CB&Q 4735 "Silver Buckle" coach for 'Denver Zephyr' - became BN 4687 (not applied) but got large BN black lettering in 1970, to Amtrak 9457 - large letterboards removed prior to painting of the window bands nameplates and vestibules to red-white-blue in 1974, Illinois Transit Assembly (5/93) - Amtrak paint removed, John Caestecker/Studio City CA (6/97) PPCX 4735 refurbished the car to Amtrak mechanical standards and redesigned the interior to make it a dome-diner-lounge with a capacity of 64 for daytime use only. Exterior remains original stainless. Car renamed "Silver Splendor" and is based in Anaheim, CA. Began charter operation in 2009.
From the owner: "The exterior was in the best shape of any unrestored car I had ever seen, plus it had nearly every single one of its original interior fixtures, including light lenses and glass partitions. Pete Messina told me a couple weeks later that he had inspected the car not long before I'd seen it and pronounced it to be the best dome car left in an unrestored state. Anyway, after getting the car out here to SoCal (which is a story in itself), we removed the seats and sold them to another Budd dome car owner who didn't have any. Next we replaced all the fogged, flat lexan windows and removed and replaced the car's old insulation. The Ladies room was gutted and became the kitchen and the men's room had a second toilet added where the old setee (given as a gift to another car owner for all his help and guidance) used to be."...."The {car} moved to the depot spurs at Fullerton in January 2004. Truck rebuild was completed at the end of December {03} and work continued on electrical and interior appointments for the bulk of the year. Hoped to be ready to run on Amtrak by late '05 or early '06." (ed: missed the startup date 'slightly')
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