FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society has acquired a Canadian Pacific Park-series dome-lounge-observation car built in 1954 for use in excursion service. While plans are for the car to undergo an extensive restoration, it will initially enter service as part of the society’s Indiana Rail Experience program on the Indiana Northeastern Railroad.
The car, Riding Mountain Park, was one of 18 built by the Budd Co. for CP’s Canadian. Deemed surplus by VIA Rail Canada, it was sold in 2005 and has been in storage for more 10 years at the Adrian & Blissfield Rail Road Co. in Blissfield, Mich. It largely retains its original interior and artwork.
The Fort Wayne acquisition was made possible by a private donor. Plans call for the car to undergo a multiyear mechanical overhaul to update its electrical and heating and cooling systems, and well as its interior, at a cost of approximately $250,000.
“Most first-class trains of the 1940s and 1950s featured a dome car, lounge car, or an observation car. With Riding Mountain Park, our future guests will be able to enjoy all three and we are overjoyed at the opportunity to preserve this experience,” Wayne York, the society’s senior excursion manager, said in a press release. “Its acquisition is a special way to end our 50th anniversary and mark the beginning of a new chapter.”
The society is accepting donations for renovation of the car. They can be made here at the organization website or by mail.
The 2022 Indiana Rail Experience trips sold out in 10 days of operation, drawing more than 6,000 guests. Information on the program as well as a mailing-list signup for an expanded schedule of 2023 trips are available here.
Great news for such an iconic car!
BTW, as for the location of its storage for the past ten years, the common abbreviation for Michigan is “Mich.”, not “Miss.” I saw an ex-VIA “Park” car a few years ago on the Adrian & Blissfield in Blissfield, Michigan. I don’t know if there even is a town of Blissfield, Mississippi.
I wonder if they will put a boxcar behind it,like the Canadian.