TrainPages: PNWC #600 Mount Hood at National Train Day 2010

I originally posted this on my old website on the PORTLAND PLACES: Portland Union Station page on May 16, 2010.

…Continued from National Train Day 2010 at Union Station in Portland, Oregon.

Mount Hood at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

The Mount Hood, SP&S #600, is one of two sleeper-lounge cars ordered from the Pullman-Standard Manufacturing Company of Chicago in September 1946 by the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway for the Portland section of Great Northern's Empire Builder. It was delivered in February 1950 and was refurbished by Pullman in 1968 as the company's last project before exiting the sleeping car business. When the SP&S became part of Burlington Northern in 1970, the Mount Hood was assigned #1205, and it was leased by Amtrak from May 1, 1971 until early 1972. The Mount Hood logged almost 5.3 million miles between Spokane and Portland on SP&S, Burlington Northern and Amtrak passenger trains.

Mount Hood at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 8, 2010

In 1972, Burlington Northern donated the car to the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. In 1981, the Mount Hood was painted in Southern Pacific Daylight colors to accompany #4449 to the opening of the California State Railroad Museum and on the 7,477-mile 51-day excursion to the Louisiana Worlds Fair in New Orleans in 1984. It was repainted into its original colors, which it still wears today, for the 1985 AARPCO/Union Station neon sign celebration. Mount Hood's sister car Mount St. Helens still exists and is being restored by owner Michael Gelhaus in Spokane.

Corridor inside the Mount Hood

The Mount Hood's sleeping accommodations include six single-person roomettes and three larger 2-person double bedrooms. Here is the corridor between the roomettes.

Roomette inside the Mount Hood

This is one of the roomettes, configured for daytime use.

Roomette inside the Mount Hood

The small room features a chair and a toilet.

Roomette inside the Mount Hood

Here is another roomette configured for nighttime use, with the bed folded down out of the wall above the chair to fill the small space.

Roomette inside the Mount Hood

The toilet is covered by the bed; in order to use the toilet at night, the bed must be folded back up into the wall.

Double Bedrooms inside the Mount Hood

Here are two of the three large 2-person double bedrooms. This pair of compartments can be opened up to form a 4-person room as shown here. A partition divided the space when used as separate accommodations. Each double bedroom features a sink and a folding toilet in the cabinet beneath it.

Double Bedroom inside the Mount Hood

Here are some additional views of the double bedrooms. The left side is configured for nighttime use and the right side for daytime use. In both cases the upper berth is folded up into the wall.

Double Bedroom inside the Mount Hood