On This Day
1979 – The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
The Superliner is a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United States. Amtrak ordered the cars to replace older single-level cars on its long-distance trains in the Western United States. The design was based on the Budd Hi-Level vehicles, employed by the Santa Fe Railway on its El Capitan trains. Pullman-Standard built 284 cars, known as Superliner I, from 1975 to 1981; Bombardier Transportation built 195, known as Superliner II, from 1991 to 1996. The Superliner I cars were the last passenger cars built by Pullman.
Car types include coaches, dining cars, lounges, and sleeping cars. Most passenger spaces are on the upper level, which features a row of windows on both sides. The Sightseer Lounge observation cars have distinctive floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper level. Boarding is on the lower level; passengers climb up a center stairwell to reach the upper level.
The first Superliner I cars entered service in February 1979, with deliveries continuing through 1981. Amtrak assigned the cars to both long-distance and short-distance trains in the Western United States. The first permanent assignment, in October 1979, was to the Chicago–Seattle Empire Builder. Superliner II deliveries began in 1993; the additional cars enabled the retirement of the aging Hi-Level cars and the assignment of Superliners to trains in the Eastern United States. Tunnel clearances prevent their use on the Northeast Corridor.
Born On This Day
1893 – Dorothy Whipple, English novelist (d. 1966)
Dorothy Whipple (née Stirrup) (26 February 1893 in Blackburn, Lancashire – 14 September 1966, Blackburn, Lancashire) was an English writer of popular fiction and children’s books.[1] Her work gained popularity between the world wars and again in the 2000s.
FYI
Al Cross and Heather Chapman at The Rural Blog: Patchwork federal oversight makes CAFO reform difficult; public transit inequalities hurt rural residents . . .
By Jatt Goff: Visiting Solitaire – Swans Departing?
By Ted Mills, Open Culture: Watch The True History Of The Traveling Wilburys, a Free Film Documenting the Making of the 1980s Super Group
Open Culture: Journey’s Road Crew Performs a Pretty Flawless Version of “Separate Ways”
Courtesy of my friend George!
Recipes
Lisa Kaminski, Taste of Home: 21 Breakfast Recipes Cowboys and Cowgirls Will Love
Food Network Kitchen: The Best Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
E-book Deals:
The Book Junction: Where Readers Go To Discover Great New Fiction!
Mystery & Thriller Most Wanted
Book Blogs & Websites:
Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?