American Association of Private Rail Car Owners, Inc.: Better known as AAPRCO. I'm not a member, but a museum friend has been for years and has given me access to his back issues of their "Private Varnish" magazine for the technical articles. Good stuff.
ACF Industries LLC: Then known as "American Car & Foundry", they built 1146. Although they exited the passenger car market in 1959, they continue as a major supplier of freight cars, specializing in tank cars and their "CenterFlow" hopper car design.
Adams and Westlake, Ltd.: Better known as Adlake, they supplied original-equipment end diaphragms, window frames, and interior finishing hardware for 1146. Almost alone among the original suppliers, they are still in business selling much of the same designs!
Alemite: Maker of lubrication fittings and delivery systems. Their "giant button-head" fitting is standard on closed-style roller bearing journal boxes. When I inquired about a new grease gun, their tech support replied "you may use a grease gun part number 500-E, unscrew from the end the regular grease coupler, attach the button head coupler (part number 304300-A)and you are ready to go. "
Allied Electronics, Inc.: An electronics supply house. I bought the components for the kitchen ceiling fan's 32vdc power supply from them.
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers: The professional association for engineers who design Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers: Since much railcar repair is structural, ASME standards are often referenced.
American Welding Society: Provides welding materials specifications, welder certifications, trade shows, and other services to the welding community
AMP.: Well-known brand of electronic and electrical connectors. Their Pre-Insulated Diamond Grip ("PIDG") line of crimp-on ring terminals are specified by Amtrak. Owned by Tyco Electronics.
"Amtrak Trains & Travel" by Patrick Dorin.: Published by Superior Publishing Company in 1979. Photograph of dining room interior on page 91.
APA - The Engineered Wood Association: Formerly named the American Plywood Association, they are an excellent resource for learning about engineered wood products, their characteristics and proper application techniques.
Applied Products, Inc.: My source for Ingersol-Rand "black-out punches", which are for punching out old rivets. They sell a full line of Ingersol-Rand air tools, including chipping hammers, rivet busters, and tooling.
American Public Transit Association - Standards Development Program: The American Public Transit Association has largely taken over the maintenance and upkeep of passenger car standards from the AAR. On their website, menu Published Documents-->Published Standards-->Rail contains inspection procedures, while Published Documents-->Published Standards-->PRESS updates the old AAR Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices, Section A, Part III: Passenger Car Requirements, rev 1984.
Association of American Railroads: The AAR is THE railroad industry association. Originally formed to promote mechanical compatibility between different railroad's equipment, today the AAR provides a host of services for the entire industry, their suppliers, and their customers. For passenger car restoration, I recommend buying the current "Field Manual of the A.A.R. Interchange Rules" each year. It defines defects which repair shops may repair - and bill you for - without any further authority than the interchange rules. Look for it in the publications catalog.
ASTM International: Formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials. Steel and other metals are often sold as meeting an ASTM standard.
Automation Direct: Recommended by a friend who designs and builds industrial automation controls - and owns a few railcars. Automation Direct can provide most any electrical device a car owner needs at extremely competitive prices.
BNSF Railway: One of America's biggest railroads, and a corporate successor to the Great Northern.
CARQUEST Automotive Finishes: 1166 S. Robert Street, W. St. Paul, MN 55118 651-645-0481
Formerly GT Parts & Paint Company. They sell DuPont Imron and DuPont Nason paint, and other fine automotive finishing products. They mix on site, and have been able to translate 1950's DuPont Dulux paint codes to the current paint bases. I hear they can also load spray cans with custom-mixed colors.
Champion Charter Sales & Service: Need Huck bolts? Alcoa is the manufacturer, and Champion Charter is the master distributor in the Twin Cities area. An Alcoa product manager recommended the C6L Lockbolt to replace 3/8" hot rivets, and the C50L Lockbolt to replace 1/2" and 3/4" hot rivets.
Champion Rivet Company: I got their contact info from the NKP 765 folks. Champion Rivet supplied their boiler rivet needs. Their railroad products include hot rivets, brake pins, knuckle pins, plunger rods, and grab iron rivets.
Coffee Creek Restoration: A blog of the restoration of Milwaukee Road Skytop Sleeper-Lounge "Coffee Creek". Previous site.
Colorado Pine Restoration: Louisville & Nashville 3462 "Plantation Pine", a Pullman 6-4-6 sleeper rennovated by Colorado Zephyrs, Inc. as a PV for hire. This is an enjoyable restoration narrative to read.
