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Empire Builder Consists
1955-1970 Incomparable Great Dome Empire Builder
1955 saw the addition of the Great Dome Coaches and Great Dome Lounge Cars to the Empire Builder. Patronage fluctuations between the summer and winter seasons and the continued advance of the automobile, and subsequent decrease of passenger numbers, made for many adjustments to the Empire Builder consist over the years. This page details all these changes by examining all the different consists from the inauguration of the 'Incomparable Great Dome Empire Builder' in the summer of 1955 to the last season it ran under the GN flag in the winter of 1969-1970.
Please use the table below to go to the consist for the year and season given.
Year: | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
Season: | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer | Summer |
Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter | Winter |
Consists of the Incomparable Great Dome Empire Builder varied with season and year. Not all cars used on the Empire Builder ran the entire distance between Chicago and Seattle/Portland. Some were taken off or added at points in between. The table below shows all series of cars and how many of them were used on the 'Incomparable Great Dome Empire Builder' for each year and season. Please use the separate consist tables to see how many and what cars were used on the different stretches of the route.
Overview of Number and Types of Cars Assigned to the Incomparable Great Dome Empire Builder
Summer Seasons | ||||||||||
TYPE |
NUMBER SERIES |
SUMMER SEASON | ||||||||
'55 | '56-'58 | 59' |
'60-'61 |
'62 | '63-'65 | '66 |
'67 |
'68-'69 | ||
Baggage Cars: Storage Mail |
262-280 |
- | 2(1) [a] | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) |
RPO-Storage Mail Cars |
37-42 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Baggage-Dormitory Cars |
1200-1205 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
60-Seat Coaches |
1209-1214 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
48-Seat Day-Nite Coaches | 1215-1232 | 1 | - | - | 2 | 3(2) [c] | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
46-Seat Great Dome Coaches |
1320-1335 |
3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3(4) [c] | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Ranch Cars |
1240-1245 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Coffee Shop-Dinette-Dormitory Cars | 1140-1144+1148 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
36-Seat Dining Cars |
1250-1255 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Great Dome Lounge Cars |
1390-1395 |
- | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
4-7-3-1 Sleeping Cars |
1260-1274, SP&S 702 |
3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
7-6-1 Sleeping Cars |
1260, 1262-1264 and 1274 (f) |
- | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
6-5-2 Sleeping Cars |
1370-1384, SP&S 701 |
3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
16-4 Sleeping Cars | 1170-1179, 1181-1188 | 1(0) [d] | 1(0) | 1(0) [e] | 1(0) | 1(0) | 1(0) | - | - | - |
6-4-1 Lounge Observation Cars | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | |
Lounge-Observation Cars |
1290-1295 |
1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Copyright © 2006 Ben Ringnalda |
Winter Seasons: | ||||||||||
TYPE |
NUMBER SERIES |
WINTER SEASON | ||||||||
'55 |
'56 | '57 | '58 | '59-'60 | '61 | '62-'66 | '67 | '68-'69 | ||
Baggage Cars: Storage Mail |
262-280 |
2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) | 2(1) |
RPO-Storage Mail Cars |
37-42 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
Baggage-Dormitory Cars |
1200-1205 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
60-Seat Coaches |
1209-1214 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
48-Seat Day-Nite Coaches | 1215-1232 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
46-Seat Great Dome Coaches |
1320-1335 |
2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Ranch Cars |
1240-1245 |
- | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
Coffee Shop-Dinette-Dormitory Cars | 1140-1144+1148 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
36-Seat Dining Cars |
1250-1255 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Great Dome Lounge Cars |
1390-1395 |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
4-7-3-1 Sleeping Cars |
1260-1274, SP&S 702 |
2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1(0) [f] | - | - |
7-6-1 Sleeping Cars |
1260, 1262-1264 and 1274 [f] |
- | - | - | - | - | - | (0)1 [f] | 1 | 1 |
6-5-2 Sleeping Cars |
1370-1384, SP&S 701 |
2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
16-4 Sleeping Cars | 1170-1179, 1181-1188 | 1(0) | 1(0) | 1(0) | 1(0) [e] | 1(0) | 1(0) | 1(0) | 1 | - |
6-4-1 Lounge Observation Cars | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1(0) [b] | - | - | - | - | |
Lounge-Observation Cars |
1290-1295 |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Copyright © 2006 Ben Ringnalda |
Notes:
a) Seattle - St. Paul Mail Storage Car was not carried on Saturdays & Sundays.
b) 6-4-1 Lounge Observation Cars taken off during Winter Season per February 1, 1960.
c) Depending on availability an extra 48-Seat Day-Nite Coach or a 46-Seat Great Dome Coach was used.
d) 16-4 Sleeping Cars only ran one-way Spokane-Seattle.
e) As of September 14, 1958 the 16-4 Sleeping Car was not in the westbound consist leaving Spokane on Saturday nights.
f) 4-7-3-1 Sleeping Cars 1260, 1262-1264 and 1274 were remodeled into 7-6-1 Sleeping Cars during the winter season of 1962 and slowly phased in.