Hi-Level

Hi-Level

Row of silver double-deck coaches with red-white-blue striping in the middle

Hi-Level coaches on Amtrak's Southwest Limited at Albuquerque in 1974; the lounge is second from right

Glass windows curving up to ceiling above rows of tables

The interior of an Amtrak Pacific Parlour Car, a refurbished lounge.
In service 1954–present
Manufacturer Budd Company
Constructed 1954–1964
Number built 73 (61 coaches, 6 lounges, 6 diners)
Number in service 5
Number preserved Various in private ownership
Capacity
  • 67 (coach prototypes)
  • 68 (step-down coaches)
  • 72 (coaches)
Operator(s)
Specifications
Car length 85 feet (26 m)
Height 15 feet 6 inches (4.72 m)
Weight
  • 80 short tons (73 t) (coaches)
  • 83 short tons (75 t) (lounges)
  • 97 short tons (88 t) (dining cars)
Notes
[1]

The Hi-Levels are a fleet of bilevel intercity railroad passenger cars built by the Budd Company for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ("Santa Fe") in the 1950s and 1960s. The first two coaches entered service on the El Capitan in 1954 and found immediate success. Budd built sufficient coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars to fully reequip the El Capitan, with additional coaches seeing use on the San Francisco Chief. Amtrak inherited much of the Santa Fe's Hi-Level fleet in 1971 and continued to use the equipment on its western routes. In 1979 the first Superliners, based on the Hi-Level concept though built by Pullman-Standard, began entering service. As of 2013 Amtrak continues to operate five Hi-Level lounges, which it calls the "Pacific Parlour Cars", on the Coast Starlight.

Background

The Santa Fe introduced the El Capitan in 1938. The train ran on the Santa Fe's main line between Chicago and Los Angeles. Unusually for streamliners of the period, the El Capitan carried coaches only and no sleeping cars. Passengers flocked to the new train, and the Santa Fe added cars to meet the demand. The train grew from five cars in 1938 to fourteen in 1952, and often operated in multiple sections. The Santa Fe sought a solution to increase the capacity of the train without lengthening it further. Two popular innovations by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) suggested a solution. First, in 1945 the CB&Q introduced the first dome car, in which passengers rode on a second level high above the tracks, affording better views. Second, in 1950 it placed bilevel rail cars in commuter service in the Chicago area. Taken together, these innovations suggested a new possibility: a long-distance bilevel coach, with greater capacity than single-level cars and the panoramic views of a dome.[2]

Design

The Hi-Levels stood 15.5 feet (4.7 m) high, 2 feet (0.61 m) taller than most conventional equipment. Seating occupied the entire level, with restrooms, baggage, and other non-revenue areas on the lower level. In most cars, vestibules connected the upper levels only. A central staircase linked the two levels.[3] Hi-Levels featured a row of windows across the upper level; on the prototype coaches this row slanted inwards.[4] The two-level design offered several advantages over conventional single-level equipment. Budd and the Santa Fe expected the upper level, located 8 feet 7 inches (2.62 m) above the rails, to provide a smoother, quieter ride for passengers. With the lower level free of passengers, designers could provide larger restrooms and baggage areas. Finally, the lower level contained all the electrical equipment, away from the passengers and with easy access for maintenance.[5] The cars cost US$275,000 apiece.[1]

Budd built the Hi-Levels with steam heating. When Amtrak began converting its inherited fleet to head-end power in 1970s the Santa Fe handled the conversion of the Hi-Levels in its Topeka, Kansas shops.[6] Of the 73 Hi-Levels, all but three underwent the conversion.[7]

Coaches

The coaches could carry either 68 or 72 passengers, half again more than the 44 of comparable single-level long-distance coaches. This increased capacity permitted the Santa Fe to run the El Capitan with fewer cars while increasing the total number of passengers carried.[3] The 68-seat coaches featured "step down" stairs at one end to permit access to standard-height equipment.[8] The prototypes also featured step-down stairs, but carried one fewer passenger.[9] In the prototypes the upper level had no restrooms; in response to passenger feedback Budd added a restroom to the upper level in the production models. The prototypes also included a "step up" from the aisle to the coach seats; in the production cars the seats rested flush with the aisle. Each coach weighed 80 short tons (73 t).[10]

Lounges

Silver double height railway car with double row of windows
Amtrak's Sonoma Valley in 2010; note the glass top

The lounges could seat 60 on the upper level, with additional seating on the lower level.[3] Nicknames for these cars included "Top of the Cap" and "Sky Lounges". A glass top across two-thirds of the car distinguished it from the rest of the Hi-Levels. The lower level featured the "Kachina Coffee Shop" and a lounge area with seating for 26. The lounge cars weighed 83 short tons (75 t).[11]

Dining cars

Each dining car seated 80 (all on the upper level), compared to 36 in a single-level diner.[3] The lower level housed the kitchen; dumbwaiters carried food to the upper level. The dining cars, the largest single-unit dining cars ever built, weighed 97 short tons (88 t) and rode on six-wheel trucks.[12]

History

Santa Fe

Red diesel locomotive with yellow striping leading silver train cars through rolling countryside
The San Francisco Chief in 1971; note the mix of Hi-Level and single-level cars

The Budd Company delivered the Hi-Levels to the Santa Fe in three batches. The original two prototype coaches (Nos. 526–527) entered service on the El Capitan in 1954. Following a positive customer response the Santa Fe ordered 47 more cars, sufficient to completely re-equip the El Capitan:

These constituted five equipment sets, sufficient for daily service on the El Capitan beginning on July 8, 1956.[8][13] A standard consist for the new train comprised two step-down coaches, five standard coaches, a lounge and a dining car. The Hi-Level cars continued in service after the Santa Fe combined the El Capitan and Super Chief in 1958.[14] The Santa Fe also converted six single-level baggage cars to baggage-dormitories (3477–3482) with a spoiler at one end to create a visual transition.[15]

By the 1960s the Santa Fe encountered capacity problems on the San Francisco Chief, which ran between Chicago and San Francisco. Unlike the El Capitan, the Chief carried a mix of sleeping cars and coaches.[16] To augment capacity, the Santa Fe ordered an additional 24 coaches in 1963–1964; 12 step-down (538–549) and 12 not (725–736).[8] Each San Francisco Chief carried four Hi-Level coaches, displacing six single-level coaches.[17]

Amtrak

Tall silver coaches with brick building at right
Hi-Level coaches mixed in with a Superliner coach on the Heartland Flyer in 2005

The Hi-Level equipment continued in service under Amtrak beginning in 1971.[18] Amtrak used the Hi-Levels as the basis for the design of Superliners it ordered from Pullman-Standard, which began arriving in 1978.[19] In the 1980s Amtrak rebuilt many of the coaches as dormitory-coaches, with half the car given over to crew space. Several Hi-Level coaches remained in service into the 2000s on the Heartland Flyer.[20] Amtrak refurbished five of the six lounges for use on the Coast Starlight as sleeping car passenger-only lounges, branded as the "Pacific Parlour Car."[21]

Notes

References

External links

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