Russell: I have seen a picture of a similar car on another rr. I think it was UP. As I remember, it was a track inspection car. Now, how can you inspect track like that? Not sure. I presume it was to identify track that need work so a team could come back and inspect it more carefully. If this is so, then I expect it was a high rr official's method of inspecting track. Then again, maybe it is not that, at all.
Russell, Flash got it. Rail inspection car it is. Looks like the one that was tail end of 3751's Santa Fe death march from LA to Chicago in 1992. Alan, the seats are tiered and that gave the car another "nickname" which in my senility I can't remember. Theatre? Grandstand? Bleachers? And of course it was for the brass. They wouldn't be out there walking the track to inspect it, now, would they?
That car is the William Barstow Strong #89. Here is what it looked like before it was rebuilt in 1990.
What kind of useful information could be gleaned from a ride in one of these other than a general overview of the property? Someone on the ground or at least a high rail truck would be able to do a more thorough inspection. Maybe they would make sense for entertaining customers and potential customers or show developers prospective sights with rail access.
I certainly agree, Russ. Maybe it is for ROW in general, too. Like cut the weeds, put a crossing gate here, fix that roadway, close that access road, paint the bridge, put a big Santa Fe sign right there, etc.
It's an inspection (aka Theater) car for use on business trains. The seats are tiered to allow the riders an unobstructed view of the track they've just run over. I don't think it's run to gather hard data on track conditions; it's there to give the top brass and invited guests (read: shippers) a neat way to look over the railroad. Much better view of the ROW than a typical tail-end obs car, and a lot more comfortable.
I believe I read in Trains Mag years ago that it was used more for marketing than for anything else, i.e. exposing potential shippers to possible routes. Sure beats wining and dining potential shippers in a hotel room. It gets them out of the office for a couple of days....and on a TRAIN!!!!!
I think I have pics somewhere of a similar car on Norfolk Southern, except the NS car had all kinds of equipment under it and was called a track geometry car? Harold
They are used for showing potential customers the wonders of the RR company. And also even used to familiarize/train employees about their own company. As so many come out of college these days, and have no clue as to what a RR is.... Boxcab E50