Copper Development Association: The Copper Development Association provides The Copper Tube HandBook, a 56-page PDF technical guide to copper tubing. I used it to study up before buying supplies and teaching myself to silver solder.
C Vision Productions: Local railroad vidiographer with an extensive list of titles available. "Minnesota's Railroads Vol II - St Croix Valley and Northern Minnesota" includes a 10-minute segment on 1146's July 2005 move from Pine City to Rush City. Shows the Big Sky Blue side.
"Dining by Rail" by James D. Porterfield.: Published by St Martin's Press in 1993. Great Northern publicity photos of passengers dining on page 70.
Dumond Chemicals Inc.: Dumond Chemicals' paint-removal products include Peel Away 7, an effective, environmentally-friendly, water-based, non-irritating paint stripper which has been praised by other restorationists I know.
DuPont: DuPont produces railroad finishes - and several other useful products. The Twin Cities' local sales rep is Thomas R. Kluver, (952) 484-3808 (cell.) Useful web search keywords are "Imron", "Corlar", and "performancecoatings".
E-bay: Don't laugh. I keep an eye on category Collectibles > Transportation > Railroadiana, Trains > Hardware > Other Hardware. That's where most of the passenger car interior trim items seem to get listed. Of course I've also got some searches running. The key with E-bay seems to be to know what something is worth, deduct shipping, and let it go if others bid it up higher. My first bid is usually my top bid.
Electro-Wire, Inc: They supply Exane locomotive wiring to EMD, GE, Motive Power, MTM, and now also to ERIX RailCar.
Ellcon-National: Manufacturer of the Peacock 800 (lever) and 850 (wheel) handbrakes which are common on postwar streamlined passenger cars. They're common on locomotives as well, and are readily available.
Enidine Inc.: Enidine manufactures hydraulic telescoping (piston) and rotary shock absorbers for railroad equipment. Got an old worn-out Houdaille rotary? Enidine can make a new replacement. (Dan Pluta and Ben Ringnalda found this vendor.)
Envirotech Remediation Services, Inc.: 3000 84th Lane N.E., Blaine MN 55449-7214, 763-746-0670 (p) 763-785-9020 (f)
Recommended by the City of Minneapolis, I've hired them to handle asbestos abatement.
General Fireproofing: General Fireproofing manufactured 1146's dining room chairs. Established in 1902, they are still in business today as GF Office Furniture.
GE Transportation: I used to buy window gaskets from Power Parts. They are now part of GE Transportation.
Glen-L.com: A resource for do-it-yourself boat builders, they were a first stop in educating myself about marine grade plywood.
Globe Amerada Architectural Glass LLC: Now a division of Standard Bent Glass. They provided the 3/8" FRA Type-II plastic laminate safety glazing used in 1146, as well as four of MTM's GN streamlined cars. Custom-manufactured in their Selma, Alabama facility.
Guild of Master Craftsmen Publications Ltd.: A publisher of craft specialty literature, I found useful data in their "Wood Identification & Use" book. Their upholstery books may also come in handy.
Grainger: Grainger is a whole-sale supplier of industrial parts and supplies. They accept credit cards and ship to residences, but do not do retail. I had to piggy-back on a business account I'm affiliated with.
Great Northern Archive: Jon Snyder is assembling a web site focused on Great Northern streamlined passenger cars, and has done some very interesting work with two- and three-dimensional modeling programs. I look forward to watching it develop!
Great Northern Empire: Web site devoted to the history of the Great Northern Railroad. Created and maintained by Ben Ringnalda. Simply the best single source I know of for locating surviving Great Northern rolling stock and historic structures. I met Ben corresponding about surviving passenger cars.
"Great Northern's Internationals" by James H. Larson.: Reference sheet #313 published June 2003 by the Great Northern Railway Historical Society. Provides a very good overview of the service 1146 was built for, with maps, diagrams, press releases, and advertising photos.
Great Northern Railway Historical Society: A non-profit dedicated to preserving the history of the Great Northern Railway. Of particular interest to me is their large collection of GN AFEs. (AFEs are "Authorities for Expenditure" - documents of purpose, plan, and estimated cost - which were required before any capital expenditure could be approved.)
Heywood-Wakefield: Heywood-Wakefield gained fame in the streamlined passenger car era with their anatomically-engineered "Good Form" coach seats. (Such as found in 1146.) The modern company is the result of a 1992 aquisition of the name and logo of the bankrupt company, and does not appear to serve the transportation industry.
