# Beech Grove Car 10001



## Peter (Jul 10, 2012)

I've been aboard 10001 Beech Grove. You enter from the front of the car. There is a door to the kitchen to your right. You walk foward; to your left are windows, to the right it a stained wood wall. Then you enter the dinning room. The hall runs the length of the car. There is no door to the dinning room, but there is a wood table and six wooden chairs around the table. If you keep walking, you come to a door to your right, it's a bedroom. It has a full size bed (not with traditional Amtrak blue blankets, but with a brow/tan comforter), and a bathroom. If you look into the bedroom from the hgallway, the bed is to the left and the bathroom is to the right. Keep walking down the hall and you'll come to a bedroom with a bunkbed (similar to those in roomettes). Keep walking and youll come to the, as I like to call it, "The Window Room". There are 2 seats on the hallway side, and 2 on the other. By the door to the back platform, there are 2 small tables and chairs.


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## VentureForth (Jul 10, 2012)

Cool. I have a postcard.


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## roomette (Jul 10, 2012)




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## benjibear (Jul 10, 2012)

I want one of those donuts!


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## Bob Dylan (Jul 10, 2012)

It's a Dirty Job but Someone has to do it!! ^_^ Nice Pics, several of our Members have been fortunate enough to be able to Board this Beauty!!


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## Shanghai (Jul 10, 2012)

Two years ago, my SCA on the Capitol Limited told me he was often

asked to be the attendant on the Beech Grove. Where is the Beech

Grove based? Washington DC??


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## afigg (Jul 10, 2012)

Shanghai said:


> Two years ago, my SCA on the Capitol Limited told me he was often
> 
> asked to be the attendant on the Beech Grove. Where is the Beech
> 
> Grove based? Washington DC??


The Beech Grove is often parked at the end of the upper level tracks at DC Union Station. I've walked past it a few times getting off a train at WAS. DC is where the Amtrak President's office is, so makes sense to keep his "staff car" there.


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## rtabern (Jul 10, 2012)

When #10001 rolled through Milwaukee early last month (June 2012), my fiancee, her son, and I headed out to the Milwaukee Intermodal station to try and get a glimpse of Mr. Boardman. Amtrak's #2 (Mr. Gallagher) was on the back platform and I chatted with him and gave him a copy of my route guide (www.outsidetherails.com) that I wrote about the Empire Builder to give to Mr. Boardman. He took it and had asked Mr. Boardman to come out and we chatted for the 4-5 minutes the train was in the station.

Anyway, fast forward about 2 weeks, and #10001 (Beech Grove), #10031 (Great Dome), and #10021 (Pacific Cape) were on the back of the Southwest Chief... as my fiancee and I were coming back from Missouri to meet with our wedding photograhers. Mr. Gallagher was walking the train and recognized us in the diner from a couple of weeks earlier in Milwaukee. At the end of the trip, he invited us to come back and have the sleeping car attendant who was mentioned as usually being on #29/30 give us a tour around the cars. While I had been in #10031 several times before, I never had been in Pacific Cape, let alone Beech Grove.

I got some great shots... including us on the back platfom when we pulled into Union Station...

Here are some shots that we got:

http://rtabern.shutterfly.com/31483

(NOTE: The Amtrak business car shots start around Photo #129 in the series)

Mr. Gallagher is one of the nicest people I have come across at Amtrak... he spent a lot of time talking to passengers and getting their feedback on how their trip was going. It's nice to see executives on the train and talking to people, when I'm sure it would be a lot more "fun" to be riding in the private cars.


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## Shanghai (Jul 11, 2012)

Rob,

Great pictures. Thank You. I recognized the SCA from the Capitol Limited in your photos.

What is the Pacific Cape car? I've been in Ocean View (with you and Robert Madison) when

it was attached to the Cardinal a couple of years ago.


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## trainman74 (Jul 11, 2012)

rtabern said:


> Here are some shots that we got:http://rtabern.shutterfly.com/31483
> 
> (NOTE: The Amtrak business car shots start around Photo #129 in the series)


Loved a couple of the details in your business car shots: the sock monkey and the copy of Passenger Train Journal.


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## WhoozOn1st (Jul 11, 2012)

Greetings from Yuba City, CA, where Team Whooz is kicking off a railfanning tour of the old Western Pacific route through the Feather River Canyon.

Long as it's Beech Grove Bragging Season, here's Team Whooz with Joe Boardman and 1001 at L.A. Union Station on May Day, 2009:






L-R: Joe Boardman (Amtrak Prez & CEO), Team Whooz Executive Assistant Alice, Team Whooz Executive Director WhoozOn1st (having a bad hair day, literally). Special thanks to Pat Shaw, Joe Boardman's Executive Assistant, for graciously getting this shot.
​


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## AmtrakBlue (Jul 11, 2012)

Rob, loved the picture of the sign saying PRIVATE, and then you guys just waltzed right in and made yourselves at home. :wub:


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## Peter (Jul 11, 2012)

Beech Grove isn't technecly based out of anywhere. Its always on the move as you already know. Has anyone heard of Steve Ostrowski, the Amtrak engineer? Also the 40th Annicversary Exhibit Trainmaster?


