The Tradition of Named Cars

[NS VIA Fan]

VIA doesn't name their Renaissance Sleepers but each has a Theme that is carried throughout the car. Here's "Peggy's Cove" and "NS…Vineyards".......a mural is displayed as you enter the car and individual photos are in each room.

 

 

 

On the Budd equipment, Chateau Sleepers are named for Canadians of French ancestry, Manors for those of British ancestry, Diners after the Dining Rooms in Canadian Pacific Hotels and the Park Cars after National and Provincial Parks.

 

[RampWidget]

Add me, also, to a heartfelt "yes" vote for Amtrak's naming sleepers as well as diners. Diners weren't as commonly named in past practice as were sleepers, but several roads did name diners - CB&Q, SCL(ACL), and others. I remember my pleasurable nights in "Palisades View" much more than a trip in "Car 62xxx."

Adding a name to a car adds a touch of class, and as pointed out, makes the experience more memorable, hopefully in a positive way . :blink:

BTW, add CSX to the list of roads that occasionally name locomotives, mostly for on-line locations in the format "Spirit of XX". CSX also has two units named for people; the late W. Thomas Rice (Chairman-Emeritus of the Board) and the late Franklin M. Garrett (noted Atlanta historian & rail enthusiast).

 

[AlanB]

The same is true of the Superliner I sleepers, and finding one with its original name still borne upon an end door is a rare occasion these days.

Actually, as noted at the OTOL link provided by Jishnu in an earlier post, the Superliner I sleepers originally were NOT named. When Amtrak got the Superliner II's, they were named for the States, while the Deluxe Sleepers were given special names. At that time, Amtrak assigned names to all the Superliner I sleepers. However, only two cars ever actually had their names painted on, they were:

32003 Edward Ullman

32009 George M. Pullman

All the other I's never got their names actually applied to the cars, before Amtrak decided to drop the names.

 

[AlanB]

While everyone is talking about naming or not naming sleeper cars, what about locomotives? Does Amtrak "christen" any of their locomotives?

The only Amtrak loco that I know of with a name is P42 #182, which was in the second order of P42's. It was named upon arrival for Governor Tommy Thompson in honor of his service to Amtrak, both as a spokesman & chairman of the board for a number of years. Gov. Thompson was one of Amtrak's more vocal chairmen, often seen on the news touting the virtues of Amtrak and trying to get funding out of Congress for Amtrak. The engine carried his name from its arrival at Amtrak until July 2006 when it went in for a paint job.

It was widely believed that he coveted the job of Sec. Trans. under the President George W Bush administration, but instead ended up as Health & Human Services Secretary. I for one believe that he left the Bush Administration rather quickly in disgust, lasting barely a year in the post, over the anti-Amtrak stance that emanated from the White House. I also think that he wasn't given Sec. Trans. because some of those behind the President wanted to try to kill Amtrak and they knew that Gov. Thompson wouldn't stand for that.

 

[Shawn Ryu]

They do this for Metro North trains,

 

[Eric S]

It was widely believed that he coveted the job of Sec. Trans. under the President George W Bush administration, but instead ended up as Health & Human Services Secretary. I for one believe that he left the Bush Administration rather quickly in disgust, lasting barely a year in the post, over the anti-Amtrak stance that emanated from the White House. I also think that he wasn't given Sec. Trans. because some of those behind the President wanted to try to kill Amtrak and they knew that Gov. Thompson wouldn't stand for that.

Tommy Thompson actually stayed HHS Secretary for all of Bush's first term; he didn't leave until his successor was confirmed in January 2005.

And, of course, he has now tarnished his once-proud reputation as an Amtrak and passenger rail supporter by repeating the Walker/GOP line regarding the Milwaukee-Madison Hiawatha extension.

 

[railiner]

I am another of those that find it interesting and memorable to have names on whatever transportation conveyance I happen to be traveling on. It is much easier to recognize a name then some multi-digit number. Many times I have boarded a train, and seeing the car name, smile to myself, having recognizing it from a past trip.

I like when the names have particular significance. The Pullman Company would name a particular series of cars of the same configuration with the same prefix or suffix to readily identify their type...such as "Ashtabula Inn", or "Sunbury Inn", "Inn" identifying it as a 21 Roomette car. Or "Kankakee River", or some other "River", "River" identifying it as a 10 Roomette, 6 Double Bedroom. "Imperial" this or that was a luxury 4 Compartment, 4 Double Bedroom, 2 Drawing Room car.

The list goes on....

I especially liked the names of Burlington cars. They named virtually all their long distance equipment. In early years, they named their Zephyr motive power, as well.

The Burlington prefixed their cars with "Silver", and then individual cars were given similar series of names according to car type. For example, coaches could be "Silver Colt" or "Silver Mustang". Diners could be "Silver Restaurant" or "Silver Banquet". Dome-Lounge-Sleeper-Observation could be "Silver Lookout" or "Silver Horizon".

