Superliners

Amtrak’s high-level Superliner cars were inspired by the Santa Fe’s unique high-level Budd cars used on its El Capitan train beginning in 1956. As with the El Cap cars, The diaphragms are located at the upper level, making them incompatible with standard passenger cars without the use of a “transition” car, i.e. one with a low-mounted diaphragm on one end.

Superliner cars were delivered in two major groups. The first batch, built by Pullman-Standard, began arriving in 1979 and are now referred to as Superliner I or S1. The second order was built in 1993-94 by Bombardier, and are known as Superliner II or S2. They are used primarily on the Western long-distance trains (i.e. Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited), in California, and on the Auto Train. They (and variants) also show up on California Surfliner trains.

A convenient spotting feature is the trucks. The S1 equipment all came on coil-spring trucks (initially with airbags in the coil). These trucks have an unconventional look to them, and much of the wheel face is exposed. The S2’s, on the other hand, have trucks of more conventional construction with prominent low-hanging sideframes.

There are five main types of cars, with a couple of variations within type: coaches, sleepers, transition sleepers, diners, and lounges. The transition sleepers all arrived with the S2 order, as they were built to replace the aging El Cap transition cars.

Quick Spotting Tips

At a distance, Superliners look pretty much the same. However, there are some things to look for to aid you in identification.

• S1 or S2? A convenient spotting feature is the trucks. The S1 equipment all came on coil-spring trucks (initially with airbags in the coil). These trucks have an unconventional look to them, and much of the wheel face is exposed. The S2’s, on the other hand, have trucks of more conventional construction with prominent low-hanging sideframes, and a triangular stabilizer structure projecting down from the car sill.

• If there is a lot of glass above the main line of windows, it’s a lounge. End of story.

• If there is a large blank space between the windows at the center of the car– two window-widths of metal– it’s a diner. (Sometimes there will be windows here that have been blanked over, on the 10 lowest-numbered diners.) Diners also have no windows on the lower level.

• If there is a small gap in the middle of the car and a single small window at one end, this is a transition sleeper. This car will also nearly always be at the front of the train, just behind the baggage. It also has its end diaphragm on the lower level at the same end where the small window is.

• If there are windows on both sides of the door on the lower level (and it’s not a LOUNGE), then it’s a sleeper. Some S1 sleepers also have a half-window blanked on one side of the upper level.

• Everything else is a coach of some kind. An additional large door in the side indicates a Coach/Baggage, and the lower windows will be blanked as of this point in time.
All other coaches have a group of windows on the lower level, either right or left of the door, but not both.

Keep in mind that all cars have a window in the entry doors on the lower level. Ignore these for spotting purposes.

The tables below show the number series of the various car types. Hot-linked numbers will take you directly to my photo(s) of that car, below the tables. Numbers with ~~strikethrough~~ are shown as wrecked. Some may have been rebuilt or otherwise salvaged.

S1 Coach/Baggages: 31000-31047

31000	~~31001~~	31002	31003	31004	31005	31006	31007	31008	31009
31010	31011	31012	31013	31014	31015	31016	31017	31018	31019
31020	31021	31022	31023	31024	31025	31026	31027	31028	31029
31030	31031	31032	31033	~~31034~~	31035	31036	~~31037~~	31038	31039
31040	31041	31042	31043	31044	31045	31046	31047

S1 Coaches: 34000-34101

34000	34001	34002	35001	34004	34005	34006	34007	34008	34009
34010	34011	34012	34013	34014	34015	34016	34017	34018	34019
34020	34021	34022	34023	34024	34025	34026	34027	34028	34029
34030	34031	34032	34033	34034	34035	34036	34037	34038	34039
34040	34041	34042	34043	34044	34045	34046	34047	34048	34049
34050	34051	34052	34053	34054	34055	34056	34057	34058	34095
34060	34061	34062	34063	34064	34065	34066	34067	34068	34069
34070	34071	34072	34073	34074	34075	34076	34077	34078	34079
34080	34081	34082	34083	34084	34085	34086	34087	34088	34089
34090	34091	34092	34093	34094	34095	34098	34099
34100	34101

