I don't know where they're headed...hopefully refurbishment. They all came from the now defunct Minnesota Zephyr Dinner Train. The full dome was originally SP 3604 while the other dome was MP 894.
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Found it, Iowa Pacific bought them.
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_22841751/minnesota-zephyr-dinner-train-cars-head-colorado
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These cars are from the Minnesota Zephyr dinner train, based out of Stillwater, MN. They were sold to Iowa Pacific and removed from the property after the rail line was purchased by the state and turned into a rail trail. Their destination is Alamosa, to be used on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad.
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| Posted by on April 1, 2013 | |
Mary Devine of the Pioneer Press reports that this is the Minnesota Zephyr Dinner train on its way to Alamosa,CO. and that the locomotives will follow.
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According to Bob Webber on the Yahoo DRGW list, they are headed to Alamosa, CO.
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They're going to the Rio Grande Scenic, or one of the other Iowa Pacific western operations.
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These are former cars of the Minnesota Zephyr dinner train that was located in Stillwater, MN. They were sold to Iowa Pacific Holdings and are headed for Alamosa, CO, presumably for use at (or refurbishment by) Iowa Pacific's Rio Grande Scenic Railroad.
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These are the cars from the defunct Minnesota Zephyr. There was a picture posted here recently of the Zephyr's FP7s sitting waiting to be scrapped.
Google-ing around a bit has led me to believe these cars were sold to the Rio Grande Scenic Railway in Alamosa, Colorado. I'm glad to see them go to a good home.
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It would be cool to see them going to the Tennessee pass!
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I'm sorry to hear the FP-7s got scrapped. I heard one of them was an ex-SP&S diesel. Doyle McCormick should've bought it to match SP&S 700.
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That trailing dome is unlike most dones I have ever seen. Normally they are rounded and flow naturally. This one is much more angular. Neat catch! I wonder what paint scheme the SLRG will give them? Maroon and gold would be spectacular !
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The three coaches are former C&O 1600-series cars; the rear dome appears to be a former Wabash car, built by Pullman Standard. The P-S domes had a different profile from the more numerous Budd-built dome cars.
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IIRC, they're going to be worked on in Alamosa, and they're going to be operated on they're new line as a dinner train in Santa Cruz, CA out of the Boardwalk. The dome on the end looks to be one of the old ATSF pleasure domes that was built for the chief. My boss owns another one, the only one qualified for Amtrak service, the Plaza Santa Fe. That would make 2 of the 6 built that IPH owns. They also own the one from the defunct Vancouver dinner train as well.
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Everything the Minnesota Zephyr Dinner Train had is for sale, Including the whole train, a hyrail and a trolley. http://www.ozarkmountainrailcar.com/detail.asp?id=665&n=Minnesota-Zephyr-Dinner-Train
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The short dome is an ex MP dome built by Pullman, and the other dome was built by SP in their shops some time in the early 50's as I recall.
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Going to the Iowa Pacific is, no doubt, the BEST POSSIBLE fate for these cars. Those SP full-length domes were GREAT cars to ride in with very high "ceilings" relative to their floor height. It will be really good to be able to ride in one in the USA again. The only other one still in operating condition is on the KCS-owned Panama Canal RR, which is a bit of a trip for a relatively short ride.
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