The one and only original lounge car to the 1937 Super Chief, Acoma has made it back to the realm of operating passenger cars! A decade of painstaking work was required to achieve Amtrak certification, and Acoma will make its (Amtrak certified) maiden voyage at the end of Dec.
The Acoma was a part of the first 8 car streamlined Super Chief and carried a dormitory for the dining car crew, as well as, a barbershop. Initially, there was only one train set, and the Super Chief made weekly sailings. A second trainset followed in '38 and the two sets each made weekly roundtrip's between Chicago and LA until after the war when service was increased. With the Super Chief bearing the "company standard", it always maintained the newest and finest equipment. After the war, the Acoma was soon displaced to lessor trains until it was finally retired in 1968 as excess.
The car was bought by a gentleman who realized the historical importance of the car and saved it in an "arrested state of decay". Interestingly, with the advent of Amtrak, there was a little "tough of war" as Amtrak sought ownership of the car. Fortunately for future generations, the car remained in private hands and the special care afforded it by current owners, John Bond and Ron Ashcraft, assured its survival.
Although there have been many changes to the car (mechanical and otherwise), the main lounge retains much of its "as built" appearance. Gone is the exotic zebra wood veneer and the barbershop (these were Santa Fe changes) but the car interior remains essentially as it was at retirement in 1968. The car will be based in Los Angeles for a time ... be on the lookout for it ... over the road photos always appreciated! LARail.com, Inc. will be an operator of the car, look for the Acoma on future "Vino Trains" and other trips operated by LA's "own" vintage passenger car company.
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File comment: Although the zebra wood veneer is long gone, much of the Acoma's main salon remains unchanged from the day it was built. acomainterior500.png [ 274.15 KiB | Viewed 3046 times ] |