Almost Home... A historic passenger car, SBRX 1517, might look a little rough around the edges after local "artists" in Los Angeles covered her with graffiti...but she is now just one more movement away from her new home, the Fillmore & Western Railway. Offering a stark contrast to this historic piece of passenger equipment to today's modern rolling stock, CDTX 2121 swings into town with Amtrak 777 in Oxnard shortly after the 1517 has been placed in the Union Pacific yard here.. SBRX 1517 HISTORY: In February of 1939, Seaboard Air Line Railway (SAL) unveiled the famous Silver Meteor - the country's first streamline passenger train to operate between New York City and the state of Florida. Led by a powerful, E4 locomotive, the seven-car, all Budd-built train operated every three days with alternating routes to Miami and St. Petersburg. Quickly met with overwhelming popularity, SAL ordered two additional train-sets in July and 18 more pieces of equipment between 1940-1941 to keep up with the demand. It was during this 1940-1941 order that SAL No. 6003, a 22-seat, 23-bunk, baggage-dormitory-coach car rolled out the EDW. G. Budd Manufacturing Company's Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shops and entered service with SAL. Quickly added to the now expanded Meteor's consist, No. 6003 would generally be found directly behind the E4 locomotive and trailed by five 56-seat coaches, two 48-seat diners, a tavern-coach and an observation car. Some 17 years after No. 6003 entered service for SAL, the car was rebuilt from a baggage-dormitory-coach car to a baggage-dormitory car in 1957. During this rebuild, the car was also renumbered to No. 5056. To the SBRHS' knowledge, SAL No. 6003 was the only car of this class to be rebuilt in this configuration that survived into the days of Amtrak. Ten years later when Seaboard Air Line merged with Seaboard Coast Line, (SCL) the car was again renumbered - now to SCL No. 5017. Less than four years later the nation's passenger rail service was handed to Amtrak, and SCL No 50.15 received it's final, active service reporting marks - AMTK No. 1517. No. 1517 served Amtrak for 10 years on the road on both the nation's coasts, ending it's service in 1980 on the Coast Starlight. It would be 10 more years before the car was placed on an auction and landed in the hands of the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society (SBRHS) - at the time preparing steam locomotive ATSF 3751 for its first mainline excursion since it's five-year restoration. No. 1517 not only joined 3751 for it's first trail runs under steam, but also served as the steam crew's support car on the engine's triumphant, 1991 trip from Los Angeles, Calif., to Bakersfield, Calif., over the world-renowned Tehachapi Loop on the California Limited. Following the successful trip to Bakersfield, Calif., and return, the SBRHS was soon approached by the Santa Fe Railway about pulling their 1992 Employee Appreciation Special to Chicago. During this time an ex-ATSF baggage car, No. 3463, was acquired by the SBRHS and found to be more suitable for this trip than No. 1517. The trusty baggage-dormitory car would remain in San Bernardino up to 1999 when 3751 moved to it's current home, Redondo Junction. It did not join 3751 for this move, however, and remained there until January of 2004 when it was moved to a secure industry in South Los Angeles where it sat for more than 10 years. In 2015, the SBRHS initiated a Capital Campaign to raise. funds for the restoration of No. 1517 back to active service. Continuing 3751 operations and limited volunteers prolonged any work on the car...until late 2018 when the SBRHS was made aware of an upcoming Amtrak equipment auction. After much discussion among the board of directors, it was decided that if an ex-ATSF cars could be acquired in this auction, the organization felt it would be more in line with its mission than to pursue restoring an original, Seaboard Air Line piece of equipment. After putting the word out about the historic car in hopes that another rail preservation group, museum or other would be interested in acquiring the car - the Fillmore & Western Railway stepped forward.
