Nostalgia & History > Sleeper Saturday: Lake Gentry, Lake Florence & Lake George

Continuing this series of slides taken in the early 60's by Dick Kuelbs, this time of three Plan #3585 10 section-1 drawing room-2 compartment (10S-1DR-2C) cars.

1) Plan #3585A Lake Gentry, in Dallas, on Saturday, May 18th, 1963.  Built in Lot #4817 in October 1924 for assignment to the North Coast Limited, later assigned to the PRR, IC, CB&Q, and ACL, retained by Pullman at the 12/31/1948 divestiture, repainted to Two-Tone Gray (TTG) as seen here in October 1954, retired in October 1964 and sold for scrap.

2) Plan #3585A/K Lake Florence, in New Orleans, on Sunday, March 22nd, 1964.  Built in Lot #4888 in July 1925 for assignment to the 20th Century Limited, retained by Pullman at the 12/31/1948 divestiture, repainted to TTG as seen here in December 1953, retired in February 1966 and sold for scrap.

3) Plan #3585 Lake George, in Dallas, on Saturday, September 12th, 1964.  Built in Lot #4725 in September 1923 for assignment to the Floridan, later assigned to the IC, PM, and C&EI, retained by Pullman at the 12/31/1948 divestiture, repainted to TTG as seen here in November 1954, retired in March 1966 and sold for scrap.

Here's a link to the previous post in this series, of Clover Harvest and Clover Woods: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,6124711

Here's a link to the following post in this series, of Lariat Range, Lancaster Club, and Zephyr Tower: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,6130612

Addendum:

Last week, "fulham" asked the following:

"Was wondering what kind of shape these cars were in during the late 1950's, early 1960's?  My understanding was that Pullman always kept its cars in good shape but given the age of the heavyweights, did the AC and electrical systems work?  Were the cars clean inside or rundown?  Also, as regular passenger trains began to be discontinued and newer sleepers entered the general pool, where were these old cars used?  Specials, troop trains, seasonal service?"

So here's an answer:

I can well imagine that as the heavyweight fleet continued to age, that Pullman would have dealt with more and more of a challenge with maintenance, but that they would have met this with any and all efforts that could be put forth to maintain the equipment to (at the very least) a basic level of functionality.  However, eventually parts supply and expenditure would have started to weigh heavily on the scales, which is why so many of said cars started to be retired in large numbers, not just due to the falling traffic levels.

And, as to how clean the cars were on the inside, porters and other staff would have taken the same procedural approach to maintaining cleanliness for their passengers as they would with the newer lightweights.  And as articles on the subject can attest, Pullman was dedicated to making sure that there was more than a good supply of blankets, linens, pillows, etc. available for any and all cars.

As for where and how the heavyweight fleet was used in the later years, yes, you are correct in that the cars were used for a lot of secondary services.  Seasonal and holiday traffic, extra demand, substitutions, group charters and excursions (including vacation/tour groups, steam trips, historic chapters/railfan clubs, etc.), Boy Scout jamborees, conventions (Shriners, etc.), military/troop (MAIN) moves, etc.

Sources:

1. "The Complete Roster of Heavyweight Pullman Cars" by Robert J. Wayner (Wayner Publications, 1985)

2. "Passenger Car Catalog: Pullman Operated Equipment, 1912-1949" by William W. Kratville (Kratville Publications, 1968)

3. Tom Madden's Pullman Project CCR database: http://pullmanproject.com/Database.htm

4. Tom Madden's Pullman Project AC assignments (1937-1943) database.

5. "Railway Prototype Cyclopedia Vol. 33: Pullman Heavyweight Sleepers, Part IV: The Color Photographs by Dick Kuelbs"
(RP CYC Publishing Co., 2016)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/26 15:44 by Rainier_Rails.

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Thanks for the information.  Very interesting.

Only wish I had a chance to ride one of those cars in their heyday!

Another great trio of good looking cars.

Posted from Android

wondering if many were stored in relatively mild texas 

Another great heavyweight Pullman set !
Thanks for all the detailed info on your posts.
Gary