2397 was rented and used for the filming of the pilot of a television series, Home Front, at LA Union Station during March of 1991. It was then leased and sent to Portland to operate behind 4449 in May of 1991 for Sacramento's 10th anniversary Rail fair. Following this duty, the chair car stayed in Portland under a lease agreement and was used on a number of trips behind 4449, including a series from Portland to San Jose July 18 through 20, 1992. Vince Cammerano went along as mechanic. Over the Labor Day weekend in 1992, chair car 2397 operated up and down the Sacramento River Canyon behind 4449, passing its namesake Shasta Springs each time. This series of special train trips was operated by SP as a peace offering to the people in the region surrounding Dunsmuir who had been effected by a metam sodium spill at Cantara the previous year.
As of the writing of this article, only one car, the National Forum, has been modified to meet Amtrak's requirements. The considerable cost of meeting Amtrak's HEP and related requirements was met in part by a trust fund which had been set up using the proceeds from the 1979 Tehachapi excursions, and part by a $10,000 grant from an anonymous donor. The work was contracted to Southern California Rail Services, a company set up by Marti Ann Draper and Will Walters, whose efforts were augmented by long hours contributed by Dave Abbott. Towards the end of 1991, the car was moved to a siding in Anaheim. Before the major part of the work could be commenced, however, a call came in from the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society. It had completed the renovation of Santa Fe steam engine 3751 and had received permission from Santa Fe to run a four-day excursion using the engine. Was our car available for use?
On December 25, 1991, before they could sit down to a holiday dinner, Will Walters and his family finished the lubrication and stenciling of the National Forum. The car was switched to Kaiser and became a part of the California Limited, the 3751's train for the historic four day trip to Bakersfield over Cajon and Tehachapi Passes.
Once it had been returned to Anaheim, the Forum was equipped with 480 volt HEP train lines, communication train lines, a high-pressure main reservoir line, and a multiple unit train line. Both ends received rubber diaphragms which were compatible with all types of Amtrak cars. In addition to the contract services, the Forum had periodic air brake work done and various repairs to the buffers and underpinnings. The new HEP installation was first energized when the Forum was added to the AAPRCO special train to Sacramento in October, 1993. It continued on a special train which crossed the Rockies through Tennessee Pass and the Royal Gorge. Barbara Sibert and Larry Jennings were the attendants, and Will Walters went along as mechanic and electrician.
From May 6 through 8, 1994, our chair car 2397 came to San Luis Obispo behind former Southern Pacific steam
engine 2397. A PRS excursion was operated to San Luis Obispo to ride on special trains using our car. 2397 was
also used as part of special Peninsula trains between San Francisco and Palo Alto during the soccer World cup
semi-finals in 1994. Wheel wear caused it to be withdrawn from that service; the worn wheelset was then replaced
with a spare from our flat car, and the car sat with Golden Gate Railway Museum's fleet at Hunter's Point, San
Francisco, until it was prepared for shipment back south for use on the Fillmore & Western movie and excursion
service.
On September 7, 1994, we sold our insulated box car and it was shortly taken away by highway to Parkview, California.
We could function without it because in the spring of 1994, we received ex-SP baggage car 6617 in exchange for
a set of Union Pacific disc brake trucks. The baggage car was painted inside and out and became the mechanical
department's enclosed storage, shop, and lunch room.
In June of 1995, the National Forum carried us to Lamy, New Mexico, where it was pulled as a special movement over the length of the Santa Fe Southern to Santa Fe, New Mexico. When it arrived home, extensive work to install transformers and an electric water heater was engineered and supervised by Will Walters, and the installation of electric space heaters was overseen by Stan Ames and John Stahlkamp. These improvements returned the car to a level of comfort which had been impossible to achieve since Amtrak discontinued the use of steam boilers.
For thirteen days in September, 1995, the Forum was both lodging and showplace for PRS members attending
the AAPRCO convention that year. On the trip up, it became uncomfortable when a high pressure hose to the air conditioner
failed. A cell phone call to Mario Ibanez enabled him to search for a replacement part at Dart, which he expressed
to the Forum enroute. This trip took the Forum through breathtaking scenery over Rogers Pass, through
the spiral tunnels, and to Banff, Alberta.
The Forum rang in the New Year of 1996 by traveling on a lease all the way to Miami, Florida. On the way
back, at Benson, it picked up a carload of PRS excursionists who had spent the weekend riding streetcars and trains.
Those who chaired the Private Car committee after Rolland Graham were John Petros and Herb Johnson, jointly; followed by John Petros; Jim Erdman and Al Novak, jointly; Art Townsend; Bill Farmer; Don Crow and Karl Strauss, jointly; then Karl Strauss; Al Novak; Marti Ann Draper; and Ted Creveling.
Some of the workers who put in many hours have been Dennis Gilkey, Russell Homan, Roy Idlof, Fred Knox, Mike Malone, MarkReyes, Rick Reyes, Peggie Riggle, Dave Riggle, Stuart Spencer, Charlie Wilbur, Dave Mecklem, Bob Large, John Anderson, Tim Johnson, Bobby Johnson, Gordon Nunnally, Tom Wood, Paul Hampton, Tom Pearson, George Christy, Brian Norden, Jim Minor, B. Alan Black, Mike Malone, Paul Jennings, Herb Johnson, Bill Novak, Charlie Wilbur, Dana Parker, Jon Clark, Ron Beach, Bob Large, Owen Knapp, David Sanchez, Bobby Gallegos, Brad Graber, Fred Knox, Robert Markowitz, Richard Rempi, John Gonzales, Jim Van Leersum, Vernon Cook, Steve Ablonzki, and Scott Mayer.
Uncounted hundreds and hundreds of hours have been provided by Jim Erdman, Bill Farmer, Rolland Graham, Larry Jennings, Al Novak, Marti Ann Draper, Karl Strauss, Mike Gormican, Dingle Baskerville, Vincent Cammerano, Jr., A.T. (Ted) Campbell, Wayne Saunders, John Stallkamp, Stanley Ames, Stuart Spencer, Ted Shackelford, Mario Ibanez, Reynold Blight, Dan Dalke, Barbara Sibert, Will Walters, Ted Creveling, and Dave Abbott. This list is far from being all-inclusive, and each contribution has its special importance.
The PRS private cars offered a chance for current generations to experience a living version of what rail travel
was like decades ago. The opportunity to work on them provided great frustration, as well as great satisfaction,
and educated all participants in the practical technology needed to run cars on actual mainline common carriers.
The cars gave PRS members a chance to interact with the railroad industry as customers and co-workers. And they
have forced PRS members to work committedly together to preserve the actual "stuff" of railroad history,
the railroad equipment itself. We hope the future will afford more people the chance to work and ride on the Imperial
Bird, Timothy B. Blackstone, Starlight Cafe, lounge 6101, Bloomington, Council Bluffs, Shadrach Bond, Chippewa
Creek, National Forum, and chair car 2397.