S2 Coaches: 34102-34139

		34102	34103	34104	34105	34106	34107	34108	34109
34110	34111	34112	34113	34114	34115	34116	34117	34118	34119
34120	34121	34122	34123	34124	34125	34126	34127	34128	34129
34130	34131	34132	34133	34134	34135	34136	34137	34138	34139

S1 Sleepers: 32000-32069

32000	32002	32002	32003	~~32004~~	32005	32006	32007	~~32008~~	32009
~~32010~~	32011	32012	~~32013~~	32014	32015	32016	32017	32018	32019
32020	32021	32022	32023	~~32024~~	32025	32026	32027	32028	32029
32030	32031	32032	32033	32034	~~32035~~	~~32036~~	32037	32038	32039
32040	32041	32042	32043	32044	32045	32046	32047	32048	32049
32050	32051	32052	32053	32054	32055	32056	32057	32058	32059
32060	~~32061~~	32062	32063	32064	32065	32066	32067	32068	32069

S2 Sleepers: 32070-32118

32070	32071	32072	32073	32074	32075	32076	32077	32078	32079
32080	32081	32082	32083	32084	32085	32086	32087	32088	32089
32090	32091	32092	32093	32094	32095	~~32096~~	32097	32098	32099
~~32100~~	32101	32102	32103	32104	32105	32106	32107	32108	32109
32110	32111	32112	32113	32114	32115	32116	32117	32118

S2 Deluxe Sleepers: 32500-32505
S2 Transition Sleepers: 39000-39046

32500	32501	32502	32503	32504	32505
39000	39001	39002	39003	39004	39005	39006	39007	39008	39009
39010	39011	39012	39013	39014	39015	39016	39017	39018	39019
39020	39021	39022	39023	39024	39025	39026	39027	39028	39029
39030	39031	39032	39033	39034	39035	39036	39037	39038	39039
39040	39041	39042	39043	39044	39045	39046

S1 Diners: 38000-38038

38000	38001	38002	38003	38004	38005	38006	38007	38008	38009
38010	38011	38012	38013	38014	38015	38016	38017	38018	38019
38020	38021	38022	38023	38024	38025	38026	38027	38028	38029
38030	38031	38032	38033	38034	38035	38036	38037	38038

S2 Diners: 38039-38068

									38039
38040	38041	38042	38043	38044	38045	38046	38047	38048	38049
38050	38051	38052	38053	38054	38055	38056	38057	38058	38059
38060	38061	38062	38063	38064	38065	38066	38067	38068

S1 Lounges: 33000-33024

33000	33001	33002	33003	33004	33005	33006	33007	33008	33009
33010	33011	33012	33013	33014	33015	33016	~~33017~~	33018	33019
33020	33021	33022	33023	33024

S2 Lounges: 33025-33049

					33025	33026	33027	33028	33029
33030	33031	33032	33033	33034	33035	33036	33037	33038	33039
33040	33041	33042	33043	33044	~~33045~~	33046	33047	33048	33049


