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Trainsmag.com just reported that a restored Burlington dome sleeper-bar lounge-obersavation car has been placed near Union Pacific's Sunset Limited Route in Maricopa, Ariz., where it will serve as the community's Amtrak's station, the Case Grande Dispatch reported.
The car, Silver Horizon, which once ran on the California Zephyr, underwent an 18-month restoration two years ago that restored it to its original 1949-era condition. Two cranes and a tractor trailer were used to lift and position the 150,000-pound passenger car, moving it from a nearbuy siding.
Amtrak, which inherited the car in 1971, will install a ticket counter and waiting area inside.
Maricopa has shown up in Amtrak's timetable as a proposed station since 1996, when the tri-weekly Sunset Limited was rerouted off of Union Pacific's Phoenix Subdivision onto the Gila Sub, part of Southern Pacific's Sunset Route. A grand opening ceremony is planned for October 20.
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I wish that Amtrak would reach Phoenix again, especially in the use of commuter trains. I, like many others, have traveled at 0.01MPH on many stretches of highways during rush hour in Phoenix. I'd bet my shirt and shoes that at least 50% of commuters would switch to trains if given the choice. It'd be just like California's Amtrak West. However, that's probably still years away. (Or as long as McCain is in office.)
Posts: 553 | From: Flagstaff, AZ USA | Registered: Apr 2001
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Glad to hear about a truly "rail-themed" building.
Meanwhile, Amtrak returning to Phoenix rails is probably a no-go, regardless of McCain, but I thought there was a separate organization looking at commuter rail for Phoenix-Mesa-Tempe.
Posts: 874 | From: South Bay (LA County), Calif, USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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