Make offer to the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... good-home/

I sent another party after these cars, who contacted someone who knows the cars well and had looked at them earlier. His (by now third-hand) assessment:



He declared the SP baggage car "a lost cause."

You are all challenged to prove him wrong by performing miracles.

I saw a picture of the lounge car on facebook, and it had plywood in four or five windows on one side.

If a group was looking for a empty stainless steel shell to make a special use car, this one could be good. It looks like it's undamaged and solid. One of the expensive parts that would need to be installed is that it appears to have never been HEP equipped, so if it is intended for modern service that would need to be done, among many, many other things.

"The lounge is an empty, tunneled [shell] although all the furniture metal skeletons are there. He declared the SP baggage car "a lost cause". You are all challenged to prove him wrong by performing miracles."

No miracles required. Where in the world do people come up with this information? This assessment is not close to being correct.

The lounge car interior is not gutted at all. As-built, this car was a bar lounge dormitory with barber shop. The previous owner had removed the dormitory bunks and was in the process of adding two bedrooms in this space. I would say the bedroom conversion is about 80% completed. The lounge area is intact, including the original bar. It is missing most of the lounge furniture, but some of that was not the original anyway, as Amtrak had added their own 1970's era tables and chairs, along with their purple and orange decor. The former barber shop/stewards room was in the process of being converted to a kitchen. So, while there is still work to be done to finish the interior, it is far from "gutted". The car needs windows, paint, an updated electrical locker, new air-conditioning and heating, etc. In other words, it needs all of the usual work that these old steam-heat-DC cars need.

The former SP "Economy" baggage car is not close to being "a lost cause". In fact, it is in pretty reasonable condition. It is complete inside, and has all its' hardware, doors, etc. It is one of only 6 or 7 of the 100 "round roof" St. Louis Car Co. Economy baggage cars (built 1960) that are still known to exist. The only thing wrong with it is that it too is missing some of the brake piping underneath, and it also has some of the roof rust at the eaves that is characteristic of these cars.

As noted, the cars are isolated so there is some expense with trucking them out or getting them back to live rail. Hopefully they will both go to good homes.

The context of the inquisition in question was in terms of artifacts for a rail museum as a Santa Fe/SP artifact, not as prospects for a modern dinner train or the like. I also know they have a pretty good ability to get equipment shipped gratis on the railroads, but sending trucks and cranes costs lots of cash up front.

These cars could make a good home at the El Dorado Western Railroad, but that's just wishful thinking right there

Looks like it might still have a steam ejector-driven chiller. I've got one I've reverse engineered for new construction, so if someone working with this car wants to make a functional original unit I'll donate my unit to the cause and we can share the cost of stainless steel ejector cone forms which it will likely need as the coated mild steel ones will be rotten. I've already made new bronze evaporator mixing nozzles. This tech is missing in steam & railroad preservation, and something to demonstrate that a toxic refrigerant is not required for chilling/AC. I'm bringing the design back to use with solar thermal-made steam for intermittent rapid chilling applications such as cold-crashing white wine and humanitarian needs. If no one is interested in fixing this one, please whomever deals with this car at least save the main ejector nozzle for me as there are a couple of different nozzle versions I'd like to try as steam heat line pressures were increased and it is an expensive piece to reproduce. mjanssen@vaporlocomotive.com (208) 304-3454.

Any recent updates with the cars?