Hi,
i´ve heard anywhere, that UP´s “City of Los Angeles” had one or two sleepers that were owned by PRR for run through service to New York. For this service, they might be repainted in UP´s armour yellow. Is this correct? Are there any photos of these cars in the web?
Thanks
Supermicha,
The PRR did have some sleepers painted in UP’s streamliner colors. They first ran on “The Los Angeles Limited” and then later on the streamliners. I don’t know how many cars they painted in UP colors but I think they were in PRR “Rapids” series of sleepers. Someone else may be able to give you more information.
Paul
During 1954 PRR’s Stoney Rapids and Tippecanoe Rapids were painted in Union Pacific yellow with gray roof and red pin stripes. By 1957 both were repainted back to PRR Tuscan.
Doc
And this was a pool arrangement, with an occasional UP sleeper showing up at Sunnyside Yard. Generally, if I remember correctly, the through cars to LA were handled on the General and not on the Broadway which kept its all Tuscan Red appearance. Similarly the blue and grey PRR and MP-TP through cars for the Texas Eagle were handled on the Penn Texas (along with cars for the Frisco for a while) and not on the Spirit of Saint Louis. There was one Budd built car in the Rapid series, all of which were six double bedrooms and ten roomettes. The Budd-bult car was Silver Rapids and was intended for the California Zephyr. Much later I rode in the Penn Central’s “Steel Fleet” in New York to Detroit with the car going on toe Chicago via Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo.
I did a little more research and found some more PRR cars painted in Union Pacific yellow. They were:
Buffalo Rapids
Bedford Inn
Coatesville Inn
Samuel Vaughan Merrick
Allegheny County
City Of St. Louis
Imperial Range
Cascade
It seems there might be more but there are few records available. Their UP service was only for a short while and they were repainted to Tuscan.
PRR seemed eager to paint cars since they even painted stainless steel Budd cars, which were built so painting was unnecessary.
Doc
Bedford Inn and Coatesville Inn were 22-roomette cars which were painted Armour Yellow and assigned to the “City of Denver” in Chicago-Denver service as UP’s response to the Slumbercoaches assigned to the re-equipped “Denver Zephyr” in 1956.
About 20? years ago, there were two books published, the first, Classic Trains; the second, More Classic Trains.
One of them had a chapter on Pennsy cars and their paint schemes. I haven’t looked in the books in a number of years but do remember some pictures. Most were in black and white.
Mel Hazen
Jax, FL
The PRR historical society has a book all about PRR passenger cars that is phenomenal. It traces every paint scheme from almost the inception of passenger service. Toward the end the PRR was a great believer in cooperation among the railroads and willingly painted cars in many railroad colors. Among them were cars compatible with : ATSF Chief, UP cities, SP Overland Route, Zephyr, Rock Island Golden State, Mopac Eagles, SLSF MKT Texas Special and Meteor, ACL and SAL Flroida trains, SR to Atlanta and New Orleans. The main reason for failure of the service was the time involved in switching the car into another train in either Chicago or St Louis. Color photos of all these cars are in the book titled “Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger Car Painting and Lettering” by Blardone and Tilp. It is invaluable for detailing PRR cars including all those B60b’s out there.
The transcon sleepers never ran in the City of Los Angeles until 1954, did they? Maybe the City of SF too? So no need for them to be yellow until then.
(I checked the 10/53 Guide-- the City of SF had no transcon sleepers then.)
Dunno about its appearance, but the Broadway and 20th Century both carried transcon sleepers in the early 1950s, for the Chief if nothing else. Probably they shifted to the Super in 1/54.
You may be correct about stainless steel sleepers showing up in the 20th Century and possibly the Broadway, but you might want to check the dates on that. But I am certian I never saw UP Armor Yellow on the Broadway, only on the General on the PRR. (less certain about the Century) YOu might want to check the dates, there may have been a short period where my information is not correct. Also some of the through car lines did not run every day.
Did someone say the Broadway ever carried yellow cars? Far as I can see we’re all agreed it didn’t.