Not affiliated with this in any way, passing it on in hopes it can be saved.

I have no additional info.

FREE to good home! Historic Burlington Northern dining car - has been used as an office. Has heater/airconditioning, beautiful original light fixtures. Would make a great tiny home or guest house. Must be moved by September 30th. Currently located in Bothell. This will not be inexpensive to move. It takes two cranes to lift it and place on a flatbed. We were quoted $20,000.00 to move it from Bothell to Camano Island. Still a great price for a 800 sq ft home!

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/zip/5748847624.html

Seems to be a 52-seat coach, not a diner. Compare the window pattern to "Silver Top." http://rr-fallenflags.org/cbq/fwd-siltop-jpa.jpg

this car is at Country Village shops north of Bothell. I think it came from Andy's Tukwila Station restaurant.

If any group out there would like pictures of the car, PM me and I'll try to make a trip down there and grab some photos for you. I live about 30-50 minutes from the car.

When I saw Green Diamond, I thought of an IC car.

I only know what I read in the ad.

I suspect that it may have been called a "dining car" since it came from Andy's Diner, which was made up of several railcars.

As for the heritage, I don't know any history. "Green Diamond" does sound like IC, and the car may have that heritage. Or it may simply be that they decided to decorate it in that manner and it has no connection whatsoever.

I also have no idea how accurate the claim that it was a BN car is.

A google search found this.

-assuming- the car is one from Andy's Tukwila, it would be one of these cars and could well be a sister to the Silver Top or even that car for all I know.


The streamline-style cars for auction include two observation cars from the Great Northern line's Empire Builder, three passenger cars from the Burlington Northern Railroad and its predecessor, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy line, and two cabooses.

The stainless car in question is CB&Q #342. It seems 2 doors were cut in on one side, and one door on the other. Unless this is a rare car worthy of preservation, it might be a good parts source or configured to another diner.

The rear of the shopping mall appears slated for development. Up in front I was able to see a BN green streamlined coach (either Q or NP), an SP&S bay window caboose, and GN caboose X549. Both cabeese are wooden. My search was brief so I may have missed something, but I think I saw all corners of the property that were open.

And a Google search for that car number brings up a thread on this forum, viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35609&start=15, which indicates the car is none other than "Silver Top", as shown in the earlier photo.

Aw, geez...
I can tell you what happened here:

-Owner tried to sell, nobody gave a good offer.
-Repeated with lower prices.
-Potential buyers realized how much it'd cost to move, then balked.
-Now, days from the cutoff, it's now free to anyone who can move it.

Anyone wanna guess what'll happen next? Cue up the sound of the tractors and blowtorches, people!

Is there an update on this car?

Also, is there someone who can advise on local moving resources? I had an acquaintance from Washington State contact me to inquire about how to relocate this car. I have no resources in the Pacific Northwest so I'd rather refer them to someone local.

Here are a couple local leads.

Historic Railway Restoration moved our caboose for us about 10 years ago.
http://www.historicrailway.com

Haven't used this company (not yet, at least), but they seem to have experience moving big stuff.
http://www.nelsontrucking.com/Nelson/Home.html

Paul

Paul Krueger
President
Cascade Rail Foundation
South Cle Elum, WA

While I haven't moved any railcars with them, I can vouch for Nelson Trucking, they've been in business a long time and know their stuff. As noted, big items are nothing new to them.

Another suggestion, contact the LeMay Museum in Spanaway and ask them about who handled the move of the dining car from the Tacoma Tideflats.

Here's a link to their website. Please not that there are TWO LeMay musuems, this is "LeMay Family Collection" at Marymount.

http://www.lemaymarymount.org/

Well, before lining up shipping, I'm wondering if someone has already claimed the car. The guy that was interested has been trying to contact someone but the owner is non-responsive. Makes me wonder if someone already worked out a deal.

The guy I am talking to would be interested in using the car as a vacation house, which wouldn't necessarily return the car to operating condition but would prevent it from getting scrapped.

Sorry to hear the owner is not responding. I'm not involved at all, so I can't be of any help there.

I suspect the $20,000 quote he mentioned would be a decent ballpark, since much of the cost involved is the cranes for unloading and loading etc. Obviously the distance you travel and what road you're using matters too, but that would at least give you the basic idea that unless you're creative, you're looking at a significant bill. On the other hand, an alternative approach, such as jacking up the car and then backing the truck under it could possibly result in some savings.