Conrail 55 Full Length Dome

Railroad Office CarsConrail OCSConrail 55
Written By Wes Reminder

Conrail OCS 55 - Amtrak 800459 – Dome Car

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Conrail 55 was another popular car in the Conrail business car fleet and for good reason. Railroads in the United States started using dome cars in the 1940s and they offered an incredible view for its passengers. In 1954, Santa Fe had 14 domes built by the Budd company. Eight of these domes had a lounge on the lower level and six had a smaller lounge with a dormitory. Produced in silver stainless steel common to the 1950s streamliners, these domes were often referred to as “big domes” for their full length upper seating. These cars were big, heavy (almost 200,000 lbs), comfortable, and a popular choice for those riding the train.

In 1988 when Conrail purchased its full length dome, which was numbered Conrail 55, it was an instant hit and provided much needed seating space for those riding the train. In fact, both of Conrail’s Managers of Special Equipment (Mr. Fox and Mr. Kennedy) chose the lower level dormitory as their personal space when riding Conrail Office Car Specials. Mr Fox recalls that Conrail 55 became his “hangout”, saying the space “could have slept six. I owned that space.”

Let’s take a quick look at Conrail 55’s history:

Norfolk Southern 24 “Delaware” - (6/99)

Conrail 55 - (6/88)

Chicago South Shore & South Bend 552 (86)

Western Rail Services - (12/81)

Auto Train 514 - (71)

Santa Fe ATSF 552 - (54)

Conrail’s description of CR 55’s history was included in their office car booklets and is provided here. “Built by the Budd Company in 1954 for the Santa Fe ‘San Francisco Chief’ as a 57 seat coach and 18 seat lounge, while the lower level contained a dormitory with a small lounge and bar. This car along with five identical cars served the Santa Fe until 1971. The Auto Train purchased the car in 1971 for Lorton, Virginia to Florida service, renumbering it 514. The coach seats in the dome were reduced to 51 seats at this time. The car was sold at auction in December, 1981 to Western Rail Services of San Rafael, California. The Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend bought the car in 1986. Two years later they sold the car to Conrail.”

When Conrail 55 came to the Reading Passenger Shop, it had the number plate painted Conrail OCS green with a gold 55, but the car itself stayed in its stainless steel appearance for 5 years. The car was finally repainted after the Conrail business car fleet moved from Reading to Altoona in 1990. The actual repainting occurred sometime between June 1992 and April 1993. The silver Conrail 55 was seen on many Office Car Special trips all over the Conrail system, including Chicago. Starting as late as April 1993, the full length dome was painted entirely in Conrail green, including the trucks and dome roof.

The Conrail 55 had some interior design changes throughout its time on Conrail. While the car was silver, the upper dome seats were red and the carpeting was a light blue/grey. The bar on the lower level kept its original Santa Fe motif. At some point (I assume in 1992/1993 when the car was repainted), the seats were reupholstered with dark blue fabric and the carpeting also changed to a dark blue. The lower bar had a large gold Conrail Quality logo placed over the Santa Fe artwork. TVs were also mounted in the dome to display the view from the camera mounted in the E8s. The tables in the dome emerged with great looking Conrail logos embedded in the tops. What a great touch! The exterior of the dome was largely unchanged throughout its time on Conrail (minus the paint).

The diagram below is a close representation of what the car looked like when it came to Conrail, but not exactly, as there was a couch at both ends of the dome, not just one. When entering the car, the stairs to the upper dome were directly in front of you and the hallway to the lower level was on the left. The Conrail 55 dome was also self-contained and able to power itself without the need of an HEP locomotive and could also power one additional car. The car had a 250 gallon fuel tank to keep the generator powered. When Conrail received the car it was already HEP ready, a major bonus for the Reading Passenger Shop employees. Mr. Fox also made some mechanical updates to the air conditioning system to make it more efficient at cooling the upper dome.

The Conrail 55 dome was often found sandwiched between Conrail’s two other Budd fluted cars: Conrail 27 coach and Conrail 12 conference car. The three cars together looked nicely matched on the Conrail OCS. Both Conrail 27 and Conrail 12 were already part of the Conrail business train fleet before Conrail 55 came around. Conrail continued to use the dome car until the takeover in June 1999. At that time, the dome went to Norfolk Southern where it stayed in Conrail paint until 2002. In 2002, the CR 55 and the other Conrail OCS cars acquired by Norfolk Southern, were repainted into Norfolk Southern red. It emerged with its new identity as Norfolk Southern 24 “Delaware”.

In 2004, the car went through a major interior renovation, bringing it in line with the modern interior styling of the rest of the Norfolk Southern business car fleet. The car continues to serve railroad officials and visitors and is seen on almost all of the Norfolk Southern business car movements.

The photos below show the Conrail 55 during its Conrail days and then how it looks post Conrail with its modern wood and leather interior. While it’s the same car, the interior makes it look extremely different. The photos I took of the car on two occasions show the newly expanded lounge area after the removal of the dormitory on the lower level. Conrail 55 had two bathrooms on the lower level as well, but Norfolk Southern expanded the size of those rooms. The upper dome saw the installation of a stainless fridge, cabinets in the center of the car, fold down TV screens, wooden tables (also with the NS logos), new window shades, and leather seats (it looks a bit Western to me).

With the removal of the dormitory on the lower level came the removal and replacement of the small window that had been in the bathroom of the dorm. Now the car features a full size window. The only other exterior change I have noticed is the addition of FRA marker lights on the ends which Conrail did not have (it was the only Conrail business car without marker lights).

Even in its Norfolk Southern red paint, the car is absolutely beautiful and Norfolk Southern has taken great care of it.

The diagram below was provided in some Conrail Office Car booklets, but never made it to my copy of the Office Car Diagram book.

Norfolk Southern 24 “Delaware” the former Conrail 55 full length dome

Excerpts from a memo sent to Richard Hasselman in 1986 provide an inside look into the purchase of Conrail 55. The memo outlined the condition of the car and provided photos of the interior for Richard’s review. Another car, a dining car, was also available and were to be sold as a set, but Conrail passed on the dining car, only purchasing the full length dome.

Collection of Wes Reminder

If you are interested in Conrail passenger operations, read about how Conrail operated their OCS train, including stories from those with first hand knowledge. Check back soon for other Conrail Office Car articles by Wes Reminder.

- sources Conrail trip booklets, Norfolk Southern business train booklet, Interview with Mr. Fox, Conrail Manager of Special Equipment, First hand visit to the car.

All images are © copyright Wes Reminder, Chip Syme, Rich Frey, Charlie Murphy, Jr., HE Brouse (used with permission), Robert Palmer, and GMPullman and may not be used in print, web or any other use without permission. Images used on this site are used with direct permission from the copyright holder.

Wes Reminder

https://www.the-boring-the-adoring.com/
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