Business Cars
Arden
The Arden was built in 1950 by Pullman Standard as coach No. 5449. It was rebuilt in 1952 to the business car Arden without ever seeing regular passenger service. The car was designed for the use of E. Roland Harriman, Chairman of the Board of Union Pacific from 1946-1969.
When Edward Henry Harriman had a business car constructed for his use in 1899, he named it Arden, after his estate on the Hudson River in New York. That car remained in service until 1940, when it was retired and scrapped.
The vision and standards that Edward Harriman had when he oversaw the rebuilding of Union Pacific after bankruptcy, have been maintained to this day. After inspecting the line, Harriman began a complete overhaul of the existing line including a second mainline. The final link in a complete double track from Omaha, Nebraska to Ogden, Utah, was completed in 1949 when the Aspen tunnel in western Wyoming was finished. Harriman also had engineers examine ways to shorten the route, but still only 35 miles were deleted from the original line laid out in 1864. Part of that came at Omaha, where an 8-mile cut-off was built, first using a timber trestle over 100 feet tall and then filling in with earth.
Harriman died in 1909 and was succeeded by his son Averell, who held the chairmanship until 1946; although in practice, Averell had Roland filling in for him as early as 1940.
The success of Union Pacific in the 20th Century owes a lot to the Harriman family. It held up through two World Wars and a depression and has never missed a dividend.
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne was built by Pullman Standard in 1956 as a 5-bedroom lounge car, the Baker. This car had a redwood-paneled lounge. Each bedroom had a sink and toilet, along with upper and lower berths. It was rebuilt as business car No. 102 in 1965, and named the Cheyenne in 1989.
Cheyenne, Wyoming, was surveyed and platted by Union Pacific in 1867. It was the end of track that winter and was named by Grenville Dodge for the Cheyenne tribe.
The railroad built a large locomotive and rail car shop complex at Cheyenne, which is at the eastern base of Sherman Hill, whose summit is the highest point on UP's main line. Because of the steep grades of Sherman Hill, it was necessary to add helper locomotives to passenger and freight trains. The extra engines would help the high-speed or high-tonnage trains over the crest, then cut off and move back down to Cheyenne for another train. At the zenith of steam locomotive operations, Cheyenne had the largest roundhouse on the Union Pacific system, making almost a complete circle. It was home to the largest steam locomotives ever built, the 4-8-8-4 “Big Boys.”
Union Pacific's heritage steam operations still are maintained at Cheyenne in a portion of that same roundhouse.
Feather River
The Feather River was built by Pullman Standard as a 5-bedroom lounge car, the Boise, in 1956. In 1963, this car was converted to business car No. 114.
El Rio de las Plumas (Feather River), so named by Don Luis Arguello in 1820, created a magnificent canyon through the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern California. When the Western Pacific Railroad constructed its line from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Oakland, California, in 1905, it chose the Feather River route.
Passengers riding the Royal Gorge, a train operated by Missouri Pacific, Denver & Rio Grande and Western Pacific, were treated to this breath-taking scenery. Stopover arrangements could be made at the Feather River Inn, a charming, rustic hotel that offered hiking and horseback riding through the beautiful trees and wildflowers. After World War II, the Royal Gorge was replaced by the California Zephyr, a vista-dome train that made the canyon famous.
Kenefick
The Kenefick was built by Pullman in 1950 as coach #5446. It was rebuilt to business car #99 in 1963. It was named the Kenefick in 1988.
John Cooper Kenefick was born in Buffalo, New York in 1921. After graduating from Princeton and a stint in the Navy, he moved to Omaha where he began working for Union Pacific.
By 1952, he was a trainmaster at Salina, Kansas. He left the Union Pacific that year for a job with Denver & Rio Grande, staying until 1954. From there he worked for the New York Central becoming vice president of operations in 1966.
In 1968 he moved to the Penn Central and then to Union Pacific, returning as vice president of operations. Kenefick replaced cronyism with promotion by merit. In 1971, he was made president, a position he held until 1983, when he was made chairman of the new Union Pacific System created by the mergers with Missouri Pacific and Western Pacific. By then he had long held a reputation as possibly the foremost railroad operating man in the nation. His retirement from active service with the railroad in 1986 marked the end of an era in the company's history.
North Platte
The North Platte was built in 1926 by Pullman Standard Manufacturing Company as the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad (a subsidiary of Union Pacific) Observation car No. 4403. The car was rebuilt in 1942 as Cafe Observation car No. 1563.
In 1945, the car was remodeled and became LA&SL business car No. 123. The car was renumbered to No. 102 in 1952 and to No. 104 in 1957. No. 104 was remodeled in 1968 and stored in 1990. The car was brought out of storage, remodeled and named the North Platte in 1995.
The North Platte is named after North Platte, Nebraska, one of Union Pacific’s most important operating points on the system.North Platte is home to the world’s largest railroad classification yard, Bailey Yard. The Guinness Book of Records recognized Bailey Yard as the world’s largest railroad classification yard in 1995.
Since the yard’s opening in 1948, more than $100 million has been spent to modernize and expand it. The yard today covers 2,850 acres and is eight miles long. Put end-to-end, the 260 miles of track would reach from North Platte to Omaha, Nebraska. In 1968, the yard was named Bailey Yard in honor of former Union Pacific Railroad President Edd H. Bailey. Bailey Yard daily handles an average of 120 trains bound for cities in the East, West and Gulf Coasts of America as well as the Canadian and Mexican borders.
