Passenger Trains > The First Superliner - 40 Years Later

The first Superliner in service was coach 34000 which was built in 1977 but was not accepted by Amtrak until October of 1978 due to the Pullman Strike at their assembly plant in Hammond Indiana. It was first assigned to the Empire Builder and made its debut run on October 28, 1979. It served for many months on the Builder which was the first regularly scheduled Superliner train. As more trains between equipped with Superliners, this car has meandered all throughout the Amtrak system.

40 years later, it serves as the thru coach on train 422 between Los Angeles and Chicago via the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle, where it is set out and picked up in San Antonio.

I had the privilege of riding and taking photos of this otherwise unremarkable Superliner during out station stop at El Paso on Monday 1/13/20 during my first Amtrak ride of this decade.

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And just who is that fellow with the long furry tail and pointy ears?  The Carman making an inspection?

Hou74-76 Wrote:
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> And just who is that fellow with the long furry
> tail and pointy ears?  The Carman making an
> inspection?

That looks like a "furry". A weird fetish where adults dress up like animals

Hmmmm, A furry? Is that any different than a foamer?  I shall hold my judgments for later...much later.

I remember walking through the first Superliner coach cars in the Fall of 1977 in Chicago.  We wrote down all sorts of observations, corrections, etc.  Then came the Pullman strike.  We sat on our hands for months.  

A furry. Hmmmm.  Imagine coming to TO for information on cutting-edge social trends.......

King_Coal Wrote:
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> A furry. Hmmmm.  Imagine coming to TO for
> information on cutting-edge social trends.......

Trust me, this is NOT "cutting-edge". It's been a thing for a couple decades now.

Nice ! Glad to see it wasn’t wrecked. And I remember how different the interiors were.

Posted from iPhone

At over 40 years of age, that Superliner is far older than any of the equipment inherited by Amtrak when it took over operation of railroad passenger trains. Much of the heritage equipment was built after World War II, which made it less than 25 years old in 1971. Even the oldest pre-war cars were younger than 40 years.

Given that no plans are on the books yet to replace the Superliners, it appears the 50th birthday will come and go in much the same way.

I remember when Pullman was building those first Superliners in Hammond. I went by the plant to see if I could view any of this new equipment, and there were some cars there, as I recall. Earlier, one of my brothers had been taking photos of the cars while he was on public property outside the plant, and got hassled by Pullman security. He did get the photos. 

On one of my Amtrak trips I believe that I may have ridden on 34000. Wasn't there a plaque somewhere on the car commemorating its being the first of the series? 

I guess Pullman did a pretty good job of building the first batch of Superliners if they are still around 40 years later. 
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/20 13:52 by colehour.

A very nice topic and presentation, DuvalDragon.
With a bit of TLC, a few technical adjustments and interior changes, those cars should last another 40 years plus.

In Oct 1980, I tried to take a photo of this New Superliner at the factory, the Security Guard said No, I said I'm a Amtrak employee, are you telling me a Amtrak employee can't take photo's, the Guard made a call and a Female Captain of  Security shows up, she looked at my Photo ID, then asked me to go to the other side of the street.................LOL

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Is the building still there ?

Posted from iPhone

40 years later and it still looks great.

Great topic, stories and photos.  The Superliners, even with Amtrak's questionable maintenance, have held up well and still look great.

Pioneer2526 Wrote:
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> Is the building still there ?

Yes, the old plant is now a Jupiter Aluminum Company facility.  Much of the track is gone but I understand the buildings still have rail imbedded in the concrete floors.  Pullman Standard stopped using the plant in 1982.

PHall Wrote:
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> King_Coal Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > A furry. Hmmmm.  Imagine coming to TO for
> > information on cutting-edge social
> trends.......
>
> Trust me, this is NOT "cutting-edge". It's been a
> thing for a couple decades now.

There is an annual furries convention in Pittsburgh known as Anthrocon.  They must like coming to Pittsburgh as the convention will be held here again this year.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/20 19:24 by RuleG.

RuleG Wrote:
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> PHall Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > King_Coal Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > A furry. Hmmmm.  Imagine coming to TO for
> > > information on cutting-edge social
> > trends.......
> >
> > Trust me, this is NOT "cutting-edge". It's been
> a
> > thing for a couple decades now.
>
> There is an annual furries convention in
> Pittsburgh known as Anthrcon.  They must like
> coming to Pittsburgh as it will be held here again
> this year.

We get them at Comicon in San Diego. They're not universially welcomed.

Something many may not know. The first Superliners lounge cafe’s as they were called had a piano on the lower level next to the bathrooms with booth seating

Posted from iPhone

The inside of the Superliner I Lounges have changed considerably too. They had a very dark brown interior with vinly seats with smoking and movies upstairs. In more recent years, they were rebuilt with a nice white interior to match the Superliner II lounges, with booths on 1/3 of the car and cloth seats. 

The first photo was taken on one of my very first Amtrak rides and the second from my most recent. A big difference even though both photos were taken on nice sunny days. 

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