Yes, you can still ride streamliners

    In the past, rail travel used to be a romantic and luxurious. There was even a time when streamlined locomotives would pull custom-built equipment through picturesque countrysides, as railroads made names for themselves by hauling named trains with certain features attached to these names. These names were so successful, that many-- such as Great Northern's Empire Builder and the Illinois Central's City of New Orleans are still used by Amtrak today. Not to spit on Amtrak, but the modern superliners aren't quite was passenger trains used to be, at least from pictures I have seen. And today, the original operators and equipment are long gone...mostly.
     A handful of private operators own some of these old streamlined cars, and still use them for private events, or rent them out to excursions or tour operators. A train of these private cars was in Portland yesterday and my Dad, Mr. Kramer the elder got himself a chance to talk with the owner of two of these cars. I was invited along.
     After parking in front of the station, and meandering out to the platform, we found the consist, a string of railcars parked behind an Amtrak P42, serving as a switcher. We talked with both car owners, before being invited aboard for a tour of the two cars the tour operator would allow us to see: The former SP Overland Trail, and former CB&Q Silver Splendor. The two cars were serving as part of a tour, in connection with several sleepers, though these were off limits.
     Our first stop was the Overland Trail, an old coach which, for purposes of the tour, had been rearranged as a theatre, with chairs facing the front of the car where a makeshift stage had been assembled. A pair of old paintings of streamliners remained in the front from a film that had been shot in the car at one point, and remained to this day. I had never seen a stage set up in a car before, and marveled at the arrangement as the host explained his project.

Looking North in the Silver Splendor's dome section. The red and black emblem in the left is the Silver Splendor's logo.

     Our next stop, The Silver Splendor was used by the CB&Q (Burlington Route) on their Zephyr passenger trains until the railroad was absorbed into the Burlington Northern in 1970. The Silver Splendor is a dome car, but unlike some carriers who made such cars first-class only, was open to coach-class travelers. The car was extravagantly decorated: grey carpets and upholstery, and teal-painted walls, we were invited into the dome portion, following clear-plastic handrails up the spiral stairs to the glass bubble with 360 degree vision for passengers. Opera music played quietly in the background as the owner explained, the few modifications he had made to make the dome more convenient. We went went back down into the belly of the old railcar, and walked to the lounge, where discussions about the railcar's potential employment. Business as usual in the rail museum business. It was only the pending departure and our expired meter that led us back into the modern world. Meanwhile, the passengers of the streamlined equipment would soon depart southbound to Los Angeles. Even now, years after such cars have all but faded into obscurity, one can still ride a streamliner, if you know the right people anyway! -KP

An advertisement aboard the Silver Splendor advertising her original employer, the CB&Q

Local Updates - Issue 64 - KPO