*C O A C H E S and C O A C H / B A G G A G E C A R S*
Coaches and coach/baggage cars are in the following number series. S1 Coaches: 34000-34101 S2 Coaches: 34102-34139 S1 Coach/Baggages: 31000-31047. (However, when smoking began to be restricted on Amtrak trains, these cars were re-designated as Coach/Smokers. The lower levels had glass installed in the window openings and a few inexpensive seats were installed. During the time these cars were configured as such, they were renumbered into the 31500 series [changed the middle digit in the number]. After this conversion was undone, the cars reverted to their original numbers.)
	Coach/Baggage 31010. Here it’s on the Winter Park Express on 2/20/2022.
	Coach/Baggage 31013. It wears Phase IVb. See comments for 31027, which also apply here.Top: at Gallup on train No. 4, 9/24/2011. Bottom: opposite side, at Denver on train No. 5, 12/16/2014.
	Coach/Baggage 31014. Here it’s wearing an ad wrap for the Winter Park Express on 2/20/2022.
	Coach/Baggage 31020, on No. 6 entering Glenwood Springs on 9/01/2018.
	Coach/Baggage 31021, trailing car on No. 4 at Continental Divide, NM on 1/01/2021.
	Coach/Smoker 31523 (31023), two views, shown at Glenwood Springs on 11/30/2002. A Superliner I built as coach/baggage car No. 31023, this coach was classified as a Super Smoker at time of photo. Note the lower windows have glass in them. It’s in original Phase IV lettering
	Coach/Baggage 31024, dressed in a Lyft ad-wrap for the Winter Park Express on 2/18/2018. This and two other cars were so adorned for the 2018 season.
	Coach/Baggage 31027, on No. 5 at Clay (now Eisele) siding on 12/6/2008.
	Coach/Baggage 31030. Here it’s wearing an ad wrap for the Winter Park Express on 2/20/2022. (the skiers look like giants, but they’re actually just a lot closer than the train!)
	Coach/Baggage 31033 is trailing on No. 5 at Fraser, 2/18/2018.
	Coach/Baggage 31040Top: in Albuquerque on 2/26/2009. Note that it’s still wearing standard Phase IV lettering, and is labeled as “Coach Smoker”, but has actually been modified back to a coach/baggage configuration. Bottom: Now in phase IVb, it’s running on the Winter Park Express on 2/18/2018.
	Coach/Baggage 31041 at Fraser, CO on the Winter Park Express (2/18/2018).
	Coach/Baggage 31045 at Fraser, CO on the Winter Park Express (2/18/2018).
S1 Coaches
	S1 coach, unknown number, Phase III stripes. It’s on the tail of train No. 6 as it pulls away from the Glenwood Springs depot in a pouring rain on 6/30/1995. I may have it on video; will check that sometime. This view does give us a good view of the EOT device, as well as the lit markers. The car ahead of it is a coach/baggage.
	Snack bar car 35001. Built in 1979 as a 74 seat coach numbered 34003. The 12 seats in the lower level of the car were removed and the space converted to a snack bar by November 1980 and the car renumbered as shown.
	S1 Coach 34027, oblique view. It’s eastbound at Palisade, CO on 4/28/2014.
	S1 Coach 34032, at Continental Divide NM on 7/19/2019. Here you can see the EOT appliance (the box in the window with the hose coming down to the trainline brake hose below).
	S1 Coach 34040, on No. 5 at Fraser, CO (2/18/2018).
	S1 Coach 34041, on the Winter Park Express at West Portal, CO (2/20/2022).
	S1 Coach 34048, on No. 4 on 12/31/2019.
	S1 Coach 34050, on No. 6 entering Glenwood Springs on 9/01/2018.
	S1 Coach No. 34056, in Denver, train No. 5, 12/16/2014.
	S1 Coach 34057, dressed up for the 2018 Winter Park Express. It’s a composite image (can you tell?). It’s sitting in the siding at Fraser on 2/18/2018.
