Thanks, Hudson, for identifying the location of photo #3!

I should have mentioned in my previous post that photo #1 of the eastbound Empire Builder departing GN's Minneapolis station was taken on the same morning as 4 of the slides I had posted some time ago in the "Al Chione Slides" thread, specifically of 4 passenger cars that were either in the consist of the Builder, or in the consist of the train seen below in photo #8. The specific slides, the cars seen therein, and which train consists these cars were part of, are listed in my latest post in said Al Chione thread.

Next Four Blackhawk Slides:

Photo #5: GN E7A #503 is the power for an unknown passenger train. Over on RR Picture Archives, Tom Dethmers posted that it could be a westbound Gopher-Badger approaching GN's Minneapolis station. I'm inclined to agree on that, as the consist would seem to be those typically found on the Gopher-Badger at a later date, with a baggage-RPO, a prewar Empire Builder "deluxe chair" which appears to be have been modified with a snack bar/buffet station (blanked out windows towards the vestibule end), and an ex-Frisco 56 or 64 seat chair, which may or may not have been also modified for light food service in the form of a dinette area. But, seeing as how the prewar "deluxe chair" appears to have been modified for light food service, this ex-Frisco car may be one of the two unmodified cars. Someone can probably correct me on this if I'm mistaken, but I think that the modified ex-Frisco cars were usually assigned to the Winnipeg Limited. The date is unknown.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4649587



Photo #6: GN F7A #370C and another passenger F Unit with an unknown passenger train during a nighttime station stop. Note that the baggage car is a streamlined heavyweight. The location and date are unknown.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4649588



Photo #7: GN customs office-2 seat day use drawing room (1DR)-buffet-17 seat parlor-16 seat lounge observation #1195 Port of Seattle at King Street Station in Seattle. 1 of 2 such cars (the other was #1196 Port of Vancouver built by AC&F in 1950 in Lot #3126; these 2 cars were ordered for the Seattle-to-Vancouver, BC International in July 1946 and were delivered in May 1950. The International's two trainsets allowed for two roundtrips per day, with the trainsets traveling in opposite directions in the morning and afternoon; the southbound morning train made a connection at King Street with NP train #408, the midday southbound departure to Portland. Both of these cars were sold to Amtrak in 1971 as #3770 and #3771, and Amtrak changed the seating capacity to 19 in the parlor and 8 in the lounge. The customs office was used for storage and the drawing room was used as a crew room.

The #1195/#3770 was retired in May 1977 and was subsequently sold to International Hospitality Management (location unknown), and was later (when??) resold to Keystone Country Furniture (Aspers, PA). After Keystone went out of business, the Minnesota Transportation Museum showed interest in acquiring the car from its then owner (who?), and had already signed a purchasing agreement with said owner when the car was set on fire by vandals on 11/11/2005. The purchase of the car by MTM became enveloped in a court case, the outcome of which I have no information on. At last report (December 2014 by ADM IV over in the "Al Chione Slides" thread, via Google satellite imagery), the car was no longer located next to the former Keystone building, so current status/location unknown. Does anybody know where the car is now, if it is indeed still extant? Thanks in advance.

Meanwhile, the #1196/#3771 was retired in September 1975 and was subsequently sold to Peter and Patricia Schultz (or Schulze, unclear on spelling) of Louisville, KY, and the car was stored at the Bluegrass RR Museum (I don't know if this was when the museum was still in Lexington, or after they had moved to Versailles). The car was later (when??) resold to Larry Milsow (Spokane, WA), who renamed the car City of Spokane. The car was restored to service (when??), and at an unknown date had an Amtrak #800xxx-series number assigned, specifically #800362.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4649589



Photo #8: GN E7A #502 and another E Unit are the power for train #8, the eastbound Winnipeg Limited, which is seen departing GN's Minneapolis station at about 6:25 in the morning on Saturday, July 15th, 1967, towards its last stop at St. Paul Union Depot (SPUD). The eastbound Builder can be seen on the next track over to the right, and it will depart 10 minutes later at 6:35. Note that the giant display board on the side of the station is reading 53° F, and in photo #1 posted above of the Builder, it is reading 54° F. There's a good amount of head end traffic on the Limited: 2 heavyweight baggage-express cars in postal storage service, followed by a lightweight baggage-RPO and a streamlined heavyweight baggage-express.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4649590



