| Built in 1950 by Budd in Lot #9660-039 to Plan #9522 as UP 10RM-6DB sleeper PACIFIC PLATEAU, 1 of 50 PACIFIC-series cars built in that Lot, which was ordered in February 1948; cars were delivered between December 1949 and June 1950. Besides PACIFIC EMPIRE, which was wrecked in 1951, the other 49 cars were assigned #14xx-series numbers in 1969, the PACIFIC PLATEAU was assigned #1433, which was applied in March 1970. 5 cars were sold to the Milwaukee Road in 1969, 1 car was retained by UP, and the other 43 cars were sold to Amtrak in 1971 as #2600-#2642, PACIFIC PLATEAU as #2626. Besides 3 which were wrecked during Amtraks first decade, the remaining 40 cars were converted to HEP in 3 batches, the 3rd group of 12 cars were converted in 1980-1981 (with 1 roomette combined with the porters room as an ADA room), including PACIFIC PLATEAU, which was converted to HEP #2434 in October 1980. In 2001, the PACIFIC PLATEAU was sold to Illinois Transit Assembly (ITAX), and it was later resold to STI-Global for conversion to a rail analyzer car; this conversion was completed in 2011, with the name MICHAEL D. HARDING applied. It has since been resold to NXGEN Rail; both STI and NXGEN have leased the car to BNSF. EXIF: 6:06 PM, f/3.9 @ 1/5, ISO-800 |