The owner of private car Hollywood Beach, a 1956 Seaboard Air Line observation car, is offering three trips open to the public this summer and fall that will feature guides from Midwest Rail Rangers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering onboard educational programs in the Midwest.
Trips on tap are:
St. Louis-Kansas City, Mo., and return, July 23-25. This trip is primarily a fundraise for restoration of 1939 Seaboard observation car No. 6400, just acquired by the Louisville Railroad Co. [see “Digest: East Troy Electric Railroad …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 22, 2021]. The trip will depart St. Louis at 4 p.m. on July 23, arriving in Kansas City at 9:40 p.m. Passengers will have July 24 free in Kansas City, then depart at 8:15 a.m. on July 25, returning to St. Louis at 1:55 p.m. A limited number of round-trip tickets are available at $500; no one-way tickets are available. To book tickets, contact John Owen at ontrackkentucky@gmail.com or at (502) 416-8143. Mention the Midwest Rail Rangers to receive this rate.
St. Louis-Chicago, one way, Sept. 23. The trip departs St. Louis at 5:30 p.m. and arrives in Chciago at 11:10 p.m. Midwest Rail Ranger guides will provide narration between St. Louis and Springfield, Ill. A limited number of tickets are available at $299; to book, contact Ketih White at onecniccat@prodigy.net or (708) 446-1269; mention the Midwest Rail Rangers to receive this rate.
Chicago-St. Louis, one way, Oct. 4. The trip departs Chicago at 9:25 a.m. and arrives in St. Louis at 3 p.m. Midwest Rail Rangers guides will provide narration for the entire route. A limited number of tickets are available at $299; to book, contact Ketih White at onecniccat@prodigy.net or (708) 446-1269; mention the Midwest Rail Rangers to receive this rate.
All three trips include meals, hors d’oeuvres, snacks and drinks. No personal food or beverage is allowed on the train.
Seaboard 20 Hollywood Beach was built in 1956 by Pullman-Standard as a midtrain 5 Double Bedroom – Buffet Lounge for the NY-Florida Silver Meteor. The lounge area had extra high side windows and ceiling windows in the lounge area and was marketed as a Sun Room. The cars were not observation cars; the Silver Meteor had a coach observation car.
With the SCL merger the car was renamed SCL 6501 Sun Ray because the Beach cars on ACL were 6 DB-Lounge cars and that would be the case on SCL. Besides, the cars with Sun Rooms should have Sun names.
As the photo shows, end windows have been installed on the lounge end of the car.
The beneficiary of the trips, SAL 6400, renumbered SCL 5820, was built in 1939 for the original all-coach Silver Meteor with 48 coach seats and an observation lounge.
Is AMTRAK working with private car owners again?