Uniq. Eqpmt Sightings: Private Varnish (PV's), Charters, etc

[jhdeasy]

Saw an old silver B&O single level dome car on the back of an Amtrak train passing through Alexandria VA today. Anyone know what car it was?

MOONLIGHT DOME — a car that has had numerous railroad and private owners since Budd but it for C&O in 1948.

[Jeff Smith]

I rode their positioning trip last month from Chicago Union to Washington Union last month. Very nice car. I was too late to get a sleeper, so slept upstairs in the dome. They're not going to allow that (non-sleeper passengers) anymore because of some whining and failure to follow protocol (stupid railfan stuff, helping themselves to provisions in the pantry/commissary, sleeping on the floor, really stupid stuff). Hopefully, I wasn't an offender; I did stay up late talking at what I hope was a low volume, and I do snore (so I'm told).

In any case it was a very nice trip, nice car, and the attendant provided great service. The breakfast and lunch was DELICIOUS! And the car itself was nicely maintained; one of the afore-mentioned railfans was complaining about the lack of amenities, the comfort of seats, etc. My opinion was you're getting a VERY low cost positioning move ($150 for sleeping upstairs in the dome, $250 for sleeper), follow instructions, and don't whine. It ruins it.

Remember, these folks put a lot of love, and of course, money into their cars. You have to respect that. I certainly felt some of the comments being made (not by me) were not respectful.

And we got a lot of information on Amtrak's policy for PV's going forward, how AAPRCO felt, varying opinions, Anderson's intent, etc. Nothing I'm going to share here, because I felt the discussion was, in a way, "privileged".

If you want to check out more information on the Moonlight Dome, http://www.cincinnatirailway.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I believe they also run dinner excursions in Cincinnati.

[planespotting]

Picture of Moonlight Dome from last week...

http://www.railpictures.net/photo/657625/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[JimBoylan]

Calif. Zephyr dome observation Silver Solarium had the dome seats converted to slide out sofa beds after it became a private car. Now, that's a lot of sleeper capacity!

[chuchubob]

Train 176 with Moonlight Dome at Alexandria.
Later on train 171 at WAS.

[R36 Combine Coach]

[Just watched #3 go through La Plata, MO - the seven cars are Caltrans Comarrows that are headed back to California from the east...I found it clever that they used the NJT slash angle as part of the Caltrans color scheme. It amazes me how many lives and owners that these cars have had now that they are approaching 50 years old (1969 vintage St.Louis cars that originally
were PC/NJDOT MU cars) and are some of the oldest passenger cars in regular service...

In fact only the R32s and 1968 PATCO cars rival them. They went PC -> NJDOT -> NJT -> Caltrans (with some also at AMT as well). Once the R42s (and Staten Island R44s) go, these would be the last St. Louis cars in passenger service (excluding PCCs, historic fleet and a small handful of 1965 UP coaches (the final UP coach order) at NCDOT).

[Train2009]

Amtrak Crescent train #20-12 has EX-ATSF Business car #33 in the rear of the train, last reported this morning at Greensboro, NC as this train is running Departed 3 hours, 7 minutes late. The Private car name is the Redwood Empire.

[Train2009]

Last night an Amtrak extra #522 (GP38-2 #522 for power) picked up RMNE equipment (Railroad Museum of New England) from Old Saybrook to Berlin. This was reported at 9:58 PM in Madison, CT.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Cyrus K. Holliday, PPCX 800039, is on rear of 3 (20).

One must wonder just how "air-tight" the ban on handling "PV's" actually is.

[chuchubob]

Mr Norman,
The ban is on handling PVs at non-terminal stations.

[John_Perkowski]

Later on train 171 at WAS.

That vestibule curtain doesn't look very happy...

[jhdeasy]

Those are not vestibule curtains. Those are the rubber tube style of diaphragm (two vertical and one horizontal) that is compatible with most everything Amtrak owns (Superliner, Amfleet, Horizon, Viewliner and Heritage) and other private cars on the Amtrak system.

Looks like they took a beating from operating next to a Superliner.

I suspect that car would not pass its next Amtrak PC-1 annual inspection until those rubber tubes are either repaired or replaced. It’s not an immediate safety problem, but most inspectors I know would require the car owner to correct that discrepancy before they sign the inspection paperwork.

[Backshophoss]

If the "tube" was ripped off its hardware,most likely it needs replacement,hopefully it's an item the owner can fix themselves.

[jhdeasy]

If the "tube" was ripped off its hardware,most likely it needs replacement,hopefully it's an item the owner can fix themselves.

Yes, it is not a difficult repair. Can be done by car owner/mechanic on their home siding.

[John_Perkowski]

PV Ex SAL Pullman bedroom lounge HOLLYWOOD BEACH was just outside a Chicago shop building door as I was departing on 4 today.