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Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Next Four Blackhawk Slides:

Photo #9: an A-B-A set of NP passenger F Units, led by F5A #6505C, are the power for an unknown passenger train. The location and date are unknown. The #6505C was built as an F3A; I don't know when or why the designation changed.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4649591



Photo #10: an A-B-A set of NP passenger F Units, led by F5A #6504C, are the power for what is most likely the eastbound North Coast Limited, waiting to depart King Street Station in Seattle on a foggy day. The date is unknown. Like the #6505C above, the #6504C was built as an F3A and again, I don't when or why the designation was changed.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4649592



Photo #11: an A-B-A set of NP passenger F Units, led by F7A #6507A, are the power for an unknown passenger train. The location and date are unknown. Based on the number of head end cars (6 baggage-express cars, the first 2 of which are heavyweight) as compared to passenger cars (4 total, what looks to be 2 chairs [coaches], maybe a lounge or diner, and the last I can't tell), I'm thinking this might be the Alaskan. Despite the 6 baggage cars, I don't think this is the Fast Mail (which I think was all mail-and-express, with no passengers), as there doesn't appear to be a RPO.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4649593



Photo #12: an A-A-B-A set of NP passenger F Units are the power for an unknown passenger train. Over on RR Picture Archives, Tom Dethmers posted that it was taken at Lombard, MT, at the eastern end of Sixteen Mile Canyon, which would make this a westbound train on the line towards Helena and Mullan Pass, and also, the Milwaukee Road can be seen on the other side of the Missouri River. The date is unknown. Looking at the consist of this train, with 6 baggage-express cars (second of which is a heavyweight) and 4 passenger cars, like the above slide, I think this is also the Alaskan and not the Fast Mail, as there's no RPO. Regarding the passenger cars: like the above slide, there appears to be 2 chairs (coaches) and a diner or lounge, but the last car is interesting: by all means, it appears to be a non-painted Budd car. The only non-painted Budd cars on the NP roster were the Slumbercoaches, but I don't think that's what we're seeing here, as there's no visible sign of the offset upper and lower windows of the duplex roomettes. Rather, I'm thinking this might be one of the Burlington Route's business cars, either the Budd-built lightweight Burlington, or the rebuilt-to-look-like-a-Budd heavyweight The Round-Up. Question is, what's a CB&Q business car doing on a NP train in Montana? And if so, why on a secondary train such as the Alaskan? And even if it isn't a CB&Q business car, and is indeed a sleeper, either a Slumbercoach or a foreign road car such as the PRR's unique Budd-built 11DB sleeper Elberton*, again, why on the Alaskan?

*PRR's only 11DB sleeper, the Elberton (rebuilt from a 10RM-6DB car that had been ordered for the SAL service pool) was known to make appearances on the NP in Montana, specifically in Summer travel season Yellowstone Park service, along with UP and IC 11DB cars (the IC cars got repainted to Loewy Two-Tone Green), but this doesn't seem to be the right train or location to see such a car.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4649594



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Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

I'm looking at the high-resolution scan of slide #12 on my computer again, and now I'm thinking the last car could be a Slumbercoach. The problem is, these Blackhawk duplicates are not very sharp as compared to originals or even name brand (i.e., Ektachrome) duplicates, so it makes car identification somewhat difficult.

But, if that is the case, then there's still the question of why a Slumbercoach is on the Alaskan and not the North Coast Limited or Mainstreeter. Perhaps a deadhead move to Seattle to make up for a Slumbercoach in the consist of either of the primary trains that had a mechanical issue?

Or, maybe this was a car that had had a mechanical problem at Chicago, had to be set out and repaired, and is now being moved west to be put back into its normal consist before said consist departs back east?

Location & Date Identified:

In the earlier Slide Scanner Recommendations thread, last post on page #7 was of ACL Pullman Plan #4084A 6S-6DB Poplar Terrace. ID'ed as taken in Denver in 1964.



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Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Glen Alta was on the Royal American Shows. I don't believe the reference to the James E. Strates Shows is correct.
Bob Cline