David Cautley’s dome car in the Albany yard on Feb. 3. This week the car was taken to Independence.
Following up on Sunday’s story about the old Southern Pacific dome car, the car has been taken to a shop in Independence, where the owner will rebuild the classic railcar so passengers can ride in it once again.
The owner, David Cautley, of Portland, is retired from the computer business and for a number of years has been active in Oregon’s railroad heritage community.
On Tuesday he and I spent an hour sitting at Sidekicks, sipping coffee and talking about lots of things but mainly about 3602, the old Southern Pacific and later Amtrak passenger car that he is determined to rebuild.
On Tuesday morning the Portland & Western Railroad took the car to a property Cautley owns in Independence. There it will be worked on inside a shop that once was part of the old Valley and Siletz Railroad.
The car needs a huge amount of work, inside and out. Cautley intends to rebuild and restore it to Amtrak standards.
He eventually wants the car to be used in special excursion trains pulled by SP4449, the legendary “Daylight” steam locomotive being maintained by volunteers at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland.
The dome car’s interior is trashed, but some patterns remain. Cautley understands that one of the previous owners had the furnishings taken out so the car could serve as a playroom for his children.
The restoration will take time, that’s clear. From time to time rail fans will be able to follow the process on www.entropics.us, the website of Cautley’s Small Fortune Railcar LLC. (The site already has a description of the project.)
Cautley and his son will do some of the work themselves. They’ve already had help from railcar experts such as an engineer and steel fabricators, and others including people at the Albany & Eastern Railroad in Lebanon.
After our chat at Sidekicks, Cautley was headed for Linn-Benton Community College. For a talk about railroads, I wondered? No, he’s taking a welding class there.
Talking about railroads: David Cautley at Sidekicks in Albany on Tuesday.
Fun project. That’ll be really cool when he’s finished.
I just somehow knew you were going to have opportunity to visit with the owner. I shall look forward to reading and watching this half dome car come to life once again!
Well done, owner and Hasso!
This is pretty cool!!! Thanks, Hasso, for the follow-up!!
Thank you for the follow up Hasso. Old trains bring back fond memories. I would have been 6 at the oldest when I got to ride a train by myself from western Kansas to Chicago to visit my grandmother before we moved to Oregon. I did check out the entropic website and will probably follow the restoration process.
Thanks Hasso! Looking forward to seeing the progress and eventually the finished project.
That will be so nice to see and to be able to ride in it.
I remember riding a Union Pacific train from Oregon to visit my Grandparents in the midwest in the 1960’s. Climbing the stairs in the Domeliner Car was a real treat for a little kid. Great memories. Thank you Hasso. Steve
In the 1950’s, as a kid, I got to ride the Daylight from Eugene to San Diego and back several times with my Mom and sister. (My mom was from San Diego). I think the trip took about 24 hours and we changed trains somewhere along the way. I remember riding in a dome car on one of the trips. Maybe this is that car? I have great memories of riding the “Daylight” train. Thanks for writing about trains.