My personal favorite name of all named railroad cars is PRR California Zephyr Pool Service Car "Silver Rapids". It was the only CZ car not owned by the three operator's of that train (CB&Q, D&RGW, WP), but represented PRR's mileage contribution to the coast-to-coast thru sleeper. Its name was doubly significant, as many of PRR's 10-6 Pullman's were named in the "Rapids" suffix....

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The only Amtrak loco that I know of with a name is P42 #182, which was in the second order of P42's. It was named upon arrival for Governor Tommy Thompson in honor of his service to Amtrak, both as a spokesman & chairman of the board for a number of years. Gov. Thompson was one of Amtrak's more vocal chairmen, often seen on the news touting the virtues of Amtrak and trying to get funding out of Congress for Amtrak. The engine carried his name from its arrival at Amtrak until July 2006 when it went in for a paint job. It was widely believed that [Tommy Thompson] coveted the job of Sec. Trans. under the President George W Bush administration, but instead ended up as Health & Human Services Secretary. I for one believe that he left the Bush Administration rather quickly in disgust, lasting barely a year in the post, over the anti-Amtrak stance that emanated from the White House. I also think that he wasn't given Sec. Trans. because some of those behind the President wanted to try to kill Amtrak and they knew that Gov. Thompson wouldn't stand for that.

As #182 goes, so goes Mr. Thompson. Witness the former supporter's anti-rail makeover already in progress. It may not be complete as of yet, but it seems to be progressing nicely. I believe that Mr. Thompson's vocal backing of consistently anti-rail politicians, like our dear friend Scott Walker, and their targeting of passenger rail projects for defunding is a crystal clear example of how pervasive the anti-rail view has become throughout today's GOP. Every time I think I'm seeing Mr. Thompson say something undeniably pro-rail his office swings into high gear to correct any presumption of true dissent due to misquoting or misunderstanding.

 

[Ryan]

MARC has 2 named locomotives. HHP-8 #4913 is named the Kathryn D. Waters, and MP-36 #11 is "The Senator Barb 'Go Green' Express"

 

[Shortline]

It would be nice if the trains had more of a personality-Currently, if I were to be put on an amtrak LD train with the curtains drawn, it would be nearly impossible to tell which train it was unless you happened to walk through and find a PPC, which would tip you off..... In the past, the individual LD trains had more of a personality, like the Southwest decor on the Santa Fe trains, etc. I know it's not feasible, due to the way cars rotate from train to train, but it would add quite a bit to the experience, I think.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

It would be nice if the trains had more of a personality-Currently, if I were to be put on an amtrak LD train with the curtains drawn, it would be nearly impossible to tell which train it was unless you happened to walk through and find a PPC, which would tip you off..... In the past, the individual LD trains had more of a personality, like the Southwest decor on the Santa Fe trains, etc. I know it's not feasible, due to the way cars rotate from train to train, but it would add quite a bit to the experience, I think.

I fully agree but also understand with system wide car rotation the problems involved. Of course the personality of the train is somewhat reflected through the Dining Car menu. The big posters displayed in the cars can help, provided someone takes time to change them out when the train is first made up and readied. At least the trains still have names

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It would be nice if the trains had more of a personality-Currently, if I were to be put on an amtrak LD train with the curtains drawn, it would be nearly impossible to tell which train it was unless you happened to walk through and find a PPC, which would tip you off. In the past, the individual LD trains had more of a personality, like the Southwest decor on the Santa Fe trains, etc. I know it's not feasible, due to the way cars rotate from train to train, but it would add quite a bit to the experience, I think.

Yeah, I can never tell one train from the next at this point. They all look almost exactly alike except for the scenery and a few minor variations on length and order. Pretty boring on the inside if you ask me. What about using removable artwork and imagery? For instance, they could swap removable pictures and logos as part of the preparation process. Shouldn't take more than one person a half hour to swap them out if they had a cart or the like to roll along the walkway. Maybe add a dollar to each long distance ticket to cover the enhancement?

 

[New Lou]

All Superliner Sleepers have names. They are just a very well kept secret in many cases.

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

All Viewliners also have names. See: http://www.on-track-on-line.com/amtkrinf-viewname.shtml

I slept in South Dakota last night. I noticed the faded sign on the door.

 

[rrdude]

If the current convention is to ".....make things easy...." or "...keep it simple......" for the traveling public, then naming the sleepers (at least, and hopefully the diners) makes perfect sense.

I think it is generally accepted that the majority of the population can remember that they parked on the "blue level" or the "giraffe level" of a parking garage, rather than "level 4".

Naming sleepers makes sense for other reasons posted, a sense of identity, "Oh, I rode the North Dakota too". And logistics for the crew, Steward to a passenger, "What car are you in?" Easy to remember North Dakota, not so easy to remember "2901"

 

[RRUserious]

Named trains and cars are connected to the close to 200 years of railroading heritage. Kinda like the names of ocean going vessels. Maybe people will actually request a car by name. Of course, it does require treating cars as something other than mere units. If Amtrak wants to shuffle cars to make trains, then I don't see the point.

