The Great Northern was one of the first railroads to launch an entirely new post-war streamlined train with its 1947 re-equipment of its premiere passenger train, the Empire Builder. The Builder's rebirth as a modern streamliner proved to be such a success that the GN shocked the railroad world by announcing just two years after the streamlined Empire Builder's debut that they would update the entire train with all new cars to be delivered in 1950. The additional new cars would allow the GN to to re-equip its secondary transcontinental train, the Oriental Limited (re-christened as the Western Star), with some of the 1947 Empire Builder cars, allowing the GN to offer twice-daily streamlined Chicago-Seattle service.
The car order for the 1950 upgrades for the five train sets of 15 cars for each train, plus protection cars, and additional sleepers for the Western Star, for a total of 95 cars. This was a huge order at the time, and railroad passenger car construction capacity was at it limits, so the order was split between both Pullman, and American Car & Foundry. Pullman produced 59 cars, and ACF contributed 36 cars, including the six Mountain cars, which were built by ACF following a Pullman floor plan.
The Mid-century Empire Builder’s Mountain series sleeper-lounge-observation cars provided a stylish amenity for first class sleeping car patrons to pass the 45-hour trip in comfort.
This page from a 1949 brochure touting the launch of the new Empire Builder highlights the Mountain series lounge car. The etched glass partition depicted the state flowers of the states and provinces served by the GN.
FLOOR PLAN
All six cars had the same configuration: Three roomettes, a small bar, and a spacious 36 seat lounge-observation ringed with 20 tall windows. The cars also were equipped with a bathroom, a linen locker, and a cabinet containing radio equipment linked to the roof antenna for picking up AM radio signals to play through the roof mounted speakers in the lounge. At the vestibule end fo the car was the electrical locker, and a small bench seat for the rear brakeman. An air brake pressure gauge was mounted on the wall facing the brakeman's bench.
The roomettes were not typically sold as revenue space as one was was used as an office by the train conductor, another for the Pullman porter, and another reserved for the traveling passenger representative. The roomette used by the porter is slightly narrower than the other two.
Illustration by Jon Snyder
Changes over the years
The cars were originally delivered with Pullman lettering on the sides near the vestibule as they were under contract with Pullman for operating crews, but was removed in 1953(?) when the GN took over operation of sleeping cars and lounge cars.
In 1953 several Empire Builder cars were sold to the GN's partner railroads, Burlington and SP&S, as part of a mileage equalization scheme, and Mountain car 1291, St. Nicholas Mountain, was sold to the Burlington and received CB&Q lettering in place of the "Great Northern" in the letter board near the marker lights.
1955 saw a big change in the Empire Builder's makeup as the dome cars and new sleepers arrived and displaced the Mountain cars with the round-end River series observation cars from the 1947 Builder that were reconfigured with more sleeping compartments and renamed into the Coulee series. The Mountain cars then were assigned to bring up the markers for the updated Western Star and their "Empire Builder" lettering was changed to "Great Northern" to match the other cars assigned to the Western Star. The lighted tail sign was also replaced with a "Western Star" drumhead.
