On page 636 of the souvenir section of this issue reference is made to the parlor cars operated by the Oregon Electric Railway between Portland and Salem. Through the courtesy of C. A. Coolidge, general manager of the Oregon Electric Railway, this paper is able to present herewith some additional information about these cars, which have now been in service for about four weeks [since September 12, 1910]. The cars are being operated at the rear end of three-car trains. The first car in the train is a combination baggage, smoking and passenger car and the second car is a passenger trailer. The parlor car is equipped with motors and General Electric type M control and the forward end is vestibuled so a to provide a covered passageway through to the forward cars. The two parlor cars now in service are named the “Champoeg” and “Sacajawea.”
Floor Plan of Observation Parlor Car for Oregon Electric Railway.
An accompanying engraving shows the floor plan of the cars. At the rear end is an observation platform 8 ft. 4 in. long enclosed with a bronze railing and covered with a standard steam railroad pattern observation dome with an awning. The parlor-car compartment is 25 ft. 11 in. long and contains 21 seats along the side and a sofa across the front end. In the forward end of the car is a smoking compartment containing six seats and a sofa and a buffet, together with lavatories for ladies and gentlemen. The length of cars over buffers is 62 ft. 1-3/4 in. and the width over all is 9 ft. 6 in. The car bodies weigh about 37,000 lb. and the total weight, including motors and equipment, is 88,700 lb.
The side sills are made up of 4-1/2 in x 7-1/4 in. and 1-7/8 in. x 6 in. pine timbers with a 5 in. x 7-3/4 in. sill plate bolted between. The center and intermediate sills are 6 in. I- beams. The floor is of double thickness with a layer of Keystone hair insulation 1/2 in. thick between the two layers of boards. The windows have wide double bottom sashes with art-glass semi-elliptic sashes above. All movable sashes are hung on O. M. Edwards spring balance fixtures and are fitted with rings and rollers made by the same company.
The interior of the car is finished in selected dark mahogany with inlaid borders of colored woods. The ceiling is of Empire style, decorated in green and gold. Green silk Pantasote curtains are hung over all windows. In the toilet rooms and buffet the finish is white enamel. The parlor compartment is furnished with 21 reed chairs with dark-green plush cushions. These were furnished by Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company. The floor of the parlor compartment is covered with a thick Wilton carpet woven with a green and gold border.
Interior of Observation Compartment.
The smoking compartment is furnished with six mahogany colored reed chairs upholstered with dark-green leather, and the sofa across one end is upholstered in the same material. The floor of the smoking room, buffet and lavatories is covered with inlaid linoleum. The buffet is furnished with a sink with hot and cold water spigots, an ice chest under the sink, a linen closet, a nickel-plate hot-water urn and a two-burner alcohol stove.
The car is heated with a Peter Smith No. 2-C hot-water heater which also heats water for the buffet. Two 100-gal. steel water-storage tanks are hung under the car body. They are encased to prevent freezing and pressure is supplied by connecting with the air-brake system. The hot-water supply is stored in a 20-gal. tank mounted above the car heater. Other equipment of the car includes Edwards self-raising steel vestibule trap doors, Westinghouse air brakes, Baldwin trucks with 5-in. x 9-in. journals and 36-in. wheels designed for mounting two GE-73 motors. The cars were built by the Niles Car & Manufacturing Company, Niles, Ohio.