Re: Link *LINK*

Posted By: earl
Date: Friday, 14 May 2004, at 8:35 p.m.
In Response To: Re: Million Dollars? Parlor Cars? (John Craft)
Swede Johnson owned 3 or 4 Union Pacific passenger cars and kept them on his property on the north side of Hwy 17 just west of Antonito. There was in my recollection a baggage/dormitory, a diner and a pullman named the "National Command", plus perhaps a baggage car. The cars disappeared in the late 1980's. I missed a great photo as the National Command went out on its own wheels in consist with the D&RGW Antonito Local. The others were trucked.
Gary Getman told me of his earliest year with the C&TS, he lived the the National Command - complete with Pullman bedding. He rigged up some automobile batteries in series for get the 32volts for lights and ventlation fans. By charging all the batteries all day, he could get about 3 hours of lighting in the evening and get the fans to run most of the night.
Swede's plan was to open a motel/resturant using the passenger cars, but nothing much came of it.
Would be interesting to see where the National Command ended up.