Glacier Park Grille?

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Back in the mid 90's, the EB had in addition to the diner a car known as the Glacier Park Grille, which served lighter meals than the regular diner. I believe this car went on to Seattle after the EB split in Spokane. This car was discontinued long before my travels on Amtrak began. What sort of car (i.e CCC, etc) was this, and when did it begin (and end) operations? And why did it end? And if I think of a few more questions, I'll ask them too! :p
 
Never heard of this before for Amtrak's ownership of Empire Builder. I was on it in 1990 (MSP to CHI), and again in 1996 (RDW to WFH)
 
Never heard of this before for Amtrak's ownership of Empire Builder. I was on it in 1990 (MSP to CHI), and again in 1996 (RDW to WFH)
I'm watching a DVD now of an Amtrak/plane trip my uncle and aunt took from Champaign to Spokane (and back) in 1996.

In a portion of their trip from Seattle to Spokane on the EB, as my uncle is filming, the announcements were being made. Among them, a description of the grille was made. Half the car was seating and the other half was where food, drinks, and souvenirs were sold. It sounds as if it was fairly new then. This was on Sept. 5th of 1996. They had cheeseburgers, hot turkey sandwiches, family size pizza, pot pie, and such. It sounds as it was a cafe/lounge car of some sort.
 
I wonder what sort of car they used for this. Must have been Heritage?
 
I wonder what sort of car they used for this. Must have been Heritage?
No way! The EB was the first LD equipped with Superliners back around 1979. It must have been a Sightseer or variation thereof.
That's what I'm trying to find out if for no reason other than to satisfy my curiousity. I know it had a regular lunch and dinner menu, with separate items than the regular diner had. At the time it was in use, smoking was still allowed on Amtrak trains, and this was one place smokers could light up. The experts on here have forgotten more than I'll ever know about Amtrak, and I'm sure someone will have the answer(s) I want. I hope! ;)
 
I wonder what sort of car they used for this. Must have been Heritage?
2 possibilities. One is it was one of former Santa Fe Hi-Level diners (not the lounges that became the PPCs) that got converted to diner-lounges, with 1/2 the car a lounge, the other a cafe/diner with a sort of buffet. They saw service on the Desert Wind and the Pioneer in the 1980s. That was a good car layout, BTW, much better than the CCC/Diner-Lounge mess they made out of some of the Superliner diners before they realized just what a bad idea it was.

The other is one of the Superliner coach/bags that had the baggage area replaced by a service counter and a small lounge. I saw those downstairs "lounges" equipped as a smoking room on several trains. They were pretty miserable.

Either could have run in the Empire Builder. Remember, Hi-Levels were pretty freely mixed in with Superliners on most trains through at least the early 1990s.
 
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Ah yes, Ranch Car! I believe that's it!
The Ranch Car was a feature car of the GN Empire Builder, and it did serve the purpose described. GN expected most of the patronage to be from coach. It was also decorated with brands from various ranches. However, it was single level and incompatible with the consist in the time frame specified (90s). It would have only been in the Amtrak version of the Builder in the very early years, the latest possible date it could have been retained would have been 1979 when they put on Superliners. Also, by 1979 Amtrak had largely reshuffled amenities on the various trains and generally didn't use old RR nomenclature for feature cars/amenities by 79. Plus they standardized the interiors, losing most of the unique features of the cars in the process.

Even if they were calling it a "Ranch Car" it wasn't one. during that timeframe the OP cites (mid 90s) it had to have been either a Superliner Coach/Lounge or one of the Hi-Level diner rebuilds into a Diner/Lounge. I can believe it was called a "Glacier Park Grille" before I'd believe it was called a "Ranch Car."

PS-what is the source of rumor that they are going to restore a train-specific feature car, a "Ranch Car" to the Empire Builder? Amtrak doesn't generally go in for train specific feature cars. The only one I know about is the Pacifc Parlour Car on the Starlight.

I've heard the talk of adding one of the Superliner Diner/Lounges (CCC) to the Portland section and sending both the diner and lounge through to Seattle. The version I heard, but can't vouch for, would have the Diner/Lounge shuttling between Portland and Spokane and not going east of Spokane.
 