Selma
The Selma was built for Union Pacific by Pullman Standard in 1912 as business car No. 101. It is the oldest car in the Union Pacific Heritage Passenger Fleet. The car was sold to the Western Pacific, returned to Union Pacific’s roster with the merger in 1982, assigned to the Missouri Pacific and finally named Selma in 1987.
A typical Pullman-built business car of this era cost about $35,000. Pullman would customize the car to the buyer’s specifications including types of wood to be used in the interior, ventilation, heating and cabinet hardware.
Selma has an observation room, three bedrooms, a secretary’s room, crew quarters, a dining room with seating for six and a kitchen.
Selma Hall, an antebellum mansion overlooking the Mississippi River and its surrounding farm, became a part of Union Pacific with the Missouri Pacific merger in 1982. The original stone barn was converted into a conference facility. Selma Farm is used by Union Pacific for business meetings and client entertainment.
Shoshone
The Shoshone was built by Pullman Standard in 1914 as business car No. 99 for then Union Pacific Railroad Chairman Robert Lovett. It was renumbered No. 106 in June 1952, and named Shoshone in 1978. It was donated to the California State Railroad Museum in 1985. Shoshone was loaned back to Union Pacific in 1992 in exchange for business car No. 103.
The Shoshone is the second oldest car still in service in Union Pacific’s Heritage Passenger Car Fleet. The oldest car in the fleet is business car Selma, built in 1912.
The car is named for Shoshone, Idaho, a town which is on Union Pacific’s line in central Idaho. The Shoshone provided assistance in guarding the track-laying crews against attack during the construction of the main line across Wyoming in 1868.
In 1916, Union Pacific first employed members of the Shoshone tribe in its car repair shops at Pocatello, Idaho. This association led to the presentation of numerous artifacts of the tribe to Union Pacific which are displayed in the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Omaha.
When Union Pacific developed Idaho’s Sun Valley resort in 1936, Shoshone was a busy place. The numerous guests that were headed to the popular ski resort by rail would pass through Shoshone on their way to the branch line to Sun Valley. During the heyday of trains going to Sun Valley, Union Pacific had a roundhouse and watering and coaling facilities at the wye that routed trains to Ketchum, Idaho.
St. Louis
The St. Louis was built in 1950 by Pullman Standard as a 44-seat coach No. 5448. It was rebuilt into business car No. 100 in May 1952, and was named the St. Louis in 1989.
St. Louis, Missouri, Gateway to the West, was headquarters of the Missouri Pacific Lines prior to its merger with Union Pacific. It is Missouri's largest city. From here Lewis and Clark began their 1804-1806 expedition to the Pacific Ocean.
Established as a fur trading post by the French, St. Louis grew to become the headquarters of many famous fur companies. The American Fur Company and the St. Louis Fur Company sent their trappers throughout the Rocky Mountain area to trap and trade with the natives. A rendezvous held each spring gathered the trappers together for a celebration and gave them a chance to turn their furs in to the company before beginning another season.
The Pacific Railroad, a predecessor of the Missouri Pacific, was begun in St. Louis in 1850. Tracks slowly were pushed west toward Kansas City, Missouri, but construction was interrupted by the Civil War.
In 1904, the World's Fair, the first all-electric-lighted exhibition, opened in Forest Park, Missouri. It was later made doubly famous by the movie, "Meet Me in St. Louis." Some of the buildings from that fair still are in use by the Missouri Historical Society. The St. Louis Zoo, promoted by Marlin Perkins and the "Wild Kingdom" television program, is nationally recognized and was featured in Missouri Pacific travel films produced prior to World War II.
Stanford
Built in 1927 by Pullman Standard and originally named the Sunset, car No. 140, was the second of three cars to carry the name. The car, carrying the Southern Pacific premier name, was the premier car in the fleet, and was assigned to the president.
In 1955, the car was renamed in honor of Leland Stanford, first president of the Southern Pacific, allowing the name Sunset to be given to car No. 150.
Although the Stanford has undergone several mechanical upgrades, including new 6-wheel disc brake trucks and conversion to 480-volt head end power, thus allowing it to operate on Amtrak trains, the interior remains much as it was when built, with Honduras mahogany interior.
The Stanford was the command car on site in the Tehachapis during the months-long rebuilding effort after the railroad was severed by the devastating earthquake in 1952.
Sunset
The Sunset was built in 1955 and was the last business car made by Pullman Standard. The present Sunset, No. 150, is the third Southern Pacific car to carry the name.
Ordered by Southern Pacific President D. J. Russell for his personal use during the height of the “light weight” era, at 90 feet, the Sunset is the longest, and one of the heaviest business cars built. It was state-of-the-art in car design - all stainless steel construction; lowered, luminous ceilings; and bright lighting throughout, highlighting modern furnishings. In keeping with the period, the interior was finished in Formica, rather than wood. This makes the Sunset a valuable asset on operating trips, and other heavy-duty assignments where a wood interior may be damaged.
The Sunset has undergone periodic upgrading of its mechanical systems over the years, and is able to operate on Amtrak trains from 480-volt head end power, or its two on-board diesel generators. Recently the interior has been redecorated to include new English wool Axminster carpet and new window treatments. Upholstery throughout the car was redone to complement the new color schemes. The dining room furniture also was replaced.
President Dwight Eisenhower accepted the 1956 nomination for his second term from the platform of the Sunset, which was backed into the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California, for the occasion. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower frequently traveled on the car, which was at her disposal. The last rail trip she took was on the Sunset.