Hillcrest Enterprises, Inc.: 11092 Air Park Road, Ashland, VA 23005 Phone 804-798-8390 Fax 804-752-7830
On-line outlet for Pyle-National Quelarc plugs & recepticles (208 shore power connectors) and Ralco plugs & recepticles (Waukesha Ice Engine & Enginator control connectors.) I've not done business with them yet, but I'm definitely adding them to this list.
Illinois Transit Assembly Corp: Located in an Illinois suburb of St Louis, ITAC has a huge inventory of used passenger cars on site, available for purchase. They also have excellent shop capabilities. I purchased several interior items for 1146 from them. Recently the founder retired, and they are now closely linked with Mid-America Railcar Leasing.
Interlube Corporation: Discovered by a friend, Interlube offers over twenty railroad-specialty lubricants, including Journal Oil, roller bearing grease, brake valve oil, and steam and diesel locomotive lubricants
Jay-Cee Sales & Rivet Inc.: I got their contact info from the NKP 765 group, who bought their structural-grade rivets here.
Johnson Controls: Manufacturers of the System 350 environmental controls, used on my Northwest Rail Electric control panel.
John W. Barringer III National Railroad Library: Part of the St. Louis Mercantile Library of the University of Missouri - St Louis, they hold the ACF Industries Archives collection. For 1146, they were able to provide the Bill of Materials and the builder's photos. Gregory P. Ames is the curator. 314-516-7247.
Kano Labs: Makers of penetrating oils, industrial lubricants, rust protection/removal products, and engine cleaners. Many swear by their "Kroil" penetrating oil. They sell direct on their web site.
Koshi Maxelum America, Inc.: Supplies metal-plywood (Plymetal) and metal-honeycomb core laminated products to the transit/railcar construction industry. Can do custom work. Recommended by a car owner who inspects new railcars at the factory on the buyer's behalf.
Laird Plastics: A large plastics supplier with offices all over the United States. While I haven't done business with them myself, a friend says he's found Margard FRA type-II window glazing there.
Lake Superior Companies, Inc.: My friend - and fellow car owner - Mark Arnold, has a business doing industrial controls and fabrication. I've seen an electrical cabinet he installed in a passenger car, and was quite impressed. His company has three divisions:
*Lake Superior Electric & Controls, UL listed control assemblies and licenced as an electrical contractor in 7 states.
*Lake Superior Precision, precision cutting offering waterjet and plasma. Also light machining, MIG/TIG welding and machine fabrication.
*Lake Superior Rail, railroad passenger car leasing and light to medium car modification and rebuilding.
Lake Superior Railroad Museum: Cool railroad museum in Duluth Minnesota. They own Great Northern coaches 1115 and 1116 (a.k.a. BN A-13 and A-14) which were built by ACF along side 1146, on the same order, for the same train. The cars share many construction blueprints.
Logan Corporation: My old window gasket supplier was bought up by a larger company. I'm told Logan Corporation is now the best bet. Try the Locomotive Parts contact in Huntington, WV.
W.P.&R.S. Mars Co.: A locally-based on-line shop supply company. I bought glass bead blast media from them.
Mid America Railcar Leasing: Looking to lease a railcar? Need help moving a railcar? Mid America can help. They are also closely linked with Illinois Transit Assembly Corp.
Mid Atlantic Rail Car: Mid Atlantic Rail Car has a large variety of light weight passenger railroad car parts - 20 to 30 trailer loads - mostly from the Long Island Railroad and New Jersey Transit. Ken Bitten: 410-336-1605 (phone) or 717-993-5055 (fax). Inquiries welcome.
Mid-Continent Railway Museum: Located in North Freedom, Wisconsin. One of their claims to fame is that they still use steam heat in their passenger cars.
Minnesota Historical Society: The official historical society of the state of Minnesota. Because the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads were headquartered in St. Paul, the MHS ended up with the bulk of their old business records.
Minnesota Transportation Museum: The museum where I first got into passenger car restoration, and still work twelve to fifteen hours two or three Saturdays a month. They currently own nine Great Northern passenger cars, five of which are operating.
Minnesota Woodworkers Guild: The Minnesota Woodworkers Guild. As I get more into the wood aspects of restoration (plywood products for floor and interior walls) I intend to check these guys out.
Midway Auto Supply: A decent source for tools and supplies, with a focus on automotive repair.
Mississippi Welders Supply: A good welding supply company close to home.
Moorhead Machinery and Boiler Co.: 3477 University Avenue N.E., Minneapolis, MN 55418
When MTM's steam loco NP 328 was operating, Moorhead supplied flues and handled boiler welding. Recently, they formed skirts for GN 1213 in their slip rolls.
