| Built in 1954 by Budd in Lot #9646-129 as AT&SF full dome #506, with 57 coach seats and 18 lounge seats in the dome; and a 28 seat lounge and nurse's room on the lower level. The #506 was 1 of 8 such full domes (#506-#513) built in that Lot, which was ordered in September 1952; cars were delivered between January and March 1954. In 1971, these cars were not acquired by Amtrak, as Santa Fe's asking price was too high. Instead, 7 of the 8 cars were sold to the Auto Train Corporation as #520-#524 and #540-#541, #511 as #523, with 51 coach seats in the dome and a 28 seat club lounge in the lower level. AT&SF retained #506, which was renumbered in 1974 to #60, and is now BNSF #31 BAY VIEW. For more info, see Phil Dohmen's website: http://www.trainweb.org/web_lurker/WebLurkersDOMEmain/. EXIF: 9:51 PM, f/2.7 @ 1/8 |