Business Cars on the Santa Fe
by Harry J. Briscoe
It was during the hot summer of 1937, my first year working for Santa Fe that I took my first trip on a business car. I was the steno to the Transportation Clerk in the Superintendent's office at Slaton, Texas, when Russell Satterlee, secretary to the Superintendent, went on vacation. The Superintendent, J. R. Skillen, had an appointment to visit the elevator at
Crowell, located on the old Orient portion of the Slaton Division, and he recruited me to fill in as his secretary on this trip. It entailed a trip from Slaton to San Angelo and then the next morning from San Angelo to Crowell on the rear end of the local.
The 400 class business car was furnished to each Santa Fe Superintendent, and with
no form of air conditioning then available, these cars were like an oven in the summer.
These cars had steps at the rear end leading to the back platform which had a protective
railing around three sides with a door in the middle leading to the observation portion
of the car. This room contained the Superintendent's desk at which he sat facing the
rear, enabling him to view the track behind the train. There was a divan across the forward
end of the car, and a corridor down the left side leading to the dining room. The first room
on the right was that of the secretary, but it was not large enough to contain his desk,
typewriter and supplies. These necessary items were located in the dining room to the left
side of the buffet which contained the dishes and silverware. The secretary's desk was so
constructed that the typewriter which was secured to the top of the desk could be lowered
down into the desk when not in use, and the desk top used for other purposes. The secretary
as he sat at his desk faced forward, and in front of him was a stationery cabinet containing
his typing paper, envelopes, and other supplies.
To the right of the corridor entry door to the dining room was a divan which made
down into an upper and a lower bunk, in order to accommodate other overnight occupants
of the car, such as members of the staff on bridge inspection, supply car trips, etc.
Incidentally, these supply cars were operated by the Stores Department personnel
headquartered in Topeka, KS and would operate over the various divisions as a special train
delivering the supplies ordered by the station agents, section foremen, etc. There was also an
upper bunk in the secretary's room. Between the master bedroom and the secretary's room,
was a small bath room which included a shower, fold down wash basin, and toilet.
There were many uses made by the Superintendents of these 400 class business
cars. In addition to their customary role as an aid in inspecting track and the right of way,
they played an important role in Santa Fe's Safety Program. In the 60's when I was
Superintendent of the Eastern Division with headquarters at Emporia, about every three
months we would take the business car to Chanute to assist with the quarterly Safety
Meeting. We would move the car from Emporia to Ottawa on some available train, then
from Ottawa to Chanute. At that time, my chef-porter was Arthur Bowman, one of the
business car crewmen stationed at Topeka. When I desired to use the car, the Chief
Dispatcher would notify Arthur, and he would come to Emporia in time to order supplies
from the local grocer and stock and clean the car for the trip.
At Emporia, I developed a friendship with Bill White, the son of the famous editor,
William Allen White. Bill was a well-known writer and foreign correspondent in his own
right who had inherited the Emporia Gazette and had become its Editor, albeit a non-resident
one most of the time, as he lived in New York. and relied on the Managing Editor to
run the paper under his guidance. During a time when he was in Emporia for a short while, I
asked him to be the program at our Rotary Club, which he did, and I put up a display in the
passenger waiting room of our depot featuring interesting items about William Allen White.
Later I invited him to accompany me on the business car over the Second District through
Ottawa, returning over the First District through Lawrence and Topeka. I had the Division
Engineer, Al Ewert, along to give us some professional track information. The train service
then was such that we could have lunch leaving Emporia and dinner as we returned through
Lawrence and Topeka. It so happened that this was the very last trip for the business car, as
we were advised the business cars were being replaced by hy-rail cars (automobile rigged with
railroad wheels that could be lowered onto the track at street crossings). For five consecutive
days, Mr.White wrote a long column about this trip. At the end of the last one, he related: "But
that run was probably the last ever to be made by this private car. For this particular glory has
departed, probably forever, from railroading. The Santa Fe has sent orders thundering out of
Chicago that, as an economy measure, its division superintendents must give up their private
cars. The dance is over. The lights are going out. Poor Harry Briscoe has been whittled down
to size and must dead-head around his empire on day coaches like any section hand - - - - - - - -
- - - -And what will happen now that Al Ewert can no longer take his notes? Let them worry
about this up in Chicago." (signed) W. L. White. ""
Shortly after Larry Cena became Vice President of Operations in Chicago, a shakeup of
Operating Dept. officers occurred, and it developed that I would be going to San Bernardino,
Ca. effective January 1, as Superintendent of the Los Angeles Division. This was a large
division, stretching from Needles, Ca. to both Los Angeles and San Diego, however, it had no
business car. Presumably, the last assigned one had gone the way of the others when the hy-rail
cars took their place. There was a rather vague invitation that I could use the car of the Assistant General Manager, my boss Charley Rollins, but this arrangement never did come to fruition.