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## Donctor (Jul 11, 2012)

rtabern said:


> Here are some shots that we got:
> 
> http://rtabern.shutterfly.com/31483
> 
> (NOTE: The Amtrak business car shots start around Photo #129 in the series)


Very cool.


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## amtrakwolverine (Jul 11, 2012)

roomette said:


>


Links don't work. copy and paste don't work either says page not found.


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## rtabern (Jul 11, 2012)

Peter said:


> Beech Grove isn't technecly based out of anywhere. Its always on the move as you already know. Has anyone heard of Steve Ostrowski, the Amtrak engineer? Also the 40th Annicversary Exhibit Trainmaster?


Yes, a good guy... "Trogdor", Rafi, and I met him when we rode the re-route of the Coast Starlight over Tehachapi Pass in the Spring of 2011.

He was riding #11 from SEA-OKJ taking pictures of the employees for the 40th Anniversary Video... unfortunately he had to hop at OKJ and wasn't aware of the detour the train would be taking... as he said he would have loved to stay on and ride with us to LAX.

Anyway, I also saw him when I went to see the 40th Anniversary Train in New Haven, Milwaukee, and Toledo.

I wonder if he's going back to NY as an engineer now the anniversary train is parked for the most part (with a trip to BNL this week being an exception apparently)


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## rtabern (Jul 11, 2012)

AmtrakBlue said:


> Rob, loved the picture of the sign saying PRIVATE, and then you guys just waltzed right in and made yourselves at home. :wub:


It was very cool to get a picture sitting a Mr. Boardman's meeting/dining table in the Beech Grove!! I wish we could have spent more time in there, but was gracious just to get the 20 minutes or so we had in the 3 cars.


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## rtabern (Jul 11, 2012)

Shanghai said:


> Rob,
> 
> Great pictures. Thank You. I recognized the SCA from the Capitol Limited in your photos.
> 
> ...


Shanghai, thanks for the compliments.

Pacific Cape was built in 1950 by the Union Pacific (original car number was UP#1406). It became a sleeper when Amtrak took over and held car numbers AMTK#2521, AMTK#2891, and AMTK#2604. From what the sleeping car attendant told me, it was a sleeping car on mostly eastern routes... then a crew car... and then it was taken out of service when the requirements for not allowing toilets to flush right on the tracks were put into place. From my tour, most of the "pots" in the car were covered up or taken out -- while maybe 2 or 3 were converted to modern service with retention tanks. Anyway, some rooms were pulled out and bathrooms were pulled out to make way for a washer and dryer and little storage/eating area. It's sister car "Pacific Bend" was attached to the anniversary train. From what I understand, Pacific Bend and Pacific Cape are the only 2 sleepers that Amtrak renumbered in their private car numbered 100XX fleet. Pacific Bend being AMTK#10020 and Pacific Cape being AMTK#10021.


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## printman2000 (Jul 11, 2012)

rtabern said:


> From what I understand, Pacific Bend and Pacific Cape are the only 2 sleepers that Amtrak renumbered in their private car numbered 100XX fleet. Pacific Bend being AMTK#10020 and Pacific Cape being AMTK#10021.


I am a bit confused, car 10021 was on our SWC back in 2008 and it was named Pacific Patrol. Has it been renamed?


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## rtabern (Jul 12, 2012)

printman2000 said:


> rtabern said:
> 
> 
> > From what I understand, Pacific Bend and Pacific Cape are the only 2 sleepers that Amtrak renumbered in their private car numbered 100XX fleet. Pacific Bend being AMTK#10020 and Pacific Cape being AMTK#10021.
> ...


From what I understand, Amtrak re-named it Pacific Patrol for a few years (around 2008), but has since changed it back to Pacific Bend. I'm guessing they were going to use it along with 10020 for Amtrak PD activities, but decided not to, and Pacific Bend sounded more appealing.


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## jacorbett70 (Jul 12, 2012)

Not the best shot due to the lighting, or lack of, at 30th Street track level, but I saw this one today.


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## Shanghai (Jul 13, 2012)

jacorbett70 said:


> Not the best shot due to the lighting, or lack of, at 30th Street track level, but I saw this one today.


Thanks for the picture, John. I guess Joe Boardman likes Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches!!


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## jis (Jul 13, 2012)

rtabern said:


> From what I understand, Amtrak re-named it Pacific Patrol for a few years (around 2008), but has since changed it back to Pacific Bend. I'm guessing they were going to use it along with 10020 for Amtrak PD activities, but decided not to, and Pacific Bend sounded more appealing.


A small correction....

10021 _Pacific Cape_ was renamed _Pacific Patrol_ for a few years.

10020 _Pacific Bend_ was renamed _Pacific Command_ for a few years.

This according to _Amtrak By the Numbers_ by David C. Warner and Elbert Simon, 2011 Edition.

Both have had their previous names restored.


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## The Chief (Jul 13, 2012)

trainman74 said:


> Loved a couple of the details in your business car shots: the sock monkey ,,,.


Agree, thanks for posting, *Rob*.

Please note the *KU Jayhawks* jersey represent on sock monkey,,,


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