parts covered by the lettering before it was removed.

I think it actually might be the one in the first photo. Look closely and you can see the "N T A" of Santa Fe in the center of the car.

 

[p51]

I too have wondered about this every time I see the Starlight in the Centralia WA area. I assume it's easier for a non-pasenger car to just do rebuilds than make new baggage cars? I think it's one of those things we'll marvel at in the future, looking back at it, that cars that were 70+ years old in some cases were routinely used among equipment that was new-ish at the time.

 

[NM_RailNut]

I too have wondered about this every time I see the Starlight in the Centralia WA area. I assume it's easier for a non-pasenger car to just do rebuilds than make new baggage cars? I think it's one of those things we'll marvel at in the future, looking back at it, that cars that were 70+ years old in some cases were routinely used among equipment that was new-ish at the time.

It's not so much a matter of "easier" than a matter of "cheaper"; Amtrak already has the facilities to rebuild cars, and the Budd and ACF cars are still in good shape, so why spend money on new cars when you've got all those older coaches and lounge cars sitting around that could be rebuilt instead? It's not only easier, but it costs a lot less to reskin and redo the interior of an existing car that's already outfitted to Amtrak standards than to design and build a brand new car from scratch.

 

[Tacoma Tom]

I used to overhaul some of the old baggage cars for Amtrak and they are practically indestructible. Their shape and small size makes them very tough. Even in accidents they hold up very well. It doesn't take much to keep them going. They should be around for at least another 20-30 years.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Another addition to the collection: Amtrak #1249 on the 10-27-12 Seattle bound Empire Builder (Amtrak #7). According to the WikiPidia link provided earlier, this baggage car is 55 years old and still going strong.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Baggage car #1164 on Wednesday's (11/14) Seattle bound Empire Builder (Amtrak #7) was coupled between two empty passenger cars which were in transit. According to the Wikipedia link provided earlier in this thread, this baggage car may be about the same age as me or even slightly older.