	S1 Coach No. 34062 is seen on the California Zephyr at Grand Junction, CO on 1/05/2006. On this day the train was being run as a stub operation west of Denver, turning at Grand Junction, and as such was run without sleepers, baggage car, or lounge. Three coaches and a diner behind two P42DC’s were the entire train. The announced reason was because of flooding in California, although why they didn’t run through to Salt Lake was not explained to me.
	S1 Coach 34075, last car on the Southwest Chief in Albuquerque on 2/7/2010.
	S1 Coach 34090 TOP, at Albuquerque on 2/26/2009. Wearing Phase IVb. BOTTOM: on the Winter Park Express on 2/20/2022. Compare the two photos and you can detect a definite difference in the hue of blue. It’s much darker in the later photo.
	S1 Coach 34091 on No. 6 entering Glenwood Springs on 9/01/2018.
	S1 Coach 34096, on No. 4 at Continental Divide, NM on New Years Day 2021.
	S1 Coach 34097, on No. 4 on New Years Day 2021.
S2 Coaches
	S1 Coach 34117, wearing an ad wrap on the Winter Park Express on 2/20/2022.
	Snack bar car 35001. Built in 1979 as a 74 seat coach numbered 34003. The 12 seats in the lower level of the car were removed and the space converted to a snack bar by November 1980 and the car renumbered as shown.
	S2 coach 34120, at Gallup on 9/24/2011.
	S2 coach 34133, on train No. 5 on 12/16/2014.
	S2 coach 34134, at Gallup on 9/24/2011. Phase IVb stripes.
	S2 Coach 34135 on No. 6 in Debeque Canyon on 9/03/2018. The car is on the plate-girder bridge over Cottonwood Creek; the Colorado River is in the foreground.
	S2 coach 34137, ad-wrapped for the 2018 Winter Park Express. At Fraser, Colorado on 2/18/2018.
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*S L E E P E R S*
Sleepers were delivered in in the following series. S1: 32000-32069 S2: 32070-32118 S2 Deluxe Sleeper: 32500-32505 S2 Transition Sleeper: 39000-39046 (All transition sleepers came in the second order)
S1 Sleepers
	S1 sleeper 32000, at Continental Divide on 1/01/2021. It’s the lowest-numbered S1 sleeper.
	S1 sleeper 32007, at Continental Divide on 1/01/2021.
	S1 sleeper 32026 on No. 6 in Debeque Canyon on 9/03/2018.
	S1 sleeper 32027, on No. 5 at Fraser on 2/18/2018. Note the banked window.
	S1 sleeper 32042, in Albuquerque on 2/26/2009. It seems to have had some kind of repair done on the roof towards the right end. Wearing Phase IVb, which is probably the fourth paint scheme for this car.
	S1 Sleeper 32044 brings up the markers on No. 5 at Westwater, Utah (4/27/2014). Oblique angle but we get a good look at the end of the car.This particular run featured (in order) a transition sleeper at the head end, two coaches, lounge, diner, and these two sleepers on the tail.
	S1 Sleeper 32050. TOP: In essentially original paint, the Phase II scheme– note the extremely narrow white separation between the red and blue. It’s at Coal Creek Canyon west of Denver, trailing a coach in the same scheme, in July 1986. BOTTOM: Same car, 25 years later (9/24/2011) in Gallup, now it’s in Phase IVb.
	S1 Sleeper 32053, an S1 at Big 10 curve on 12/6/2008. Note that the “Amtrak” herald and the car number are a much lighter blue than the stripe. The light-blue letters on the silver background can be very hard to read in certain light.In all likelihood this is the fourth paint scheme this car has worn (see 32050 above for a look at the original Phase II scheme).
	S1 Sleeper 32059, at Glenwood Springs on 11/30/02. The former paint scheme is showing through in places.
	S1 sleeper 32065. Top: in Gallup on 9/24/2011. Note the panel adjacent to the car number; it seems to have received a repair job at some point. Bottom: Opposite side, in Denver on 12/16/2014. Note the half-blanked window in center, which corresponds to the S2 half-size window.
