STEARNS, Ky. — A restoration shop in Kentucky is branching out to produce new open-air passenger cars for tourist lines.

Crossroads Railcar Services, which refurbishes passenger cars in the former Kentucky & Tennessee Railway steam shop in Stearns, Ky., has begun construction on the prototype for what is planned to be a full line of all-steel, open air passenger cars designed specifically for use on tourist and scenic railroads.

The cars, dubbed the Crossroads Thoroughbred Line, will feature many aspects of standard heavyweight or streamlined passenger equipment, blended with the design elements of the type of cars tourist lines have traditionally constructed out of old freight car frames. The Thoroughbred name for the line of cars is in honor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s long history with horse racing.

Steven Richards, president of Crossroads, has been working on the design for more than four years. “I started noticing that a lot of small scenic railroads were limited to small cars. They were using old freight car chassis and building bodies on them. This limits them on what type of event they can have, which limits their revenue, so I started designing an open air passenger car that is for scenic railroads.”

The cars will feature diaphragmed crossovers, making them compatible with standard passenger equipment; LED Emergency Lighting; and 480 or 240 Volt electrical, depending on the buyer’s power needs. The car roofs will also have options, with each individual road being able to choose between a stainless steel roof cover, or a standard steel roof painted to their liking.

The cars will also feature a brand new seat design. “We designed our own crossover seats that have a very special locking feature to keep the seat back locked,” Richards says.

While they are designed to look historic, the cars will meet all the latest FRA standards. They are designed to be lightweight enough to ship by tractor trailer, but will also fit all the interchange standards to allow them to be shipped by rail to the buyer. Both a 60-foot 72-seat standard gauge version and a 40-foot 3-foot narrow gauge design will be available. The car empty weighs 78,000 pounds and the base price is $330,000.

The prototype car is set to be completed in 2019, with an official debut and unveiling set for April at a location still to be determined. The prototype car will be named Aristides after the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby. The serial number of the car will also include the year of the first derby, 1875, once again honoring the history of Kentucky in horse racing.

Although the first car is not completed, Richards says the new car design is already drawing interest from tourist lines around the country, including one unnamed road that has expressed interest in purchasing several.

I definitely see a market for new construction passenger cars in a early 1900's style for tourist roads in mild climates that don't want to deal with the headaches of air conditioning on the streamliner cars.