 

[Donctor]

If the current convention is to ".....make things easy...." or "...keep it simple......" for the traveling public, then naming the sleepers (at least, and hopefully the diners) makes perfect sense.

They've already started with "Indianapolis" (8400).

And logistics for the crew, Steward to a passenger, "What car are you in?" Easy to remember North Dakota, not so easy to remember "2901"

Not really. The line number has nothing to do with a car's fleet number. It is easier to remember "North Dakota" than "32102"—sure—but that's not what someone would be asking for.

 

[AlanB]

And logistics for the crew, Steward to a passenger, "What car are you in?" Easy to remember North Dakota, not so easy to remember "2901"

Not really. The line number has nothing to do with a car's fleet number. It is easier to remember "North Dakota" than "32102"—sure—but that's not what someone would be asking for.

While you're correct that the line number has nothing to do with either the car's inventory number or its name, it would still make things easy. It wouldn't be that hard for the crew to remember as they walk from their Trans/Dorm that they passed through the North Dakota and the Bryce Canyon on the way to the dinner. Which if on the Capitol Limited would make them 2901 & 2900 respectively.

And even if the crew can't remember, a simple walk or a chat with a conductor would help them out.

 

[Donctor]

While you're correct that the line number has nothing to do with either the car's inventory number or its name, it would still make things easy. It wouldn't be that hard for the crew to remember as they walk from their Trans/Dorm that they passed through the North Dakota and the Bryce Canyon on the way to the dinner. Which if on the Capitol Limited would make them 2901 & 2900 respectively.

And even if the crew can't remember, a simple walk or a chat with a conductor would help them out.

For accounting purposes, though, meal checks need to have to line number. Based on my experiences, it doesn't seem reasonable to expect crew members to remember that "North Dakota" is the "1" car on that particular trip, especially when they're hurriedly taking orders. (It's not entirely unreasonable to expect employees to check, but I can't imagine them doing this with any level of consistency.) Besides, the line number is on the ticket stub anyway.

Remembering car names might be easier for passengers. I just can't picture the crews pulling something like this off.

 

[New Lou]

Tonight the New Jersey is on the Southwest Chief.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I would like the idea of named cars coming back, though I never paid much attention to them myself. The way the Canada lines built up the word "park" is highly unusual.

I am not in favor of the car name being built into the reservation. I think that could cause some confusion. Passengers are used to train numbers since airlines do that also. But having to add the car name as well as train name to their memory bank seems unneeded..

Some problems would ensue with substitute equipment or extra equipment (not that Amtrak has hardly any) and they would have to ride in different named car.

Then think about the LD trains having several sets of equipment.Say a train is 10 cars long and has four sets of equipment. Are you going to make reservations off four sets of equipment names? Or would you repeat 10 names four times?

Think about how much larger the timetable would have to be to accommodate all that extra information. Think about the 1500 or so pages of Official Guides in the past, think how big and unwieldy that would have been.

What I did do for fun is look at some of my old preAmtrak info and got just a sampling----I say, just a sampling--- of car name categories in the past.

Here are some of the things that train cars used to be named after:

rivers, lakes,all categories of famous people, peaks, mountains, schools, colleges, harbors, valleys, trees,falls, birds, famous railroad officials,presidents and politicians. Native American names, French names such as might be found in New Orleans,beaches,names with prefixes such as silver, golden and gold.

The list goes on. I just scratched the surface.

 

[Donctor]

It might be cool to name cars after rivers and state caps.

 

[Blackwolf]

On our Northbound trip aboard the Coast Starlight from LAUS, we had #32066, #32056 and #32015; Oregon Dunes, Apostle Islands, and Gates of the Arctic respectively. We were in roomette #7 on Apostle Islands. Very happy to have the list of names available!

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

It might be cool to name cars after rivers and state caps.

I've always been partial to the "Silver" cars of the Burlington.

 

[Donctor]

It might be cool to name cars after rivers and state caps.

I've always been partial to the "Silver" cars of the Burlington.

Those cars were built long before I was born. The new Viewliners will actually be the first named cars I've seen delivered. (I was alive when the Superliner IIs and the first 50 Viewliners were delivered, but was more interested in the names of Thomas the Tank Engine's coaches.)

 

[Ozark Southern]

It might be cool to name cars after rivers and state caps.

I've always been partial to the "Silver" cars of the Burlington.

Several of those have been refurbished and are in service on the Branson Scenic Railway: three dome cars "Silver Island," "Silver Garden," and "Silver Terrace," and a diner "Silver Chef." We rode in the "Silver Terrace" a couple of weeks ago. The locomotive "Silver Charger" and diner "Silver Spoon" are at the St. Louis Museum of Transportation. We saw those this weekend. Beautiful equipment, all of it.