PACIFIC SANDS was delivered to the Union Pacific
Railroad in April of 1950. Part
of a total of 50 Pacific Series sleeper cars delivered by the Budd
Company that year, the Pullman Company and Union Pacific had high hopes
for the future expansion of rail travel by re-equipping the "City" trains
with sleek, modern stainless steel cars. The early fifties was the high point of the showdown between the
train, automobile and airplane, and UP, Pullman and other railroads were
coming out fighting!
Half of the Pacific fleet was delivered in
the famous two-tone gray Overland paint scheme, the other half in Union
Pacific’s Armor Yellow, Gray and red Streamliner colors. By 1953, all of the cars had been repainted to yellow.
PACIFIC SANDS first operated by the Pullman
Company until the late 60's, when the Pullman Company was dissolved and
operation of the cars were taken over by the Union Pacific Railroad. PACIFIC SANDS was a regular on all of the “City” trains - the
City of Portland, City of Los Angeles and City of San Francisco among
others, and provided classic Pullman service in its 6 double bedrooms
and 10 single roomettes until Amtrak’s formation on April 1, 1971.
The Pacific car fleet was one of Amtrak’s best
sleeper fleet in the 70’s and 80’s mostly due the excellent maintenance
provided by its previous owner.
PACIFIC SANDS lived through the purple and orange
interior decor of 70’s, and was redecorated to it’s current interior
in the late 80’s. During
the 25 years of Amtrak service, all of the Pacific cars were scattered through out the country
in various Amtrak trains, but most, including Pacific Sands, finished
their service with Amtrak on the East coast routes, including Autotrain,
as the West Coast
routes were re-equipped with Superliners. A few Pacific cars still serve Amtrak as crew dorm cars.
PACIFIC SANDS was rescued into private ownership in
1996, after 46 years of railroad service. The exterior has been beautifully restored and polished to a
partial Pullman / Union Pacific paint scheme by Pacific Sand's first private owner. It has also been mechanically upgraded to all current Amtrak and
FRA safety standards. Pullman
Adventures acquired the car in 2003, and is
currently restoring the interior of the car to its glory days of the
1950’s while adding modern travel conveniences.
|