Morton Manufacturing Company: In years past, they made the step boxes and diaphragm curtains. Now they concentrate on punched- and expanded-metal anti-slip floor materials, and can do custom work. Probably a good source of vestibule steps.
Museum of Transportation: This famous museum is also the custodian of American Car and Foundry's old construction blueprints. For not much more than the cost of duplicating, they were able to provide me with a complete set of drawings for 1146.
Newark: A large electronics supply house. They seem to have everything in stock, and accept credit card orders over the web. Good shipping.
North Second Street Steel Supply: A large streel supply house in Minneapolis. They can get COR-TEN.
Northwest Rail Electric: The only supplier I know of who can provide engineering and materials to convert a passenger car from DC and steam heat to brand-new, fully Amtrak-approved heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and lighting with an optional integrated standy-by generator. They built the electric controls which ended up in 1146.
Northwest Timber: An Oregon-based retailer specializing in "the finest highly-figured domestic exotic hardwoods" including Oregon Myrtlewood, which is used for the dining room's bas-relief carvings.
Olsen Chain & Cable: 7225 Washington Ave S, Edina, MN 55439 952-944-7678 800-328-1906
I bought new hand brake chain from them. They stock a large variety of chains and cables, as well as links, binders, etc.
OTC Tools: Now a division of SPX, the former Owatonna Tool Company of Owatonna, Minnesota makes a decent, ergonomic impact screwdriver which I like. (Model 4607.) OTC should be famous among preservationists for preserving the Owatonna depot and that 2-4-4T Forney Chicago commuter engine, Illinois Central 201
Oxygen Service Company: A good, full-service welding supply store in St Paul
Ozark Mountain Railcar: Railroad equipment brokerage owned by John Suscheck. There is a parts section as well.
Parker-Hannifin Corporation - Tube Fittings Division: Manufacturer of a wide array of tube fittings. Their customer support folks were very helpful in locating a local retailer of a particularly hard-to-find fitting.
"The Passenger Car Library - Volume 3 - Western Railroads" by W. David Randall.: Published by RPC Publications Inc. in 2000. Plan and builder's photos on pages 10-12.
The Pocket List of Railroad Officials: Published quarterly. The pocket list is a directory of officials of railroads, transit agencies, and suppliers. It has served the industry since 1895.
POR-15 Rust Preventive Paint: This stuff is awesome. It's absolutely the best rust-preventive, rust-converting paint I've ever met. In the Twin Cities, I get it at Welle Auto on Central Ave. in Minneapolis.
Potters Industries Inc.: Manufacturers of glass bead for abrasive blasting, and other fine engineered glass materials.
Precision Gasket Company: Custom-manufactured the window gasket used in 1146 with the 3/8" single-pane glazing. It came from a 5000' lot done for MTM back in the mid-90's.
Pyle-National: Pyle-National manufactured railroad lighting, electrical and connector products for decades. In 1963 Trans-Lite purchased their locomotive headlight, generator, and gyralite products. (At some point they also picked up their passenger car light fixtures.) In 1994 Pyle-National was purchased by Amphenol. In 1996, Amphenol merged them with new purchase Sine. Initially named Amphenol Sine Systems * Pyle Connectors Corporation, they have recently been restructured into cable assembly (Amphenol Sine Systems) and connector (Amphenol Pyle-National) business units. For railroad connectors, see "Rail Mass Transit" under "Markets Supported."
RailFonts.com: Ben Coifman's RailFonts.com. Ben volunteered at the Minnesota Transportation Museum back in the 1990's, and got started making computer versions of railroad fonts around the time MTM was repainting some cars. Today he has an extensive selection of specialty railroad fonts.
Railinc: Railinc is the data processing arm of the AAR. They are the folks who can set up reporting marks for equipment owners, and they run the railroad industry's rolling stock database. ("EMIS" - the Equipment Management Information Service, and its predecessor "UMLER" - the Uniform Machine-Language Equipment Register.) Most class one railroads these days insist that car owners have legitimate reporting marks, and that the rolling stock and its physical characteristics are properly entered in the database. It is good for the private car owner, because setting certain fields can protect the rolling stock or prevent unnecessary repairs.
RailSwap: A web site for buying and selling used railroad equipment, tools, and parts. I've found a few things I needed, and gotten some good response to my want ads.
Railroad Passenger Car Alliance: Memberships offers networking opportunities, education programs (including FRA-mandated air brake certification,) group liability and property insurance, and access to their reporting mark RPCX.
Railway Equipment Co.: Manufacturer of railway crossing and switch accessories. They built my "Cragg RailCharger" on-board battery charger.