As on the other Grand Divisions, the General Manager did have a business car, and
these cars were larger and had a two-man crew, a chef and a porter. In August of 1972, I was
notified that I was being transferred to Chicago as an Assistant to the Vice President of
Operations, and it soon became apparent that it was the plan that I would later be sent out as
a General Manager. In the meantime, I would be in charge of Quality Control, the department
whose objective was the reduction of Loss and Damage. On this job, I had no assigned
business car, but would on occasion accompany Mr. Cena when he made a business car trip.
On July 1, 1973, I came to Topeka and relieved L. M. Olson as General Manager of the
Eastern Lines. Here I inherited Business Car 37 with a two-man crew as was the standard for
all cars except the 400 class. My crew was Chef Charley Butcher and Porter Vince Goldrich.
This car, of course, was housed and taken care of at Topeka Shops. It was larger than the 400
class and had one extra bedroom, making it possible to have overnight guests. As Chairman of
the Santa Fe Hospital Association, I always invited a guest couple to accompany us when we
went to Albuquerque in the Fall of the year to the annual Hospital Association meeting. I
averaged at least one trip per month on the business car and frequently had the Chief Engineer
and others who were involved with Maintenance and Budget items.
On one occasion I took the business car to Anaheim, CA to take part in a scheduled
meeting of the Santa Fe Personnel Dept. and the General Chairmen of the Operating Craft
Unions. This was because Dal Fish, the General Manager of the Coast Lines, was ill and could
not be present to assist Floyd Elterman, who was representing our Personnel Department.
All the General Managers were assigned the 30 Class Business Cars, similar to the
37 described above. The Chicago officers generally used the Atchison, the Topeka or the
Santa Fe. These three cars were lighter weight and were streamlined. The Santa Fe was the
one used by the Chairman. When more than one business car was trained on the rear of the
train, the car of the highest ranking officer would be on the rear end, preceded by other cars
in the order of rank of the occupant. There was one additional car in the fleet that was
unassigned and available for special use. This was The Mountainaire which had an extra
bedroom and had been acquired by Santa Fe as I remember from Benjamin Fairless of United
States Steel. My recollection is that this car had a total of five bedrooms, making it suitable for
larger parties such as officers of the Traffic Department and their guests.
Many things have changed on the railroads since "my day," but I am happy to see that
the modem officers still occasionally find a place for the business car.
Crowell, located on the old Orient portion of the Slaton Division, and he recruited me to fill in as his secretary on this trip. It entailed a trip from Slaton to San Angelo and then the next morning from San Angelo to Crowell on the rear end of the local.
The 400 class business car was furnished to each Santa Fe Superintendent, and with
no form of air conditioning then available, these cars were like an oven in the summer.
These cars had steps at the rear end leading to the back platform which had a protective
railing around three sides with a door in the middle leading to the observation portion
of the car. This room contained the Superintendent's desk at which he sat facing the
rear, enabling him to view the track behind the train. There was a divan across the forward
end of the car, and a corridor down the left side leading to the dining room. The first room
on the right was that of the secretary, but it was not large enough to contain his desk,
typewriter and supplies. These necessary items were located in the dining room to the left
side of the buffet which contained the dishes and silverware. The secretary's desk was so
constructed that the typewriter which was secured to the top of the desk could be lowered
down into the desk when not in use, and the desk top used for other purposes. The secretary
as he sat at his desk faced forward, and in front of him was a stationery cabinet containing
his typing paper, envelopes, and other supplies.
