Heritage Diner list

[Anderson]

Somehow I keep finding and losing this...where's the list of Heritage diners that are still in service? The diner on the Meteor this morning was 8502, which was initially built for a RR I'd never heard of before.

Edit: The main reason I'd like this is more for the LSL this evening...I'd like to be able to punch up the list on my computer ASAP once I know the diner number. This is as close to the "harder" types of railfanning I get, but I'm hoping to dine in each of these old beauties before they get retired if I can swing it.

 

[Trogdor]

If you're taking 48 this evening, your diner should be 8559. If you're going to be on 49 (I don't know where you're coming from/going to), it is supposed to be 8507. Subject to change without notice. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Anderson]

I'm on 48 49. Westbound=odd. I can count. Right. Ok. I'm getting pictures.

 

[AlanB]

Somehow I keep finding and losing this...where's the list of Heritage diners that are still in service?

http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtkrinf-diners.shtml

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Somehow I keep finding and losing this...where's the list of Heritage diners that are still in service? The diner on the Meteor this morning was 8502, which was initially built for a RR I'd never heard of before.

Edit: The main reason I'd like this is more for the LSL this evening...I'd like to be able to punch up the list on my computer ASAP once I know the diner number. This is as close to the "harder" types of railfanning I get, but I'm hoping to dine in each of these old beauties before they get retired if I can swing it.

CBQ means Chicago Burlington and Quincy. Usually abbreviated as Burlington.

This is the Burlington from which cometh Burlington Northern.

That is-----Burlington, Great Northern. Spokane Portland and Seattle and Northern Pacific and probably

others.

This car was built for the original California Zephyr.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I know you have some interest in the old railroads and the Burlington is one you cannot do without. Actually you probably already are familiar with it, just did not recognize the initials for its full name.

The Burlington jump started the CZ from CHI to Denver where it was taken over by the Denver and Rio Grande and then to Salt Lake City and the Western Pacific.

There was a neat streamliner called the Denver Zephyr from CHI to Denver and Colorado Springs.

Burlington got the Empire Builder and its side kick, the Western Star from CHI to the Twin Cities where they were taken over by the Great Northern.

Burlington also originated the North Coast Limited and it s secondary the Mainstreeter from Chicago to Twin Cities, then the Northern Pacific.

These are some of the biggies...there were many more, even down in Texas.

Oh yes, the first dome cars ran on the CZ, And the first slumbercoaches ran on the Denver Zephyr.

 

[zephyr17]

Somehow I keep finding and losing this...where's the list of Heritage diners that are still in service? The diner on the Meteor this morning was 8502, which was initially built for a RR I'd never heard of before.

Edit: The main reason I'd like this is more for the LSL this evening...I'd like to be able to punch up the list on my computer ASAP once I know the diner number. This is as close to the "harder" types of railfanning I get, but I'm hoping to dine in each of these old beauties before they get retired if I can swing it.

CBQ means Chicago Burlington and Quincy. Usually abbreviated as Burlington.

This is the Burlington from which cometh Burlington Northern.

That is-----Burlington, Great Northern. Spokane Portland and Seattle and Northern Pacific and probably

others.

This car was built for the original California Zephyr.

Plus the Frisco (SL&SF), and Oregon Trunk.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Somehow I keep finding and losing this...where's the list of Heritage diners that are still in service? The diner on the Meteor this morning was 8502, which was initially built for a RR I'd never heard of before.

Edit: The main reason I'd like this is more for the LSL this evening...I'd like to be able to punch up the list on my computer ASAP once I know the diner number. This is as close to the "harder" types of railfanning I get, but I'm hoping to dine in each of these old beauties before they get retired if I can swing it.

CBQ means Chicago Burlington and Quincy. Usually abbreviated as Burlington.

This is the Burlington from which cometh Burlington Northern.

That is-----Burlington, Great Northern. Spokane Portland and Seattle and Northern Pacific and probably

others.

This car was built for the original California Zephyr.

Plus the Frisco (SL&SF), and Oregon Trunk.

