Pullman Gallery Car

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Gallery Car (7006A, 7600 and 8700 series)[1][2]
20120730 11 VRE Washington, DC (9081138026).jpg
Virginia Railway Express #V425. Originally in service with the C&NW
ManufacturerPullman Company
Constructed1950s-1970s
Entered service1950-present
Capacity153-161
Specifications
Car body constructionLAHT steel body on a steel frame
Car length85 feet (26 m)
EntryStep
Doors1 per side
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Pullman Gallery Car was a double-decker passenger car built by Pullman-Standard during the 1950s to 1970s for various passenger rail operators in the United States.

The car's upper level was accessed by four sets of stairs in the middle vestibule. A narrow walkway with handrail and middle sections open looking below. Passengers disembarked from stairs from the vestibule on both sides. The original bench seating on the lower level was often upgraded to individual seats during rebuilds by operators. The 8700 series cars feature a control cab; this is not found in the 7600 series cars.

Models[]

There were four types:

Model Operators Builder Years Notes
7006A series built 1950s
7600 series[3] C&NW St. Louis Car Company, Pullman Company 1956-1961, 1963, 1965-68, 1970 Built 262
8700 series[4] C&NW Pullman Company 1960-1961, 1965-1968 Built 64
Town Car series Canadian Pacific Railways Canadian Vickers 1969 Manufactured 9 gallery cars used by Canadian Pacific Railway Montreal passenger service and later used by STCUM and AMT and retired 2010.

Operators[]

  • AMT - Canadian Vickers-built gallery cars (all retired)
  • Amtrak: Acquired twelve cars from the Chicago and North Western Railway in the 1970s; ten coaches and food-service cars. Amtrak converted four of coaches into control cars in 1981–1982. All twelve were off the roster by 1994.[5]: 192 
  • Burlington Northern and Santa Fe - acquired the six Transcisco Tours gallery cars and converted them to be used as business cars (BNSF #40–45); two were later converted to track geometry cars.
  • Canadian Pacific Railway - Montreal passenger routes and cars transferred to STCUM, and then to AMT (all retired)
  • Chicago and North Western - sold cars to Metra and Amtrak
  • - shortline operator in North Carolina. Owns 7 former VRE cars. Leased to other operations for various events.
  • Metra - currently used on the Milwaukee District lines and the Union Pacific routes
  • Music City Star - acquired seven Metra gallery cars.
  • Southern Pacific - Peninsula Commute, then Caltrain. Operated 46 gallery cars (SP 3700–3745) until 1985. Sold to Tour Alaska in 1986. Colorado Railcar converted four (SP 3734, 3740, 3744, 3745) into "Ultra Dome" cars at Tillamook, Oregon.[6][7][8] Six sold to Transcisco Tours (SP 3700–3703; 3707, 3708), subsequently acquired by BNSF.
  • Transcisco Tours - acquired six from SP and converted them for tour use (#800532–800537).[9]
  • Utah Transit Authority FrontRunner - for parts
  • Virginia Railway Express - Operated 50 ex-Metra gallery cars from 2001 until replacement by new Nippon Sharyo gallery cars from 2006 to 2017.[10]
  • GO Transit - borrowed both CP Rail and Chicago and North Western cars for trial runs in 1976.

Preserved Cars[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "CabCars".
  2. ^ "7600 Pullman Photo Page".
  3. ^ "C&NW Bi-Level Commuter Cars".
  4. ^ "C&NW Bi-Level Commuter Cars".
  5. ^ Simon, Elbert; Warner, David C. (2011). Amtrak by the numbers: a comprehensive passenger car and motive power roster, 1971-2011. Kansas City, Missouri: White River Productions. ISBN 978-1-932804-12-6.
  6. ^ Combs, John (21 May 2016). "Princess Rail Cars". Alaska Rails. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  7. ^ Moore, Jody (2005). "Princess Tours 2005 car refitting, part 1". TrainWeb. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  8. ^ Moore, Jody (2005). "A History of Colorado Railcar and the Development of the Ultradome Concept". TrainWeb. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  9. ^ LaBoda, J.M. "Business Car Photo Index: Burlington Northern Santa Fe 40-63". Passenger Car Photos. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Virginia Railway Express Transit Development Plan FY2013 - FY2018" (PDF). Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. December 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "News photo: Exo donates gallery coach to Exporail". Trains. Retrieved 2021-10-22.

External links[]

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