	S1 sleeper 32069 at Fraser on 2/18/2018. You can see the half-blanked window in the middle.
S2 Sleepers
	S2 Sleeper 32083 Top: At Glenwood Springs on New Years day 2004. Here it’s shown in phase IV and carrying the name “IOWA”. S2 sleepers were originally named for states. Bottom: On No. 5 passing Utah Junction in Denver, now in phase IVb (12/16/2014).
	S2 sleeper 32084 on No. 6 in Debeque Canyon on 9/03/2018.
	S2 Sleeper 32086, at Albuquerque on 2/26/2009.
	An unusual sighting– standard S2 sleeper 32095 was right behind the baggage on No. 4 at Continental Divide, NM (1/01/2021).
	S2 Sleeper 32113 (and 32115 as well), in Seattle on 7/24/2009.
Transition Sleepers
	Transition Sleeper 39009, at Albuquerque on 2/26/2009. It’s now in Phase IVb.
	Transition Sleeper 39015 is rolling into Glenwood Springs on No. 6, 9/01/2018.
	Transition Sleeper 39019. Look closely at the far end of the car and you will see a small window on the end. These cars have a standard-height vestibule on that end, allowing passage into the baggage car (or other standard-height equipment). Wearing Phase IV lettering. (Glenwood Springs, 1/1/2004)
	Transition Sleeper 39024. It’s on No. 4 passing through Grants on 8/29/2015.
	Transition sleeper 39026 on train No. 5, leaving Denver on 12/16/2014.
	Transition sleeper 39028, westbound in Byers Canyon on 8/9/2007. This was the first time I had photographed the newer, simplified Phase IVb scheme. Note the lack of the scripted “SUPERLINER” lettering, and modified numbering and car identification legends.
	Transition sleeper 39031, in Gallup on 9/24/2011.
	Transition sleeper 39035, at Westwater, Utah on 4/27/2014. This consist was inverted, with coaches behind the transition car, and only 7 cars total.
	Transition sleeper 39041 on No. 4 at Continental Divide, NM on 12/31/2019.
	Transition sleeper 39043 on No. 6 in Debeque Canyon on 9/03/2018.
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*L O U N G E C A R S*
Lounges arrived in the following groups. S1: 33000-33024 S2: 33025-33049
S1 Lounges
	S1 Lounge 33004, in Albuquerque on 2/7/2010. Probably the fourth paint scheme it has worn since being built in 1979… Note the four windows beyond the off-center side door– this easily identifies it as an S1, even if one cannot see the trucks.
	Top: S1 Lounge 33006 (trust me) flies through Grants on train No. 4 on 8/30/2015. Bottom: The opposite side of the car, showing the four windows ahead of the side door. This was on No. 4 at Continental Divide, NM on 12/31/2019.
	S1 Lounge 33009 at Fraser, CO on 2/18/2018. Train No. 5.
	S1 Sightseer Lounge car 33013, at Glenwood Springs on No. 6 (8/07/2001). These cars are the best place to be for the scenic portions of a trip, particularly in Colorado’s canyon country. Phase IV paint.
	S1 Lounge/Cafe 33014 Top: in simplified Phase III stripes on 6/30/1995. Video capture image. It’s in the rain in Glenwood Springs. Bottom: two paint schemes later, in Phase IVb at Continental Divide, NM. Same side of the car as above. (7/19/2019)
	S1 Lounge 33016, at Gallup on 9/24/2011. Note that, by this date, the car numbers have been changed to a darker blue, and are far easier to read than the early Phase IVb numbers.
	S1 Sightseer Lounge car 33020 (11/30/2002). Phase IV lettering and stripes. At Glenwoood Springs on No. 5.
	S1 Lounge 33022, seen at Westwater, Utah on No. 5, 4/27/2014. Phase IVb scheme. My main interest that day was the heritage unit No. 156 which was leading the train…

