Passenger train smells

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

Does anyone out there remember the distinct smell inside pre-Amtrak passenger trains? I am referring to the pleasant distinct odor that you could smell as you walked from car to car, but especially when you entered the swaying and bouncing area between cars on the platform vestibule.

I rode on Union Pacific’s “City of Los Angeles” when my family moved out west to California from Georgia in 1959 and first noticed this smell then. I was only 9 at the time, but the best way for me to descibe it was a mixture of diesel fuel, cigar, pipe and cigarette smoke (more people smoked back then) and what I can only descibe as “metalic” and fabric odors mixed in as well (maybe from the seats?)

In college I rode the “San Diegan” several times to visit my parents and it also contained these same odors that brought back memories of that first train ride.

Later, as a man in my early 30’s, I took the Amtrak “Zephyr” one summer from Oakland to Denver with my parents. Alas, the smell I had remembered on that UP “Domeliner” and San Diegan was not there anymore. I have been on several trains since and I can not find that “smell”.

Our brains can recall sounds, sights, and odors from the time we are very young all through our adult life. I would love to “smell” that smell again as it reminds me of a time long ago and my love for trains.

If anyone knows what I am talking about, please let me know what you remember and/or what you think this smell consisted of.

2

The big difference pre and post-Amtrak was the change from steam lines for heat and air conditioning to head end electrical power. The steam in the line picked up the odors of the lubricating oil on the various parts of the boiler and line and this probably is what you recall. There were also generators, batteries, and in some cases gasoline (Waukesha) engines under the old steam heated cars, which were no longer needed when head end power was adopted.

3

That’s interesting, Greg. But I’m surprised that by 1959 trains were not using head end electrical. As I stated, I took the City of Los Angeles in 1959, in fairly modern cars made by ACF. When did trains change from steam lines to electrical power? If that is the case, you are most likely correct in that what I remember was oils and a variety of other smells from those steam lines that together created a distinct odor thoughout the train. Thanks for any other information.

4

Actually, the change from steam lines to head end power did not BEGIN until the mid-1970’s, when Amtrak started to buy Superliners and Amfleet cars to replace what they euphemistically called their “heritage” fleet.