Easily the equal of Union Pacific’s pre-war Little Nugget or Frontier Shack cars, the Ranch car was the most distinctive car on the 1951 Empire Builder, which made it (in the early 1950s at least) the most distinctive car on any Northwest train. The Great Northern published this 16-page booklet just to describe all of the features and decorations in the car.

Click image to download a 5.6-MB PDF of this 16-page brochure about the Ranch car.

One prominent feature was the branding irons in the partition between the dining tables and lunch counter and the images of those brands on the walls of the car. The brochure notes that the Great Northern applied for and received its own registered G-bar-N brand, which was given special prominence in the car.

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The car also featured wall murals by noted western artist Nick Eggenhoffer. Other intriguing decorations could be found in every nook and corner of the car.

Click image to download a 0.8-MB PDF of this article from American Car & Foundry’s company magazine, Wheels.

ACF was so proud of this car that it featured it on the cover and in more than half of a six-page article in its company magazine. The article also discusses the diners, observation car, and short-distance coaches.

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