Interior of a Superliner I Sightseer Lounge car, upper level. Photo is taken standing with the stairway immediately to the left. Notice the earth-tone interior, which is the as-built color scheme. Word has it that some cars have been refitted in the Superliner II scheme (see below). Sightseer lounges have a TV monitor at each end of the car, to the left of the aisle, on which movies are played in the evenings. (November 2002)

Interior of a Superliner I Sightseer Lounge car, upper level, looking the opposite direction. Stairway is just to the right. Seat cushions in these lounges were a putty-colored tan on the stationary seats (lounge clusters) in the middle of the car, and darker brown on the swivel seats to each end.

S2 Lounges

	S2 Lounge car 33027, on the Southwest Chief at Albuquerque on 2/26/2009.Interesting footnote: On this day, No, 4 was running without a diner, and only 2 coaches behind the lounge. Very strange, and pity the passenger with a taste for something more elegant than a microwaved hotdog…
	S2 Sightseer Lounge 33030, in Byers Canyon on 8/9/2007. It wears the then-new Phase IVb scheme with the light blue numbers, which made identification tricky.
	S2 Lounge 33031 Top: at Palisade, CO on 4/28/2014 on train No. 6. Though the entire car isn’t shown here, I found it interesting that you can easily see where all the Phase 4 appliques were peeled off– the large S^UPERLINER letters, the cartype descriptors, even the word “Amtrak” . Most other cars do not show the shadows like this one does. It’s been roughly 7 years since they were removed. Bottom: same car, in Denver on 12/16/2014, train No. 5.
	S2 Lounge 33037, on the Winter Park Express on 2/20/2022. The seasonal train had added a lounge starting with the 2019 season.
	S2 Sightseer Lounge car 33041, in the phase IV scheme. Top: Waiting at Denver Union Station on 1/1/2004. Notice that the vestibule door is more centered than as on a Superliner I, and that this side of the lower level has no windows beyond the door. Bottom: The opposite side of Sightseer Lounge car 33041. You can see that the lower level on this side has two regular-size windows to the left of the door, plus one smaller window (in the lounge attendant’s area).
	S2 Lounge 33042, on No. 5 on 5/31/2019. Though partially obscured by the brush, certain details stand out– such as how the Phase 4b numerals are applied across the seam below the windows to keep them lined up with adjacent cars.Photo taken just west of Beaver Tail tunnel in Debeque Canyon, Colorado.
	S2 lounge 33044, on No. 6 entering Glenwood Springs on 9/01/2018. (Ripples caused by heat distortion in the air.)
	S2 lounge 33047, on No. 4 in the Continental Divide cut in New Mexico (1/01/2021).

Interior of a Superliner II Sightseer Lounge car, upper level. The steward at left is coming up the staircase. Yes, that’s the Ski Train visible out the right-hand windows; photo taken at Denver Union Station.
Interior of a Superliner II Sightseer Lounge car, upper level, looking the opposite direction. Stairway is just to the right. Notice the interior colors based on light gray, which is the as-built color scheme. Stationary seats (lounge clusters) typically are dark blue-gray, and the swivel seats at each end of the car are maroon.
Interior of a Superliner II Sightseer Lounge car, lower level. Stairway is on the right, beyond the vestibule area. Photo taken from doorway of the lavatory, which is the full width of the car and handicap-accessible. The door at the far end leads to the concession area. The tables on the near end are designed for easy access by those with disabilities, whereas the tables at the far end are standard booths.
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D I N E R S

Diners arrived in the following groups.

S1: 38000-38038
S2: 38039-38068

S1 Diners

	S1 diner, number unclear but possibly 38003. Note the window arrangement in the middle. Rather than a blank panel, there are two blanked window openings in the galley area, marking it as an early S1. This photo on No. 6 in August 2001.
	S1 Diner 38007, on No. 5 just west of Glenwood Springs on 5/31/2019. Note the two blanked windows, a characteristic of low-numbered S1 diners.
	S1 Diner 38008, at Glenwood Springs on 11/30/2002. Note the blanked mid-car windows.
	S1 Diner 38011, at Glenwood Springs on 1/1/2004.
	S1 Diner 38016, at Westwater, Utah on 4/27/2014, train No. 5. It has the patchy paint so common on S1 cars.
	S1 diner 38019, at Gallup on 9/24/2011. Phase IVb stripes.
	S1 diner 38021 is on No. 5 at Fraser, Colorado on 2/18/2018.
	S1 Diner 38030, on No. 4 at Continental Divide, NM on 12/31/2019. Note the fresh metalwork at the far end.
	S1 Diner 38036, in Byers Canyon n No. 5 on 8/09/2007. It’s recently been put into Phase IVb lettering (with the pale blue car numbers).
S2 Diners
	S2 diner 38040, at Grants, NM 0n 8/29/2015. Train No. 4.
	S2 Diner 38042, on No. 4 at Continental Divide, NM (7/19/2019).
	S2 Diner 38056, on No. 4 at Continental Divide, NM on 1/01/2021.
	S2 Diner 38061, in Denver on train No. 5, 12/16/2014. Note it still has the light blue car numbers that date from the original Phase 4b rollout. Contrast with the adjacent cars.
	S2 Diner 38062. It was quite new when this photo was taken on June 30, 1995. The Phase IV paint scheme with the two narrow red stripes debuted with the Superliner II series; note the other cars in the train are still in the Phase 3 scheme. By the way, food onboard contemporary Amtrak diners is first-class.