robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

This car was built as a high-end lounge/buffet car in 1914 and then in 1927 remodeled as a business car for Soo Line railway officials.
One end is a lounge, compete with a phone. In the middle is a kitchen, staff bunk room and dining room, then the other end is bedrooms for the executives. The VIPs had to rough it when traveling, or not!

The people who bought it from the RR in the 60s repainted it and named it the "Mt Rubidoux" using it for railway fan excursions.

This shot is from the door leading to the kitchen and dining room, looking back through the lounge to the door to the platform on the end of the car. Sorry about the extreme light, it was a very sunny day in January, with the afternoon light shining almost level from the right. The interior is dim because of the dark polished wood walls and ceiling. This was before I learned to do HDR to handle such extremes.

Canon 6D, 14 mm manual lens, 1/100 @ ?, ISO-640
handheld
The exif data is incomplete because the third party manual lens didn't communicate with the camera and this was January 10, 2015 so I don't remember the missing information.

(Download)

roxiemarty Loc: Florida

Wow! Nice. I could travel by rail more often like that. A far cry from Amtrak's Sunset Limited that ran coast to coast. I traveled on that one quite a few times, but it got rough. (They never ran coast to coast again after Hurricane Katrina.)

Jim70 Loc: Delaware

Maybe with exorbitant gas prices, more people will consider travel by train for long distance. 'Course that would mean Amtrak would need to upgrade its cars and service, so they'd probably raise prices due to inflation!

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

Watch this on our train system (thanks jerryc41) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCBI3lPt3o4

A family friend was a federal insurance fraud investigator for the RR’s for 40 yrs and retired in the 80’s - he said the RR system was failing and would never be what it was…

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Some modern trains are just as good in their own way. In 1966 during an airline strike the Army sent me by train from Fort Ord CA to St Louis. Well actually bus to Oakland then train to St Louis and bus to Granite City Army Engineer's Depot across the river in Illinois.
I was 20, and they attached a 17-year-old private to me as a "dependent". We had two of the little rooms with couches that converted to beds, sink etc. A lounge car at one end of our Pullman car and the dining car was only a couple of cars away. Very comfortable.
We had meal vouchers of $5 so could only eat the cheapest meals, but the head steward in charge was a WW II vet and told us those vouchers were good for any meal on the menu in his dining car. The Conductor (also a vet) backed him up and told us we also got free cokes etc. from the bar in the lounge car.
Not every one treated military like dirt in the 60s.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Yes. I once read of trains that had car carriers, and you bought a ticket for your car also. You could get on and off at main stops and take your car for local travel, then board another train with the car carriers to go on further until reaching your destination or making a loop and returning to your starting point.

Now that would be attractive to many people, esp. for touring type vacations. As long as the price wasn't too steep.

The best of both worlds, train for the long boring stretches and your car to see the sights at each major stop. Using rental cars also works, but nothing is quite like your own car.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Airlines killed long distance trains, and now they are falling apart also.

junglejim1949 Loc: Sacramento,CA

Wonderful accommodations, I have had many great train trips

tcthome Loc: NJ

Nice photo. Some beautiful wood in there.

BurghByrd Loc: Pittsburgh

Beutiful shot of a fancy pants coach! My wife and I took a train from Pittsburgh to Colorado Springs in 2015; coach car from Pgh to Chicago (bad choice) and sleeper from there to Colorado. The return was all sleeper car. I would do it again in a sleeper car. It's a comfortable and relaxing way to travel and see the country, much better than travel by airlines if you have the time and money; it is generally more expensive.