Union Pacific Steel Passenger Cars
Union Pacific Streamliner Cars
This page was last updated on December 26, 2007.
Questions and Answers
Which end is front on a passenger car, i.e., on the diagram sheet, is it right or left? Is it always the same?
For the most part the railroads (Union Pacific) did not have
a "forward or rear" of their passenger cars. However, a few cars did
operate in one direction as a rule: RPO/baggage cars operated RPO forward due to mail
contract. Some coaches operated vestibules forward, and other coaches operated vestibules to the rear. Dinres and kitchen cars operated vestibules to the rear. UP domes
had a deflectors on the roof line for better wind flow over the dome. Lounges were vestibules forward. Some lounge cars ran with main
lounge area to the rear. In short they had no real set rules on this.
The mechanical people will say the direction of travel was marked by the
placement of the car brake wheel; but problems have been found with this too. (based on information from Dave Seidel, September 14, 2004)
Are passenger cars "rebuilt" or "remodeled"? or "reconfigured"?
Passenger cars are "rebuilt" if walls change inside of the car. They are
"remodeled" if only the furniture is changed. "Reconfigured" is NOT a
railroad term. (information from Dave Seidel, September 14, 2004)
When did passenger car trucks change from gray to aluminum paint?
While PL&N drawings have not yet been
located, we have found builder's photos of the Pullman-built Dome Chair cars
taken in November 1959 with gray trucks. Photos of the 5007-5016 Lunch Counter
Cafe Lounge cars delivered in April 1959 show aluminum (not silver) trucks. We
would like to hear from anyone with PL&N drawings that show dates for this
change. Note that this is quite a while after locomotives were changed to
aluminum trucks, beginning in 1953 with Turbine No. 57. (Q&A 303, The Streamliner, Volume 13, Number 3, page 37, and Volume 13, Number 4, page 38)
When did UP stop painting passenger cars green?
In
March 1952, UP announced that all passenger cars would be painted yellow and
gray regardless of train assignment. The announcement spelled the end of not
only the green (officially Dark Olive) paint scheme but also the attractive
two-tone gray scheme as well. Since passenger cars were painted every tow or
three years, green cars would be quite rare after about 1955. Since many of the
green cars were painted two-tone gray beginning in 1946, photos or individual
car records would be needed to determine what paint scheme was used on any
specific car during the period 1946 thru 1955. (Q&A 335, The Streamliner, Volume 15, Number 3, Summer
2001, page 39)
Q&A 362 concerning the history of UP maintenance of way diner 906201, preserved at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, Calif., The Streamliner, Volume 17, Number 4, Fall 2003, page 38
What are the differences between the CITY
trains and the CHALLENGER trains?
The basic
differences between the "City" and "Challenger" trains were price and schedule.
The Challenger- trains were established in the 1930s as economy versions of the
extra fare "Limited" trains. 'They offered coach and tourist sleeping car
service, using modernized heavyweight equipment, on the same schedule (nominally
60 hours) as the LA Limited and San Francisco Overland Limited trains without
the aggravation of extra charges, and as an antidote to the Depression. An
excellent article oil the history, equipment and operations of the Challenger
trains is presented in The Streamliner, volume Nos. 9-4 and 10-1. The City
trains, on the other hand, were intended to reduce passenger schedules to less
than 40 hours between Chicago and the west coast. To accomplish this, they were
built of lightweight Aluminum alloys and powered by diesel electric locomotives.
They were the best passenger trains on the railroad. The Challenger trains were
discontinued in 1947 as the Union Pacific began operating the City trains on
daily schedules. In January 1954, a streamlined Challenger train began service
between Los Angeles and Chicago on a schedule as fast as the City of Los Angeles
(COLA). At the same time, extra-fare charges on the COLA were eliminated, so
there was no longer any difference in price and schedule between the two trains.
In fact, in the 1960s, the two trains were often combined as a single train in
one or two sections as needed. (Q&A 371, The Streamliner, Volume 18, Number 3, Summer 2004, page 5)
What is the disposition of a 49'er car, specifically the 17
roomette-1 section car Roaring Camp. After the cancellation of the 49'er in
1941, did this car see service on other trains, did it change colors (two-tone
gray and/or Armour yellow) and did it keep the same name?
In addition to
the information in the 49'er article in this issue, the following information
about Roaring Camp was found in both the Ranks & Kratville book UP
Streamliners and in Arthur Dubin's book Pullman
Painting & Lettering Notebook. Both books
have nearly the same information. Roaring Camp was a Pullman-owned car
while it was in 49'er service on the UP. When the 49'er was canceled
in 1941 (after the 10th train City of San Francisco was started), Roaring
Camp was repainted
into Pullman two-tone gray (NOT the same as UP TTG) and returned to the Pullman
pool. In June 1944 (Pullman records) and/or April 1945 (repair drawing (late),
Roaring Camp was painted into B&O blue & gray colors and assigned
to B&O service to
December 1948, the car was sold to B&O. We do not know the further disposition
of this car. More info about Pullman cars can be found on the Internet at:
http://www.pullmanproject.com/ (Q&A 372, The Streamliner, Volume 18, Number
4, Fall 2004, page 39)
