Passenger Trains > Disaster City Texas Amtrak cars

I sounds like there's a place operated by Texas A&M University 
called Disaster City where they do training simulations for accidents.
It looks like they have both coaches and sleeping cars. Does anyone 
know the history of this equipment?

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It's all retired Amtrak equipment that A&M has picked up over a span of 20 years. Most of it was at Beech Grove before heading to College Station.

still hate to see it go, also a couple of cars for training in mississippi and an f40

The hi-level car is obviously ex-ATSF.  I recognize at least two SP Sunset Limited cars.  Someone may have selected these cars based upon a Texas connection.

Coupled to the Hi-Level car is Amtrak 596, one of only a handful of round-cab CF7's known to survive (ex-ATSF 2588).

The HiLevel is a transition type coach Amtrak converted into a dorm. It has the smaller windows in the dorm end that Amtrak added after a fire that, if I recall, a crew member lost his life in. The fixed upper berth prevented the emergency window from being removed. The smaller window cleared the berth frame.
SR

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/22 06:44 by BoilingMan.

rgzfan Wrote:
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> What a waste of a transition car!

At least it still has people going in and out of it regularly, which is more than can be said about most of them!

DevalDragon Wrote:
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> rgzfan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > What a waste of a transition car!
>
> At least it still has people going in and out of
> it regularly, which is more than can be said about
> most of them!

?
These are all long gone from Amtrak.
SR

Posted from iPhone

BoilingMan Wrote:
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> DevalDragon Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > rgzfan Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > What a waste of a transition car!
> >
> > At least it still has people going in and out
> of
> > it regularly, which is more than can be said
> about
> > most of them!
>
> ?
> These are all long gone from Amtrak.

Correct. And most are now  locked behind fences inaccessible to the public. This one, on the other hand, is on display and easy to photograph! And it's still providing service to the public.

Per the Winter 2021 issue of the R&LHS quarterly newsletter there is a listing of the equipment.  I am typing it verbatim but abbreviating a couple of items.

1.  Former Amtrak CF7 596 (built by EMD in 1953 as Santa Fe freight F7 273C and later rebuilt into a road switcher, ATSF 2588)
2.  Former Amtrak RS-3 unit 107, built by Alco in 1951 for New York Central as NYC 8282
3.  Ex. Santa Fe high-level transition coach-dormitory car 39910 (built 1956 for the El Capitan)
4.  Former Southern Pacific 10-6 sleeper Orange Gvrove No 2452 (built 1950 for the Sunset Limited)
5.  Former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 50-seat coach Silver Blanket (built 1956 for the Denver Zephyr), later converted to a buffet car, Amtrak 8715).

Elizabeth