From June overhauls ceased for Heritage cars and most, if not all, will be retired as they become due for overhaul or heavy repair.
Still operating out there in the Heritage Series are about 20 crew Dorm-Lounges (converted 10-6 sleepers), about the same number of Diners, and well over 150 Baggage cars of various models and styles. These come from the many predecessor roads to Amtrak, with the oldest cars dating from the late 1940s, and the more recent models new from the middle 1960s. This is the last vestige of postwar passenger railroading available to the public in this country. Of course, we still have some of Via Rail's great trains with solid Heritage consists, and trains such as the American Orient Express. But not much time is left on Amtrak.
Originally, every Amtrak car was from the Heritage fleet. Coaches, baggage cars, diners, parlor cars, dome cars, sleepers of every design, even some round and square end tail cars. They were slowly thinned as new equipment - the various Amfleet orders, Horizon cars, and Superliners took over portions or entire consists. The coaches all saw the ax in the late 1990s as many were turned into mail and baggage cars. The last Heritage sleepers also disappeared at the same time, many becoming the Dorm Lounges we see today. The Dome cars, tail cars, parlor and lounge cars, and many slumbercoaches have been gone for about a decade, some longer.
Where can one still find Heritage Equipment out there?
Some trains still run with multiple heritage cars, and they may not even be too far away!
Lake Shore Limited, which operates from New York to Chicago on the former NYC just south of the Michigan Line, generally operates with one each: Baggage, Diner, and Dorm Lounge. Occassionally, you can see two baggage cars or two dorm lounge cars.
Crescent, New York to New Orleans - similar to the Lake Shore, it normally operates with one car of each type, occassionally two baggage cars.
Silver Star, Silver Meteor - New York to Florida, like the others, these trains operate with full service diners as well as crew dorm cars, and have baggage service as well.
Any other train offering checked baggage service (all long distance trains plus some shorter distance trains except the Hiawathas, which use NPCUs) have at least one baggage car in consist.
It is unclear if this end to major maintenance projects includes the few Heritage series ex ATSF bi-level El Capitan cars out there in service, or the single level full dome in service on the west coast. Hi Level coaches are the norm on the Heartland Flyer, and Pacific Parlour cars are the highest in first class comfort on the Coast Starlight. The full dome operates on one singlelevel trainset along the Pacific Surfliner corridor in California. It is also unclear if this news is about all the single level Heritage cars, or if baggage cars are excluded. During late 2003 for sure, Beech Grove was in the midst of a major rebuild project of the 1100 and 1200 series Baggage cars.
Below are some photos of the remaining representitive classes of Heritage cars on the roster, Diner, dorm lounge, and both general types of Baggage cars.
