A couple of weeks ago I rode the Niles Canyon Railway's special train re-introducing KM SP 9010. Passengers were accommodated in the restored SP articulated chair car 2473/4.

Although the spotlight was on the KM and its amazing restoration, we should not overlook the restored chair car. I was impressed by the quality of the restoration. Somehow, it has managed to keep the interior intact and it has been restored to its 1960s appearance.

With the 9010 plus two Black Widows, NCRY is well positioned to recreate the SP travel experience of 50 years ago.

I know where there is a circa 1970 microwave oven if they want to recreate one of the automat cars!

And someday the triple articulated club car "Cascade Club" will join it.
The big question is should the Cascade Club be restored in the two tone gray Lark paint scheme or into the silver with red stripe scheme like the articulated chair car was restored.

Looks like it was silver and red at some point (RJ Zenk photo):

The Southern Pacific changed over to the Silver and Red scheme in 1958. This duplicated the appearance of the Budd stainless steel "Sunset Limited" cars. This uniform scheme replaced the "Daylight" red and orange for daytime trains and the two-tone gray for overnight trains. The only exception to this paint scheme were the cars assigned to the City of San Francisco; these were painted to match the UP cars

So you should expect the car would be silver and red.

If it were me, I'd restore Cascade Club to match the exterior of 2473/4 so NCRy would have a matching train.

But the important thing is that they will be able to re-create an experience. There are not too many places that can do this.

Satisfy at least two groups-paint the North side in one color and the South side in another.

Restoration of Articulated chair car S.P. 2473 - S.P. 2474 could be a whole magazine article. Here are some of the major tasks done:

- Repair corrosion damage at roof edges, where roof is attached to the walls... lots of new steel.

- Remove seats, rebuild seatframes, replace all foam cushions (they were crunchy and disintegrating) and upholstery.

- Interior paint was hanging down from the ceiling like stalactites in a cave. Scrape, sand, and strip paint off interior walls and ceiling, being careful not to chew up the aluminum surface underneath. Prime, surface, sand, and paint. Topcoat colors were matched to original S.P. color drift control cards.

- Polish fluted aluminum interior accent strips (essential to that prewar Art Deco look).

- Remove Waukesha "Ice Engine" (air conditioning compressor + 4-cylinder propane-powered engine) and "Enginator (32VDC generator + 4-cylinder propane-powered engine). Install new Stadco diesel-powered 240VAC generator in Waukesha roll-out Enginator frame. Install new electrically-driven air conditioning compressor in Waukesha roll-out Ice Engine frame. Cover A/C compressor with Ice Engine front panel for historically correct exterior appearance.

- Install blackwater holding tank and ultra-low-flow flush toilet.

- Replace failing fluorescent light ballasts.

- And many more!

Doug Debs

Now that's a cool idea. Too bad most cars with Waukesha a/c don't also have an Enginator, but perhaps a modern electric a/c condenser would fit behind the standard Waukesha three bottle gas locker.