For many of us today, Amtrak has been the only inter-city passenger railroad. While the six Class I railroads can find passenger trains in component railroads, only the Union Pacific has a direct corporate lineage to passenger service. Long gone is the competition between railroads to provide a better passenger train experience. Also, in the distant past is the idea that the trip is part of the adventure.
The same eraser that claimed competition and the pleasurable adventure of travel, also wiped out passenger train perks. As has been said time and time again, Amtrak is a mere shadow of what passenger trains were. It is the pre-Amtrak perks, services, and styling — along with outstanding service — that made rail travel an enjoyable, looked-forward-to experience.
Let us take a look at five items no longer found on passenger trains. Some of the five may be familiar to you. Others will make you say: They did that on a passenger train? No way! And, just for fun, compare these five passenger train concepts with service provided by today’s herd-mentality airline service.
No. 1 — The Barber shop and salon
Looking one’s best while traveling was paramount even into the late 1950s. Part of the look for men included a clean shave and trimmed hair. For the ladies, a wash and set along with a manicure complemented any smart outfit. To name just a few, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, New York Central, Santa Fe and Union Pacific offered barber and salon services aboard some named trains.
Even in the name of a glowing appearance, there must have been a little trepidation while sitting in the barber’s chair, reclining for a straight razor shave aboard a train blasting along at 80 mph. Realizing the fear, the Santa Fe commented on its selection process for barbers aboard its top train — the Super Chief — indicating that all candidates were rigorously reviewed and only those with the steadiest of hands were placed aboard.
No. 2 — Drumheads
Today, when an Amtrak train passes, there is no external means by which to identify which train it is. There is no sign proclaiming Empire Builder, City of New Orleans, or Lake Shore Limited. The tail end of an Amtrak train is the aluminum color of some single-level car or a Superliner punctuated by red marker lights, a coupler and diaphragm.
For a short time at the beginning of the Amtrak era and dating to the early 1900s, named trains generally ended with a drumhead bearing the train’s identity. At first, drumheads came in two basic styles: A clear or frosted circular glass piece painted with the train’s name mounted in a metal container or a square or rectangular painted metal sign. The round metal container held lights inside for illumination through the glass. The metal signs were lit from the top or sides.
With the onset of streamlining in the 1930s, the rear observation platform was replaced with blunt or round-end tail cars featuring large windows. Drumhead design advanced as well, with back-lit metal letters or glowing neon identifying the likes of the 20th Century Limited and Union Pacific’s City of trains.
No. 3 — Signature lounge-tail cars
Through the 1920s, many of the top passenger trains ended with an observation, lounge, or parlor car, depending on the label chosen by a given railroad. Such cars offered a rear-facing, open-air platform from which to take in the passing scenery. At first, the observation platform was deep enough for two rows of chairs, but was eventually clipped to no wider than a standard vestibule.
When streamlined designs took hold in the 1930s, the exterior observation platform and interior space gave way to various designs, many being the marquee car for that train. In 1938, the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Broadway Limited received a tail car with a buffet, lounge, two master bedrooms and a double bedroom. The lounge provided various seating arrangements looking out larger windows. The Milwaukee Road introduced its Skytop lounge cars in 1948. In two configurations — a lounge for the Chicago-Minneapolis Hiawatha and a sleeper-lounge for the Olympian Hiawatha to the Pacific Northwest — the cars featured a glass-paneled tail that wrapped around the last third of the body. When the Union Pacific acquired dome cars in 1955, one configuration was a blunt end dome-lounge
No. 4 — Open-air observation cars
Today, the open-air observation car is generally the domain of tourist and shortline railroads. If you can imagine, however, from the 1920s to the 1950s several railroads offered passengers an open-air car from which to view the passing scenery as part of a regularly scheduled train. The Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, Denver & Rio Grande, Milwaukee Road, Southern, Southern Pacific, and Union Pacific all added open-air cars to selected passenger trains. With the Southern being the exception, the railroads in question traversed the Western United States and Canada, meaning panoramic views of mountain scenery could be had from the open-air car.
The open-air cars were either built by the railroad’s car shop or converted from an existing passenger car. Both sleepers and coaches were converted into open-air vehicles.
No. 5 — Set-out sleepers
Let us say you are riding Amtrak’s California Zephyr westbound and have reserved a bedroom. You will be boarding the train in your hometown of Hastings, Neb. Scheduled time: 2:22 a.m. That’s right, you will be up waiting for your bed to arrive until after 2 a.m. Hopefully, the Zephyr is on time.
In Pullman days, there was an alternative: The set-out sleeper. As an overnight train passed through specified towns during the late-night hours, a sleeping car would be set out onto a siding at the depot. Passengers, sound asleep, would be allowed to remain aboard until 8 or 9 a.m. They would then depart having enjoyed a full-night’s rest. The Pullman porter would clean and reset the car once all passengers had left. Roughly 12 hours later the process would reverse itself. This time passengers were welcome to board the car and settle into their accommodations. Most would be asleep when, during the late-night hours, the car was attached to a scheduled passenger train. In the morning one would wake up further along the route or at your destination, again having enjoyed a restful evening.
Set-out service was costly for Pullman to operate, however, it provided a greater opportunity for smaller communities to enjoy sleeping car service.
Like this article? Check out the previous one in this series: “Five mind-blowing facts — Stilwell Oyster Car.”
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