Rockler Woodworking and Hardware: A local woodworker's specialty store, which I visit for supplies, tools and reference materials.
Sears - Craftsman Tools: I'm an enthusiastic user of Sears Craftsman hand tools. They're well-made, readily available at odd hours, and their lifetime guarantee has proven useful more than once.
Seven Corners Hardware: 216 West 7th Street, St Paul, MN 55102 651-224-4859 800-328-0457
Located near the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, this is one of the largest general hardware stores I've ever been in. The easiest way to shop is to ask a sales rep to help find things - there is that much stuff in the store.
Simmons-Boardman Books: Simmons-Boardman has been publishing books intended for the railroad industry for decades. The wonderful Car and Locomotive Cyclopedias are theirs, for example. They also publish the Federal laws (49 CFR) governing railroads in handy pocket-sized spiral-bound editions. For passenger car restoration, the green one (Passenger-related parts 238 and 239) and the red one (Railroad mechanical department regulations, including parts 210, 215-218, 221, 223, 225, 229, 231 and 232) are essential.
Special Metals Corporation: 1146's kitchen floor is Monel metal sheet. Monel was invented by International Nickel Corporation (INCO) in 1901. In 1998, Special Metals Corporation acquired the rights.
Stadco Generators: Stadco packages Deutz diesels in quiet, ready-to-mount enclosures which are engineered for the very hostile environment under a railroad car. I aspire to get one of these.
Stanley-Proto Tools: Manufacturs tools under the Stanley, Proto, and Blackhawk brand names. For loosening stuck screws, their impact driver bits (5/16" hex) seem wonderfully durable. Search for kit J7099A to list available bits.
St Nicholas Mountain: Web site devoted to the history and restoration of Great Northern 1291, the "St Nicholas Mountain", an observation-lounge built by ACF for the 1951 edition of the Empire Builder. Ben Ringnalda is the owner and restorer. I got to come along and offer my mechanical opinion when he bought it, and he pointed me towards some great ACF archives.
Stork Twin City Testing: Materials testing company with locations all over the United States and Europe. They analyzed steel samples for me to determine the alloy composition.
Striegel Supply: Discovered by a friend, Striegel offers parts supplies and services for diesel engines from Alco, GM, Hamilton, Baldwin, Cleveland, Cooper-Bessemer, EMD, Waukesha, Fairbanks-Morse, and GE. They also service American Bosch and EMD injectors, Woodward governors, and turbochargers from Alco, EMD, GE and Buchi.
Total Tool: 315 Pierce St N, St Paul, MN 55104 651-646-4055 800-444-4899
One of my favorite contractor-grade tool and safety equipment stores. They carry a large inventory, rent expensive but rarely-used tools (such as large electrical lug crimpers,) and have a tool repair service. To date, they're the only place I've found the Sprayon dry molybdenum lubricant which a local short line's CMO recommended for lubricating coupler knuckle parts.
Trans-Lite: As several railroad light fixture suppliers (Pyle-National, Safety, etc.) were exiting the railroad market, Trans-Lite was there to purchase the product lines. They still have some globes and even some new castings for light fixture designs which are now over half a century old.
United Surface Preparation: An upper-midwest supplier of media-blasting equipment. Recommended by a friend.
Union Pacific Railroad: Corporate successor to several Minnesota railroads, including the Chicago and North Western, Chicago Great Western, Omaha, and the Minneapolis and St Louis; and current owner of most former Rock Island trackage.
Viking Electric Supply: A good electrical contractor supply house, with several sites in the Twin Cities area. They were able to order odd-ball Kulka fluorescent light fixture parts, so that I could completely rewire 1146's light fixtures and eliminate problems with bad/dirty contacts.
Wabtec Corporation: Several of the main suppliers who equipped 1146 survive today as business units within Wabtec. I've personally purchased air brake parts, toilets, and window gaskets from them, but they produce and sell much more.
WAGO: WAGO invented a spring-cage wire clamp, which they produce in a dizzying array of DIN-rail mount products. Their stuff is approved for use in railroad signaling applications, but I'm not sure if its approved for transit or Amtrak use.
Walter: A supplier of welding products. I discovered their "Stainless Clean" chemical stainless-steel cleaning and brightening gel. It does a better job than other products I've tried, and can be used in food plants.
Welle Auto Supply: 4801 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55421 763-571-2734
The only POR-15 distributor in the Twin Cities. They also carry many other fine automotive finishing products.
Western Safety: A safety equipment supplier with a good representation of railroad products.
Williams Steel & Hardware: Another steel & fasteners supplier in Minneapolis

See Also