This Page deatils the five Pacific Parlour Cars, used as first class passenger lounge cars on the Coast Starlight, which operates between Los Angeles Union Station and King Street Station in Seattle, Washington. These cars contain 24 seats at 6 booths, two couches each having four seats a piece, and eight individual Easy Chairs on the upper level, and a theatre room downstairs containing 21 seats in a 2-on-1 configuration and a wheelchair space downstairs on the lower level. Alternative meals are seved on the Parlour Cars at meal times. Three all-day items are also served. These items are Steak and Cheese Quesadillas, Spring Rolls, and Buffalo Wings. All of these items are accompanied with celery sticks and either Salsa, Bleu Cheese Dressing, or Sweet and Sour Sauce. The Parlour Car also offers a Wine and Cheese Tasting between Luncheon and Dinner each day. On the first day, the wines featured are California Wines, while the second day features Oregon and Washington Wines. On southbound trips, the wine order is reversed, with the Pacific Northwestern Wines being served on the first day and the California Coastal Wines being served on the second day. Two movies are shown in the downstairs theatre area. One movie, for the children, is shown during the wine tasting, while the other movie is shown as a night-cap on the first night only. There is also a night time event in the Parlour Car for sleeper passengers only. These cars were built by the Budd Car Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1956 and were originally utilized on the famous Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's Super Chief/El Capitan. When Amtrak Acquired them, they were assigned to the Southwest Chief until the 1980's, then for a brief period of time prior to the inception of the Caltrans-owned California Car Fleet, they saw service on the San Joaquins and Capitol Corridor Trains. In 1996, they were assigned to the Coast Starlight, where they remain assigned today. Car #39971, which is not shown here, was sold to the Illinois Transit Association Assembly, which explains why it is not shown here. The Coast Starlight is the only train which operates a separate lounge for sleeping car passengers.
PACIFIC PARLOUR CAR RENOVATION AND UPGRADES INFORMATION PAGE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| CAR NUMBER | CAR NAME | RELEASE DATE | NAMED FOR |
| 39973 | Santa Lucia Highlands | April 6, 2008 | Mountain Range that is directly west of the Starlight Route between San Luis Obispo and Salinas in San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, spanning 105 miles of the California Coast Line |
| 39975 | Willamette Valley | April 30, 2008 | River Valley through which the train passes between Eugene, OR and Portland, OR. |
| 39970 | Columbia Valley | May 2, 2008 | River Valley thru which train passes between Vancouver, WA and Centralia, WA |
| 39972 | Napa Valley | Wine Country Region of Napa and Sonoma Counties, located northwest of Martinez, CA | |
| 39974 | Sonoma Valley | June 11, 2008 | Wine Country Region of Sonoma County, Located northwest of Martinez, CA |
Information Provided courtesy of David C. Warner.
