The Hickory Creek

The stars of the 1948 20th Century Limited were the Creek-series observation cars: the Hickory Creek and the Sandy Creek. Both were built by Pullman and appointed by Dreyfuss. These cars were unique among observation cars. The “Lookout Lounge” took up the rear of the car, and was raised two feet above the floor with oversized picture windows. The conventional design would dictate that seats would face each other and have their backs against the wall, but with Dreyfuss’s design, this was not so. In the rear of the car, six seats for sightseers faced the windows. Ahead of those were two sofas that faced each other, that could accommodate a traveling group. Flanking the stairs were two seats where one could sit alone and take in the view of the whole “Lookout Lounge” and the panorama outside. The lower cocktail lounge featured a sofa plus two card tables which sat two and four respectively.

Preservation

After the 20th Century Limited was discontinued in 1967, the Hickory Creek was sold to the Barnum & Bailey Circus train. The car traversed the country serving as accommodations the show’s staff, and was heavily modified in the process. After retirement, it was sold into private ownership and parked. The car that was once touted as a reflection of the nation itself, was abused by vandals and sat unwanted.

Recognizing the significance of such a car to the New York and New Jersey region, and seeing the potential for its use, URHS purchased the Hickory Creek in 1991. Bolstered by significant federal grant funding, the extensive Pullman Archives at the Illinois Railway Museum, URHS believed it was capable of undertaking the profound amount of work needed to return the car from the dead. URHS hired rail car contractor Star Trak Inc. to perform the work. The plan was to restore the car to Amtrak specifications so that, once restored, it could travel the country and operate on public train rides and private charters.

Not only was the Creek gutted, but it was not structurally sound. Star Trak utilized original blue prints to reconstruct portions of the underframe, crash posts, and floor. Because the car needed a fully new interior, URHS made the decision to redesign the floor plan to be authentic, but to also serve the needs of a modern day private car. The lounge was replicated to as close to historically accurate as possible. Everything from the kitchen forward was custom designed. The original “buffet” galley was too small for serving full meals, so the kitchen was expanded with a stove, oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, and all of the accompaniments you would expect to find in a professional kitchen.

Where there were originally five rooms with upper and lower berths, URHS opted to change the layout to 4 rooms. Two would have double beds and ensuite restrooms, and two would have upper and lower berths with a shared restroom. The new floor plan accounted for the addition of three showers—a necessity for a private car that the Creek did not already have.

After this extensive restoration that spanned more than a decade, the Hickory Creek made its first trip on Amtrak, between New York City and Niagara Falls in 2005.

Today, the Hickory Creek features: