SANTA FE, N.M. — Sky Railway, the tourist railroad between Santa Fe and Lamy, N.M., on the former Santa Fe Southern, is adding an original Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Super Chief lounge car for operations beginning this spring.
The Acoma, which made its debut in 1937, is the last operating car from the original Super Chief trainset and features elements of its original Art Deco décor. Tickets for the car will be available on select Sky Railway excursions. It will also be available for private charters.
“Sky Railway is all about offering passengers an experience that they can’t get anywhere else, and the Acoma is definitely a one-of-a-kind adventure,” Steve Wilson, the railroad’s director of entertainment, said in a press release. “Nowhere else can you take a ride on one of the Super Chief’s original cars. And it’s not just any car. It’s the lounge car where the biggest names in Hollywood dined, drank, and rode in style.”
The car has been privately owned since its retirement by the Santa Fe in 1968. It was restored over a number of years by Ron Ashcraft and John Bond of Albuquerque. The car was recently acquired by Acoma Railway Ltd. and is on loan to Sky Railway.
Sky Railway began operations in December 2021, about 18 months after the railroad was purchased by a group including George R.R. Martin, author of the books that were the source of the TV series “Game of Thrones” [see “ ‘Dragon’ train makes debut …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 6, 2021]. See More information on the railroad and its excursion offerings is available at the Sky Railway website.
The original Super Chief was a heavyweight train pulled by EMC box cabs 1 and 1A. The train entered service in May, 1936. The Lounge Car was ATSF 1301 Chief Yellow Bear.
The first Budd lightweight train, including ATSF 1370 Acoma entered service in May, 1937. Observation Car Navajo from this train is also preserved, at Colorado RR Museum.
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I saw this car on a siding in front of the La Posada restored Hzarvey Hotel in Winslow about ten years ago and was very pleased with the exquisite and period-appropriate interior. It’s nice to see it running on former Santa Fe rails!