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In Googling the subject, I found only two references: This thread :lol: and a travel report from Trainweb in which the person making the report referred to the car as both the Glacier Park Grille and a Ranch Car.
 
I've heard the talk of adding one of the Superliner Diner/Lounges (CCC) to the Portland section and sending both the diner and lounge through to Seattle. The version I heard, but can't vouch for, would have the Diner/Lounge shuttling between Portland and Spokane and not going east of Spokane.
I've never heard that plan before Zephyr. The only plan that I've ever heard, which came before the daily Sunset/Eagle idea that seemed to kill the EB plan, was to take some of the Stimulus cars and add them to the EB. The plan was to add for certain 1 sleeper to the Portland section, as well as a CCC to the Portland section for the entire run. The CCC would be needed for the entire run with one more extra sleeper. There was also talk of adding one more Seattle sleeper, but that was never as hard & firm as the Portland changes. The sightseer would have gone to Seattle to provide real cafe service on that leg.

And despite the failure of the Sunset/Eagle plan, there has been little talk of reconsidering the EB plan; at least that I've heard.
 
I've heard the talk of adding one of the Superliner Diner/Lounges (CCC) to the Portland section and sending both the diner and lounge through to Seattle. The version I heard, but can't vouch for, would have the Diner/Lounge shuttling between Portland and Spokane and not going east of Spokane.
I've never heard that plan before Zephyr. The only plan that I've ever heard, which came before the daily Sunset/Eagle idea that seemed to kill the EB plan, was to take some of the Stimulus cars and add them to the EB. The plan was to add for certain 1 sleeper to the Portland section, as well as a CCC to the Portland section for the entire run. The CCC would be needed for the entire run with one more extra sleeper. There was also talk of adding one more Seattle sleeper, but that was never as hard & firm as the Portland changes. The sightseer would have gone to Seattle to provide real cafe service on that leg.

And despite the failure of the Sunset/Eagle plan, there has been little talk of reconsidering the EB plan; at least that I've heard.
I've heard various versions, the only thing that was consistent was the CCC between Spokane and Portland and keeping the SSL on the Seattle section. I said I couldn't vouch for it, and haven't heard anything in more than a year. But no version involved resurrecting the GN "Ranch Car".
 
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I can remember riding the Builder before Superliners say late 70's ate in the one of the Lewis & Clark tavern cars it had a big mural on the wall might have been Travellers Rest but don't know
 
PS-what is the source of rumor that they are going to restore a train-specific feature car, a "Ranch Car" to the Empire Builder? Amtrak doesn't generally go in for train specific feature cars. The only one I know about is the Pacifc Parlour Car on the Starlight.
No rumor, it is an actual plan that was mulled over by Amtrak, as detailed in the publicly-available PIP for 2012.

PRIIA PIP for FY-2012

The first mention of the 'Ranch Style Car" is on page 61 of the report. To quote: "Adding additional coach and sleeper capacity to the train in the summer months and adding a “ranch style car” (a diner with a modified menu)."

It further reads:

During most of the year, the Empire Builder operates with two sleeping cars between Chicago Seattle and one sleeping car between Chicago and Portland. From May through October, these sleeping cars routinely sell out. An analysis performed by our Revenue Management group determined that of all the long distance trains, the Empire Builder had the most unmet demand and if a sleeping car were added during peak travel months, would generate the most ridership and revenue.Adding a sleeping car to this train creates an immediate service problem for the dining car, which is already strained to capacity during peak travel periods. It is the only Amtrak train that actually has a vendor contract with a local restaurant at Havre, Montana, with customers placing orders with the on-board staff for a box dinner received after departure from this station.

To address this service challenge, which would be exacerbated further with the addition of a 4th sleeping car, the proposal would be to utilize available 37000 series Cross Country Café cars as both a sleeping car lounge and an alternate meal service option for our sleeping car passengers.
As such, it would appear that the name 'Ranch Car' would end up being applied to this First-Class lounge/diner, much like the 'Pacific Parlor Car' is to the Coast Starlight.
 
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