And of course BN is now with SF as in BNSF. Too much for an old timer like me to keep up with.

Incidentally, on that chart showing "heritage" diners I see it said "Freight Railroads". I wish people would stop saying that. They were just "railroads" and most handled both freight and passengers.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Anderson, it looks like I have twisted your post about dining cars to one about the Burlington (CB%Q).

But Burlington was a major player and I know you have some interest in the old trains.

One, that train called the Pioneer Zephyr on exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry was a Burlington train.

Secondly, a guy named something like Don or Dan Steffee used to publish a speed report in Trains Magazine every year. He actually checked average speeds between towns, not between end points. And many years the Twin City Zephyr won the record by speeding between two towns in Illinois at an average of about 84 mph. I think it was also known for a really quick turn around in the Twin Cities.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Somehow I keep finding and losing this...where's the list of Heritage diners that are still in service?

http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtkrinf-diners.shtml

Looking at the list, what is the difference between a Diner and Grill Diner?

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Somehow I keep finding and losing this...where's the list of Heritage diners that are still in service?

http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtkrinf-diners.shtml

Looking at the list, what is the difference between a Diner and Grill Diner?

It could refer to various kinds of coffee shop lounges, grill lounges, lunch counter diners. Could be these cars were converted to standard diners before Amtrak bought them. I might be able to see more about this tomorrow.

 

[Anderson]

Anderson, it looks like I have twisted your post about dining cars to one about the Burlington (CB%Q).

But Burlington was a major player and I know you have some interest in the old trains.

One, that train called the Pioneer Zephyr on exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry was a Burlington train.

Secondly, a guy named something like Don or Dan Steffee used to publish a speed report in Trains Magazine every year. He actually checked average speeds between towns, not between end points. And many years the Twin City Zephyr won the record by speeding between two towns in Illinois at an average of about 84 mph. I think it was also known for a really quick turn around in the Twin Cities.

Now that is impressive. Was this before the Napierville accident slapped those speed limits on everyone?

And I'd heard of the Pioneer Zephyr...I'd forgotten who ran it. Was the CB&Q primarily an IL operation, or did it run out in Iowa and Nebraska as well (i.e. was the Pioneer Zephyr run exclusively over their tracks, or was it run over several RR's lines)?

 

[jis]

About the great Streamliners of the Burlington Route, they all ran the Chicagor Raceway from Chivcago to Aurora, the same route that is followed by the Zephyr and the Southwest Chief today. back then The Super Chief, El Cap and other SantaFe trains of course ran to Aurora via Joliet and Streator on SantaFe and not on CB&Q via Naperville.

Secondly, a guy named something like Don or Dan Steffee used to publish a speed report in Trains Magazine every year. He actually checked average speeds between towns, not between end points. And many years the Twin City Zephyr won the record by speeding between two towns in Illinois at an average of about 84 mph. I think it was also known for a really quick turn around in the Twin Cities.

Today the banner for station to station start to stop highest average speed is held by an Acela Express, and no it is not between Providence and Back Bay, it is between Metropark and Trenton, and the average speed of the run is 102 mph. Try train 2203, the only south/westbound Acela that stops at Trenton. That is a good 20mph higher than what was supposedly the maximum permitted speed on PRR was back in the days.

If 2203 gets full clear path on track 3 all the way from Menlo to Fair it can do this in a minute or two less. I think the best commercial run it has done is of the order of 113 mph on this segment, which is actually quite good given that it is limited to 135 mph.

And of course none of this has anything to do with Diners, heritage or otherwise.

 

[John King]

Do they ever use Heritage Dining Cars on the Crescent?

 

[Mackensen]

Do they ever use Heritage Dining Cars on the Crescent?

All the time; it's a standard part of the consist.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Do they ever use Heritage Dining Cars on the Crescent?

They still do.

 

[MikeM]

Somehow I keep finding and losing this...where's the list of Heritage diners that are still in service?

http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtkrinf-diners.shtml

Looking at the list, what is the difference between a Diner and Grill Diner?

