Durango

Jason Van Horn's dinner train aboard the Durango last Saturday has elicited some comments about the car itself that deserve some clarification:

Somehow the idea developed, both at the dinner and later on this forum, that the Durango has spent almost its entire life sitting on a siding at Knott's. Nothing is further from the truth. Back in my youth Knott's use to run both "freight" and "passenger" trains. The Durango was the last car on the passenger train...no one rode in the car except a bunch of dressed-up mannequins. Back when I was a member of the Church of Reflections (located at Knotts) I discovered that Walter Knott himself at one time taught the church's Sunday School in the Durango.

Since its exterior restoration in the early 2000's, the Durango has hosted many events: dinners, anniversary celebrations, retirements, railfan events, and business meetings. Some of these took place while being pulled by the train. When it sits on the siding on display, it hosts many school tours. Thousands of students from local schools tour both the Durango and the Edna each year as part of the Adventures in Education program at Knott's Berry Farm.

The Durango interior was refurbished in the late 1970's. This particular contractor does outstanding work, as Jason's diners can attest - and anyone that has seen the exterior of the Edna.

It should be mentioned that "original" can be a rather subjective term and is not very useful. Given the history of the Durango and its multiple re-configurations, I would lay odds that very little of the interior was "original" when Knott's acquired it in the 1950's.