The Budd Co. built the car in 1956 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy as the Silver Veranda, one of two blunt-end parlor-buffet-lounge-observation cars for the Chicago-Denver/Colorado Springs Denver Zephyr. The lounge under the dome was known as the “Colorado Room” which had booths for two and four and seating on a curved banquette. It had linoleum carvings by Pierre Bourdelle and a mural of the Rockies Front Range by Russell Paterson. Paterson also did murals in the parlor portion of the car in front of the dome, and the observation portion behind the dome.
The new Denver Zephyr entered service in October 1956 and was the last complete streamlined train to be built for a private railroad in the United States. Silver Veranda and its twin, Silver Chateau, remained in service on the Zephyr until Amtrak took over the train’s operation in May 1971. Amtrak acquired both cars, but the Silver Chateau was wrecked in 1977 and eventually scrapped, leaving the Silver Veranda as the sole surviving Denver Zephyr observation car.
Amtrak sold the car in 1993. By then, much of the interior had been gutted. Burlington Northern purchased the car and stored it for future rebuilding. That rebuild didn’t come until BN successor BNSF moved the car into the Topeka Shops and began work in February 2015.
According to Amy Casas, BNSF Director of Corporate Communications, the Business Car team in Topeka stripped the car down to its stainless steel shell and support structure before rebuilding began. Workers replaced everything but the shell and the main structural components. The Canyon View now has seating for 45 and features a meeting room with a small kitchenette, lounge area, dining area, and the dome. Casas says with the addition of the Canyon View, BNSF has the flexibility to have four separate usable areas in one car for private customer or community events.
It’s the details that make the car special. It has recessed original Adlake-style window sashes rather than rubber “zip strip” window moldings used by other passenger car owners today. BNSF used original-style green tint glass in the dome, and installed LED lights in the dome that can change colors. The stainless steel side fluting looks like the day the car rolled out of the Budd shops. The railroad tastefully applied “BNSF” lettering on the exterior of the blunt-end observation where the Burlington Route emblem and Denver Zephyr name once were. The car is now available as part of BNSF’s private fleet of about 40 passenger cars that travel its system for various customer and community events.
BNSF has two other dome cars in its business car fleet: BNSF No. 30 Glacier View, an ex-Great Northern full-length dome built by Budd in 1955, and No. 31 Bay View, another full-length dome built by Budd in 1954 for Santa Fe.
This story brought tears to my eyes and a flood of memories. From the late 1950's to about 1975 my mother and I would travel by train from Colorado Springs/Denver to Chicago then on to Toronto to visit my maternal Grandparents. In the early years, we left Colorado Springs on either the Rock Island Rocket or the DZ. My earliest memory of these trips was a Rock Island 4-8-4 in Colorado Springs. By the early 60's we usually took the DZ both directions and I can vividly recall hours and hours spent in this car (and it's sister) either vestibuling (my favorite place) up in the dome or sitting in the back (usually being educated in all things trains by a Conductor or Trainman) watching the miles roll by at speeds Amtrak could only dream of today. I thought these cars were both long gone and scrapped. I would love see it in person again and to just touch it would be such an treat. Riding in this car probably did more to make me a life long rail fan, photographer and modeler than any other experience with trains I had in my early youth. My sincere gratitude and appreciation to those at BNSF who made the decisions they did leading up to today's place for this car.
Cool as cool can be.
Recommendation to Carl Ice: restore the 'Fallen Flag' letterboards (CB&Q, AT&SF, GN, NP, SP&S, etc.) on our fleet, even if not 100% historically accurate. Put the car names back below the belt-line, where they belong
Gives me hope that someday BNSF will…nope that wouldn't happen
Warren Buffett, and I, are proud of the work done by the Topeka Shops team. You are to be commended for the excellent work done for our, and your, railway.
I was invited to ride the Glacier View several years ago from Burlington, IA to Chicago Union Station. Most of the area under the full length dome was for dinning while the rear of the car was a floor to ceiling window with stadium seating. It had a monitor showing the GPS location with RR the radio channel on the sound system. Engineer "Number 6 advanced approach." Dispatcher "You are meeting Number 5."
Beautiful job BNSF, cheers for a beautiful car.