| 68 seat coach, built by P-S in 1950 in Lot #6878 to Plan #4109A as 2DB-1DR sleeper-29 seat lounge observation #1197 PRIEST RIVER, initially assigned to the 1951 WESTERN STAR with the 5 other cars of this layout that were built in 1947 for the EMPIRE BUILDER; these 6 cars were reassigned to the EMPIRE BUILDER in 1955 and rebuilt to 6RM-4DB-1DR sleeper-9 seat lounge observation (Plan #4109K) and renamed to the COULEE-series; the PRIEST RIVER became GRAND COULEE. 5 of the cars, including #1197, were rebuilt in 1967 to flat-ended 68 seat coaches #1300-#1304, and were planned to become BN #6801-#6805, and were sold to Amtrak in 1971 with those same numbers. The #1304/#6805 was later leased to the MTA, and was subsequently retired and sold to Howard & Peggy Thornton, and is now in the collection of the Oklahoma Railway Museum as the MISTLETOE II. Scanned with an Epson V550 from an original Kodachrome 35mm slide. Exact date is approximate. |