Is there anyone in your organization who is familiar with the disposition of the Pullman car "Clearview" which was once on the tracks of the Trilby, San Antonio & Cypress RR and probably at the depot. This car was listed on page 17 of the Private Passenger Car Annual 1980 under the Trilby listing (26 seat, one drawing room) .

This car was supposedly part of the Royal American Shows train out of Tampa at one time. I'm trying to find out the Royal American Shows car # painted on the outside of the car, when it came to Trilby, when it was disposed of (sold, exchanged, trades, etc.) and where it went to. Does anyone have photos of this car?

I'm also looking for information on three ACL cars which also served on the Royal American Shows train. I've read that they were purchased by Royal American in the 1960's. One of the ACL cars #'s was 1116. I don't know the other two. ACL car # 1116 is currently at the Florida Gold Coast Railroad Museum. The other two are now serving on the James E. Strates Shows train. Their numbers on the Strates Shows are 4 and 52.

On the Royal American Shows train these ACL cars were numbered 58, 59, and 85. Does anyone know specifically when these three cars were sold to Royal American Shows, who RAS acquired them from, and the ACL car #'s for the other two cars.

Go to www.fgcrrm.org/equipment.html to see a photo of ACL car # 1116.

Thanks for your help!

Fred Heatley

-- Fred Heatley (fheatley@backroads.net), December 25, 2002

Answers

I guess I made somewhat of a fool of myself. In my mind, I was thinking that you were referring to car 1131-not 1116. Larry Goolsby gently reminded me. Car 1116 is of course, a regular Bethlehem built car. Sometimes too much knowledge is a handicap!

-- Michael W. Savchak (Savchak@mnr.org), January 02, 2003.

The "Clearview" was built in May 1912 as a 26 seat one drawing room parlor car under Plan 2416 Lot 3986. Apparently this car was sold to a private owner sometime before 1950 as it does not appear in the 1950 Pullman list of cars.

Pullman sold a good part of its Parlor car fleet in 1942 to several railroads for conversion to coaches. It is possible that this car was sold to a private owner at that time, however, in view of the wartime need for equipment, it would be more realistic if the car was either sold before 1942 or around 1948 when the Pullman Company cleaned house.

-- Michael W. Savchak (Savchak@mnr.org), December 30, 2002.

Fred: One correction-the K-100 was originally built with a small dormitory section. This was enlarged in 1937 to sleep 15-originally the car had six sections for 12.

-- Michael W. Savchak (Savchak@mnr.org), December 26, 2002.

Fred: Car 1116 was originally built in 1928 as Pullman "K-100" as a baggage- kitchen car for private moves in conjunction with Pullman dining car D-100. In 1937 the car was rebuilt with a dormitory section, the kitchen was re-modeled and the car was named "Donner Lake" for use on the deluxe extra fare "Forty-niner" between Chicago and San Francisco. The car ran in this five days per week service from July 8, 1937 until July 27, 1941. The train was headed by streamlined steam locomotives. In 1942, the car was converted by Pullman to a coach and was sold to the Atlantic Coast line as coach 1116. It was not built by Bethlehem Steel Co. in 1938 as the museum web site says. the car is much more exotic than that!

I have photos of the car in its prior existance. They can be found in Kratville's Union Pacific Streamliners book.

-- Michael W. Savchak (Savchak@mnr.org), December 26, 2002.