When did these disappear on passenger trains? Was it when Amtrak took over?
I may be mistaken, but I think Amtrak may have used them on some trains in the early 70’s.
Kevin
Hello Will,
I think the answer to your question depends on particular railroads and where you saw them. The only passenger train tail signs I regularly saw at New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal in the 1960s were those built into observation cars, as on the Panama Limited and the City of New Orleans (Illinois Central). There was also a neon sign on the tail-end sleeper (not an observation car) of the Sunset Limited (Southern Pacific), although I think that disappeared some time in the early 1960s.When we did see a classic drumhead sign at NOUPT, it was usually for a tour group or on a private (not business) car. On the other hand, I believe that the Santa Fe used them on the Super Chief/El Capitan until very late, if not right up to May 1, 1971 (Amtrak Day).
So long.
Andy
Hi Will - Agree with Andy’s comment that it very much depends on the particular train/car in the Amtrak era. At least one of the ex-SCL (nee-SAL) 3340-series observations that was rehabbed by Amtrak had a backlit Amtrak logo tailsign on it and I saw this in use on the SP Coast Line in late August 1972. Other cars from that same series (as used out of Chicago on the “City of New Orleans”, etc.) did not have the Amtrak logo tailsign. Similarly, some of the ex-BN (nee-CB&Q) observations (“Denver Zephyr”-style cars) used out of Chicago also got Amtrak logo tailsigns installed either side of the train door. By contrast, I do not recall seeing tailsigns in use on any of the ex-BN (nee-GN) observations in the Amtrak era. Hope this helps! Art