Pacific Parlour Cars: The End of an Era

[blue streak 1]

There is a slight suspension that these cars have an asbestos problem ?.  The long maintenance cycle each year was much longer than other equipment took.  A few of the previous monthly performance reports noted that sealing of the cars was a part of the work cycles.  If Amtrak did have to seal the asbestos locations it might be a fact that they would not like to become public knowledge.

[Dakguy201]

Electroliner 1935

Anyone have any knowledge of Amtraks plans for their disposal?

 

I have no direct knowledge of their plans.  However, a few years ago Amtrak issued a long term planning document dealing mostly with equipment acquisitions.  It contained a couple of sentences to the effect that cars surplus to their needs MUST be sold to someone guaranteed to scrap them. 

 

I took that to mean that in the future they did not want the situation that has occured with VIA Rail Canada -- somebody buys their castoffs, rebuilds the cars and gets millions more miles out of them.  Among other things, it's just too hard to explain that to Congress when asking for money to buy new for Amtrak's fleet.

[Electroliner 1935]

Thank yopu for capturing this and giving them the send off. Nice production and you caught four of the five cars. The inclusion of the tagging at the end (Forgive...,) was nice. I don't know what the costs involved with keeping them going (or the risks) were that made Amtrak decide to retire them but they were over what is typically the life of a passenger car beng 62 years old. I rode them at least twice and found them to be very pleasing, ride, ambiance and service. Anyone have any knowledge of Amtraks plans for their disposal?

[Yard Limit]

Thank you.  I didn't even notice the weeds until I was editing the video and thought it was a perfect metaphor. 

It's possible I rode in one of these cars.  I was born in 1954 and we used to ride the Super Chief/El Capitan from ABQ to CHI back in the day. 

[Miningman]

Great documentation. Fortunate to have those tumbleweeds trailing near the end. 

Somewhere out there is a kid who rode in the cars thinking "I knew this was too good to last". Shades of the 50's and steam era, and me.

[Yard Limit]

Amtrak, in a recent poorly conceived decision, decided to retire the five Pacific Parlour Cars that were well known and appreciated on the Coast Starlight.
On February 17 and 18, 2018, these cars departed Los Angeles on the eastbound Southwest Chief where we were fortunate to catch them in Albuquerque and Lamy, New Mexico. 
Evan Stair, of the Friends of the Southwest Chief, writes:
"Pacific Parlor Car Significance
The Pacific Parlor Cars were originally purchased by the Santa Fe Railway in the 1950s for the Chicago-Kansas City-Los Angeles El Capitan. The El Capitan was the first extra fare Hi-Level intercity coach passenger train.
Three types of cars were purchased. These included coaches, diners, and these lounge cars. Eventually, the Hi-Level equipment spread out over the entire Santa Fe passenger system. You would see Hi-Level coaches on trains such as the Texas Chief and the San Francisco Chief.
Amtrak took over Santa Fe passenger operations in 1971. The Hi-Level cars constituted a portion of the Santa Fe's payment for joining Amtrak. The Santa Fe transferred other cars to Amtrak, but the Hi-Level cars were unique. In fact, they inspired Amtrak to work with car manufacturers to design and build the Superliners you see today.
The cars migrated to the Coast Starlight and were renamed the Pacific Parlor Cars. These are the last first class lounge cars to run on any Amtrak passenger train. They were unique to the Coast Starlight as their simply were not enough of them to use on other routes.
Re-purposed, the Pacific Parlor Cars were intended to be only for sleeping car passengers while the Superliner Sightseer Lounge was intended for coach passengers. Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson believed these non-revenue cars were an extravagant, non-standard expense the company could no longer afford. No doubt Anderson's tenure at Delta Airlines has him cutting every possible amenity to squeeze the last penny out of ever dollar.
It is a sad day as Amtrak continues to chase the impossible dream of self-sufficiency. As it does so, even though Congress removed the for-profit mandate from law in the 1990s, it makes train travel just a bit less enjoyable in the US."