Ranch Car

Ranch Car is a July 1953 brochure describing Great Northern's famous lounge cars introduced on the 1951 Mid-Century edition of the Empire Builder.

The six cars were built by American Car & Foundry with a decidedly Western theme to celebrate the Montana ranchlands the train passed through.  The cars were named as well as numbered:  #1240 - Crossley Lake; 1241 - Running Crane Lake; 1242 - Hidden Lake; 1243 - Iceberg Lake (CB&Q); 1244 - White Pines Lake; and 1245 - Whitefish Lake.

Included at the bottom of this page is a floor plan for the Ranch Car series. 

WARNING:  These are large .jpg files and may take a while to download (especially if you're on a dial-up connection).  Click on the thumbnailed picture to view the page of your choice.  Below each page is a brief description.

Brochure Front Cover

"Chuck Away"

What's in a Brand?

Branding Irons

"Shootin-est Man Alive"

"Land of the Rough Rider"

"Roll up the Herd"

Cowboy Painter (Charles M. Russell)

"When it's Roundup time..."

The "G Bar N Brand"

"I'll saddle Old Paint"

"Welcome Stranger"

Ranch Car interior

Route Map - Empire Builder and Western Star

Rear Cover

Ranch Car Diagram