Private Railway Car Tamalpais.

Probably one of the more interesting chapters in my adventures in railroading was our part ownership of the private railway car Tamalpais, a former Santa Fe business car built in 1923. For the West family it became our flanged wheel Winnebago, taking us on trips all across the U.S. and Canada. The fellow owners became good friends as did many who staffed the car, my wife loved not having to worry about cooking or making beds, and our son thought riding the rails was cool, especially going through tunnels. One of the things that made if fun was that in addition to the obvious luxury of traveling by private railway car, maintaining a 50 year old antique provided plenty of challenges. So one day we might be being served prime rib on fine china by a white jacketed waiter, the next we were under the car covered with grease fixing whatever the latest ancient vebelfetzer was to break. We were part owners of the Tam for about 20 years, had a lot of memorable trips, and made lots of friends. But ultimately our group ran out of steam and sold the car. It was like loosing a good friend and we still miss it. But the good news is the Tam has a fine new owner with the resources to treat it well and keep it running on the rails. It is now Pullman green, again lettered for the Santa Fe, and known simply as Car 33.