Forwarding info-A
day has come that I never anticipated. Due to the the highly
restrictive environment that Amtrak has imposed upon us private car owners,
along with painfully high prices to store and operate, my family and I have
decided to sell the pride of our last 21 years, the Silver Splendor. The new owners are Dave
and Rhonda Swirk who run the Conway Scenic Railroad in North Conway,
NH. My wife, Heidi, and I, along with our two sons, have had the
pleasure of visiting there twice in recent years during our visits with
relatives in Boston. The lovely line in the White Mountains will now
be the permanent home for the former Burlington Vista-Dome, originally known
as Silver
Buckle. It's a fine place with people
who deeply care about vintage rail equipment and the Splendor will be well taken care
of. We would like to sincerely thank all of you who have ridden and
chased our car, along with those who have expressed their interest in its
history.
Heidi, Martin, James and myself
will be forever grateful for having lived the dream of rebuilding this
beautiful piece of passenger rail history and for the privilege of being
able to share it with all of you. We wish Dave and Rhonda all the best
as the new caretakers of the finest that the Budd Company had to offer.
The car will depart L.A. for
the final time this Saturday on Amtrak train #4, arriving CHI on the
afternoon of the 19th. On the night of the 20th, we depart CHI on
train #48 with Albany, NY as our destination the following day. The
car will be taken off at ALB and moved in freight service to Hazens, NH, the
connection to Conway Scenic. Brian Solomon of Trains Magazine will be
aboard to document the voyage and do a few interviews with the former owners
and the new ones. Don't be surprised to see an article about the
journey in a future edition of Trains. As always, photos and videos of
our move would be appreciated.
Thank you all deeply. The
memories will last a lifetime!
-John, Heidi, Martin and James
Caestecker
PV Silver Splendor
was at Denver Union Station, Denver, CO, 23 April 2015.
PV Silver Splendor at Denver Union Station 23 April 2015. Car was
based at Los Angeles, CA.
