The flagship train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was the service between Chicago and Los Angeles, called the Super Chief. They called it “The Train of the Stars” because of the celebrities who took it, often from New York who took the Twentieth Century to Chicago. This is a shot of the Turquoise Room lounge car. Even though it took a few days to get from coast to coast back then, at least people could do it in style. Look at how the guys are in jackets and ties.
The cars (5 in all #501-505) were known as Pleasure Domes and each had an assigned name, though the Santa Fe never added the names to the outside panel on the cars. The private dining area known as the Turquoise Room was in the short end of each car, and had an retractable accordian wall between the room and the outer corridor (a side hall walkway) so that it could be converted as needed to a general lounge, much like the one under the dome itself. The long part of the car, in the photo here, was the main lounge area. The cars were remodeled in 1957 to add new features like sand pantings and partitions. They were always meant for incorporation into the Super Chief consist. Amtrak shifted them eleswhere later on and finally retired them in 1980. Car 504 was photographed that year passing through Eugene Oregon on the Los Angeles-Seattle Coast Starlight, far from its’ original LA-Chicago runs. It is now in an Arizona railway museum and has undergone restoration, with the name Plaza Taos lettered on the panels.
The flagship train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was the service between Chicago and Los Angeles, called the Super Chief. They called it “The Train of the Stars” because of the celebrities who took it, often from New York who took the Twentieth Century to Chicago. This is a shot of the Turquoise Room lounge car. Even though it took a few days to get from coast to coast back then, at least people could do it in style. Look at how the guys are in jackets and ties.
The cars (5 in all #501-505) were known as Pleasure Domes and each had an assigned name, though the Santa Fe never added the names to the outside panel on the cars. The private dining area known as the Turquoise Room was in the short end of each car, and had an retractable accordian wall between the room and the outer corridor (a side hall walkway) so that it could be converted as needed to a general lounge, much like the one under the dome itself. The long part of the car, in the photo here, was the main lounge area. The cars were remodeled in 1957 to add new features like sand pantings and partitions. They were always meant for incorporation into the Super Chief consist. Amtrak shifted them eleswhere later on and finally retired them in 1980. Car 504 was photographed that year passing through Eugene Oregon on the Los Angeles-Seattle Coast Starlight, far from its’ original LA-Chicago runs. It is now in an Arizona railway museum and has undergone restoration, with the name Plaza Taos lettered on the panels.
Thanks for that info, Al!