| From right to left, these 3 cars are the DLMX #5659 GORDON N. ZIMMERMAN, PNWC #6800 RED RIVER, and NRM #2955 JAMES J. GILMORE. DLMX #5659 was built in 1954 by AC&F in Lot #4094 as UP baggage-messenger #5659, 1 of 25 such cars (#5639-#5663) built in that Lot, which was ordered in November 1952; cars were delivered between August 1953 and May 1954. This Lot was part of a 90 car order placed by UP in November 1952; this order also included 30 chairs and 35 domes. In addition, 8 cars of this type (#5631-#5638) were built in Lot #3810, which was ordered in May 1951; these 8 cars were delivered at the same time as the Lot #4094 cars, for a total of 33. Also, C&NW owned 2 cars of this type (#8900 and #8901) which were built in Lot #3842 for the Overland Pool; the Lot was ordered in August 1951 and the 2 cars were delivered in October 1953. The 33 UP cars were reassigned to express freight service in April 1969 with #244xx-series numbers, the #5659 as #24427. Besides 1 car which was wrecked in September 1969, these cars were again reassigned in 1970 as MofW tool cars; the #24427 was renumbered to #904227 in March of that year. The #904227 was retired and sold in July 1997 to the Friends of the 4449 as DLMX #5659 with the name BETTER IDEA. In 2003, the car was repainted in SP DAYLIGHT colors and renamed GORDON N. ZIMMERMAN. PNWC #6800 RED RIVER was built in 1950 by AC&F in Lot #3125 as GN 9 seat lunch counter-12 seat dinette-20 seat parlor observation #1147 RED RIVER; the car was ordered in July 1946 for the St. Paul-Grand Forks RED RIVER and delivered in May 1950. In 1953, the number of parlor seats was reduced from 20 to 16. In 1963, the car was rebuilt to a 68 seat coach (as #1147), with the name RED RIVER removed and the end squared off with a second diaphragm. The #1147 was repainted and renumbered as BN #6800 before being sold to Amtrak in 1971, retaining the BN number. The #6800 was retired in November 1977 and sold in 1978 to the Southern California Passenger Corporation in Santa Barbara. Great Western Tours acquired the car in 1980 as GWT #568, and it was later repainted in SP DAYLIGHT colors for use with the SP #4449 on the 1984 WORLD’S FAIR DAYLIGHT to New Orleans. The Pacific Northwest Chapter NRHS acquired the car from GWT in April 1986. NRM #2955 JAMES J. GILMORE was built in 1941 by P-S in Lot #6638 to Plan #7419A as SP 19 seat lounge 22 seat parlor observation #2955, 1 of 2 such cars (#2954 and #2955) built in that Lot for the COAST DAYLIGHT; the Lot was ordered in August 1940 and the 2 cars were delivered in July 1941. In 1963, the #2955 was rebuilt to 72 seat coach #2297, but unlike GN #1147 RED RIVER, the observation end remained unchanged. In 1971, the #2297 was sold to the Stockton Terminal & Eastern RR, and was later acquired by ORHF Vice President Ed Immel as NRM #2955. NRM is the reporting mark for Immel’s Northwest Rail Museum, which is not in any way related to the Northwest Railway Museum of Snoqualmie, WA. EXIF: 2:46 PM, f/2.7 @ 1/250 |