It could refer to various kinds of coffee shop lounges, grill lounges, lunch counter diners. Could be these cars were converted to standard diners before Amtrak bought them. I might be able to see more about this tomorrow.

Looking at the list, I also noticed some referred to as "Temoinsa rebuilds". What are those? Is there something special about them -- was this a shop that did rebuilds, is there a special interior layout, or what? Tried googling it, but not finding much, rather than the rebuild included in the car description.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Anderson, it looks like I have twisted your post about dining cars to one about the Burlington (CB%Q).

But Burlington was a major player and I know you have some interest in the old trains.

One, that train called the Pioneer Zephyr on exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry was a Burlington train.

Secondly, a guy named something like Don or Dan Steffee used to publish a speed report in Trains Magazine every year. He actually checked average speeds between towns, not between end points. And many years the Twin City Zephyr won the record by speeding between two towns in Illinois at an average of about 84 mph. I think it was also known for a really quick turn around in the Twin Cities.

Now that is impressive. Was this before the Napierville accident slapped those speed limits on everyone?

And I'd heard of the Pioneer Zephyr...I'd forgotten who ran it. Was the CB&Q primarily an IL operation, or did it run out in Iowa and Nebraska as well (i.e. was the Pioneer Zephyr run exclusively over their tracks, or was it run over several RR's lines)?

The speed survey was in the 50s and maybe the 60s.

Google Pioneer Zephyr. You will find it made an outstanding run from Denver to CHI then put in daily service between other cities.

CBQ was a major carrier and went through many states, even Texas.

But the route from Denver to CHI was all CBQ or Burlington if you prefer.

 

[AlanB]

Looking at the list, I also noticed some referred to as "Temoinsa rebuilds". What are those? Is there something special about them -- was this a shop that did rebuilds, is there a special interior layout, or what? Tried googling it, but not finding much, rather than the rebuild included in the car description.

Mike,

Temoinsa is the name of a Spanish company that built the kits that were used to refurbish many of the Heritage dining cars. While the exteriors look the same, it's very easy to know if you're entering a Temoinsa rebuild. First, it has automatic doors, all the non-rebuilds have manual doors. And then the interior is much more modern than the non-refurbs. You have pastel pinks and greens in the rebuilds, a star field on the ceiling, and in general a much more modern apperance to the furnishings.

Amtrak's Beech Grove shop did the actual installation of the kits, after ripping out the old stuff, but otherwise built none of what went into the cars.

 

[TrackWalker]

I am going to be riding the LSL #49 (NYP-CHI) on March 14th and was curious as to what diner may be on it on that date.

When I rode it on May 15. 2009 I did not realize it was an NP heritage diner until I was informed well into the trip by some railfans on board.

 

[OBS]

I am going to be riding the LSL #49 (NYP-CHI) on March 14th and was curious as to what diner may be on it on that date.
When I rode it on May 15. 2009 I did not realize it was an NP heritage diner until I was informed well into the trip by some railfans on board.

unfortunately, there is no way to tell til the day of departure.

 

[the_traveler]

[Moderator's Note]

Note that this thread is 2 years old!

 

[TrackWalker]

I am going to be riding the LSL #49 (NYP-CHI) on March 14th and was curious as to what diner may be on it on that date.

When I rode it on May 15. 2009 I did not realize it was an NP heritage diner until I was informed well into the trip by some railfans on board.

unfortunately, there is no way to tell til the day of departure.

Thanks.

[Moderator's Note]
Note that this thread is 2 years old!

It showed up on a google search....

 

[railiner]

I see that this thread is revived from two years ago.....

I haven't been in a heritage diner for many moons so it interests me nontheless...

IIRC, the heritage diners retained some of their original decor.

You can easily recognize a former California Zephyr diner such as 'Silver Restaurant', by the 'Cornucopia' or 'Horn of Plenty' sculpture decorating the end of the car.

 

[AlanB]

IIRC, the heritage diners retained some of their original decor.

About half of the Heritage dining cars remaining were remodeled using Temoinsa rebuild kits. The other half still retain some of their original decor.