By Justin Franz

The last surviving Amtrak Cascades Talgo Series VI car will be preserved at the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Wash. 

This month, Bistro Car 7304 was trucked across the country from Indiana, where the former Cascades trainsets were being scrapped, to Washington. The car arrived in Snoqualmie on Monday morning ahead of a winter storm that could have stalled progress on the nearby pass and was expected to be unloaded at the museum on Tuesday. 

The Series VI cars were iconic, plying the rails between Vancouver, B.C., and Eugene, Ore., for two decades. Following a fatal wreck in 2017, the National Transportation Safety Board suggested that the cars were unsafe, despite protests by the car’s builder. Regardless, the cars were taken out of service in 2020 and sent for scrap the following year. Most of the cars were cut up, but one was saved by RailExCo and its owner, Adam Auxier, who donated it to the Northwest Railway Museum. Executive Director Richard R. Anderson said the museum plans on making the car a centerpiece of a soon-to-be-built exhibit hall. 

A publicity photo from the 1990s shows the interior of the Bistro car and the mural of the Pacific Northwest on the ceiling. Photo Courtesy of Northwest Railway Museum.

“We want to focus on stories of Northwest railroading and the region’s passenger rail renaissance was sparked by these Talgo cars,” Anderson told Railfan & Railroad. “It’s a great honor to be able to preserve one of these artifacts.”

The Talgo cars were built in 1998, just before the new Cascades service began between Eugene and Vancouver. The cars were designed by Mexican-born American industrial designer César Vergara, who was chief designer for Amtrak in the 1990s. The Cascades trainsets were unique, featuring an iconic tail fin that helped the trainset match the profile of the much taller locomotives. Inside the Bistro Car specifically, a mural of the Pacific Northwest was painted on the ceiling.

Amtrak 501 passes North Portland Junction, Ore., on the last southbound revenue run of the Talgo Series 6 train sets on June 29, 2020. Photo by Randall Pratt.

After the cars were retired, they were sent to scrap, an effort led by RailExCo, which salvaged a number of items from the cars, including bike racks, lamps and more, according to Auxier. However, he knew it was important to also try and save an entire car so he donated the Bistro to the museum. 

“Railexco is thrilled to have been in the position to donate the unique Cascades Talgo Bistro to the Northwest Railway Museum,” he said. 

Because the Talgo cars operated as a set, the Bistro Car will not be able to be used in service, but Anderson said it will play a pivotal role in telling the story of Northwest railroading for decades to come. 

While RailExCo donated the car to the museum, it is still paying for the cross-country move. Those interested in making a donation can do so online.