After 1976 Amtrak began to appreciate the potential income it could receive from the private car business and abandoned the standard paint policy. PRS cars were then repainted in PRS Armour yellow and 1948 Ford green.
The initial PRS run of the Chippewa Creek was as a crew car for the first Oregon Caper trip in 1976. When the steam was turned on prematurely in the 8th Street Coach Yard, a leak in the car's interior resulted in it being totally steamed inside, and the crew had to deal with peeling paint, wet walls, and wet bedding on the first night out of Los Angeles. The car had some of its carpets replaced and was repainted inside. Al Novak and crew spear headed rebuilding of part of the vestibule and body work, and the Chippewa emerged with a beautiful new PRS yellow and green paint scheme -- on one side of the car only. On the trip to Mexico in 1977, the car proved popular, but unequal suspension on the trucks resulted in a discernable list to one side. This was fixed later by PRS mechanics who replaced 12 truck springs. The low passenger capacity, coupled with body rust and its electrical idiosyncrasies, put the Chippewa Creek at the very bottom of the list of PRS cars which could economically be returned to mainline service.
With a dependable site for a home base, the mid 1970's were was the high point of PRS private car excursions. The cars ran in Amtrak consists, on special excursion trains chartered and staffed by PRS, and even in mixed train service for the enjoyment of PRS travelers. PRS hired porters from the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters to professionally pamper the sleeper passengers, and professional caterers to cook the meals on the wood-burning stove of the Starlight Cafe. Mechanics, waiters, and car hosts were PRS volunteers. This gave the people who made the cars run a chance to ride on them, although the opportunities constituted "work as a reward for work." The efforts of the workers culminated in "Corazon de Mexico" trips in 1975 and again in 1977 which each included seven of our own cars in one train; Chippewa Creek, Imperial Bird, Bloomington, PAR 6101 (Cajon Pass), National Forum, Timothy B. Blackstone, and Starlight Cafe. Bill Farmer was chairman of the Private Car Committee at that high water mark. He was also the on-board electrician for these ambitious trips, keeping all those cars running.
The American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners (AAPRCO) was founded in 1977 and has proved to be enormously helpful to private car operation. Despite some misgivings that the organization would serve only the interests of well-to-do people who wanted to run their "toys," AAPRCO has become a source of affordable liability insurance, a storehouse of technical data, and, most importantly, a voice for all private car owners that can be heard by Amtrak. Without AAPRCO, individual private car owners would have little voice with Amtrak. PRS representatives, including Bill Farmer and Karl Strauss, were active in helping AAPRCO stage conventions and disseminate technical information.
Immediately after the 1977 Mexico trip returned, Rolland proposed that PRS accept the offer of Bill Gawzner,
a rail fan who owned the Miramar Hotel, to trade the National Embassy to him in exchange for ex-Amtrak chair
car 7512. The Board accepted, based upon the changing conditions which made a coach seem like a more usable car.
PRS did not have a coach. The Embassy was, in effect, a "duplicate" of the Forum. PRS did
not have any ex-Southern Pacific equipment, and a number of the Mechanical Department crew wanted to acquire this
ex-SP Shasta Daylight chair car. The trade was effected, and Bill Gawzner got the National Embassy,
which has since been on static display in Santa Barbara.
PRS got ex-SP chair car 2397 in the trade. This car seated 48 passengers, was equipped with Waukesha air conditioning
and power generation, and had the unusually tall windows which were a unique feature on the Shasta Daylight.
It was built in 1949 by the Pullman-Standard Company and had been sold to Amtrak in 1972.
An unexpected notice at the end of 1977 that we would have to move from the "Malt Shop" was greeted
with sadness and discouragement. The reason for the notice was that Kirsch's neighbor, Merchant's Pet Supply, had
surveyed the property and found their boundary line went go directly down the middle of our leased track. Negotiations
to lease the half from Merchant's proved futile, so PRS had to move its cars. Kirsch, however, kindly let PRS store
heavy equipment in the yard, rent-free, for a number of years. Our crews set out on a frantic search for a new
shop. Unknown to us at the time, the Imperial Bird, Chippewa Creek, and Timothy B. Blackstone would
not be used after 1977 on PRS excursions.
Fortunately, Dart Warehouse Corporation allowed PRS crews to work at the Eastman warehouse facility starting when
the cars moved from the "Malt Shop" in December of 1977. As of this writing, the entire PRS fleet calls
Dart home. Dart has been a fair landlord, and we are truly grateful for the work site.
The Bloomington ran on the Barstow Limited trip in 1978. The Starlight was leased for a trip through Mexico in 1979. The last, to the time of this writing, PRS special train over Tehachapi ran on March 31-April 1 and April 28-29, 1979, and consisted of hi-level coaches, plus private cars 6101, Overland 6102, Starlight Cafe, National Border and Regal Inn. Soon thereafter, the Starlight and 6101 were included on the Fiesta Rail '79 train which ran the circle from Los Angeles to San Bernardino on Saturday, May 5, 1979. In November 1979, a contest was held to name the chair car, which in its Southern Pacific days had been known simply as 2397. Steve Holman suggested Shasta Springs which won the balloting. At the same time, the 6101 was designated the Cajon Pass, a name suggested by famed Cajon Pass chronicler Chard Walker.