To the right of the corridor entry door to the dining room was a divan which made
down into an upper and a lower bunk, in order to accommodate other overnight occupants
of the car, such as members of the staff on bridge inspection, supply car trips, etc.
Incidentally, these supply cars were operated by the Stores Department personnel
headquartered in Topeka, KS and would operate over the various divisions as a special train
delivering the supplies ordered by the station agents, section foremen, etc. There was also an
upper bunk in the secretary's room. Between the master bedroom and the secretary's room,
was a small bath room which included a shower, fold down wash basin, and toilet.
There were many uses made by the Superintendents of these 400 class business
cars. In addition to their customary role as an aid in inspecting track and the right of way,
they played an important role in Santa Fe's Safety Program. In the 60's when I was
Superintendent of the Eastern Division with headquarters at Emporia, about every three
months we would take the business car to Chanute to assist with the quarterly Safety
Meeting. We would move the car from Emporia to Ottawa on some available train, then
from Ottawa to Chanute. At that time, my chef-porter was Arthur Bowman, one of the
business car crewmen stationed at Topeka. When I desired to use the car, the Chief
Dispatcher would notify Arthur, and he would come to Emporia in time to order supplies
from the local grocer and stock and clean the car for the trip.
At Emporia, I developed a friendship with Bill White, the son of the famous editor,
William Allen White. Bill was a well-known writer and foreign correspondent in his own
right who had inherited the Emporia Gazette and had become its Editor, albeit a non-resident
one most of the time, as he lived in New York. and relied on the Managing Editor to
run the paper under his guidance. During a time when he was in Emporia for a short while, I
asked him to be the program at our Rotary Club, which he did, and I put up a display in the
passenger waiting room of our depot featuring interesting items about William Allen White.
Later I invited him to accompany me on the business car over the Second District through
Ottawa, returning over the First District through Lawrence and Topeka. I had the Division
Engineer, Al Ewert, along to give us some professional track information. The train service
then was such that we could have lunch leaving Emporia and dinner as we returned through
Lawrence and Topeka. It so happened that this was the very last trip for the business car, as
we were advised the business cars were being replaced by hy-rail cars (automobile rigged with
railroad wheels that could be lowered onto the track at street crossings). For five consecutive
days, Mr.White wrote a long column about this trip. At the end of the last one, he related: "But
that run was probably the last ever to be made by this private car. For this particular glory has
departed, probably forever, from railroading. The Santa Fe has sent orders thundering out of
Chicago that, as an economy measure, its division superintendents must give up their private
cars. The dance is over. The lights are going out. Poor Harry Briscoe has been whittled down
to size and must dead-head around his empire on day coaches like any section hand - - - - - - - -
- - - -And what will happen now that Al Ewert can no longer take his notes? Let them worry
about this up in Chicago." (signed) W. L. White. ""
Shortly after Larry Cena became Vice President of Operations in Chicago, a shakeup of
Operating Dept. officers occurred, and it developed that I would be going to San Bernardino,
Ca. effective January 1, as Superintendent of the Los Angeles Division. This was a large
division, stretching from Needles, Ca. to both Los Angeles and San Diego, however, it had no
business car. Presumably, the last assigned one had gone the way of the others when the hy-rail
cars took their place. There was a rather vague invitation that I could use the car of the Assistant General Manager, my boss Charley Rollins, but this arrangement never did come to fruition.
As on the other Grand Divisions, the General Manager did have a business car, and
these cars were larger and had a two-man crew, a chef and a porter. In August of 1972, I was
notified that I was being transferred to Chicago as an Assistant to the Vice President of
Operations, and it soon became apparent that it was the plan that I would later be sent out as
a General Manager. In the meantime, I would be in charge of Quality Control, the department
whose objective was the reduction of Loss and Damage. On this job, I had no assigned
business car, but would on occasion accompany Mr. Cena when he made a business car trip.
On July 1, 1973, I came to Topeka and relieved L. M. Olson as General Manager of the
Eastern Lines. Here I inherited Business Car 37 with a two-man crew as was the standard for
all cars except the 400 class. My crew was Chef Charley Butcher and Porter Vince Goldrich.
This car, of course, was housed and taken care of at Topeka Shops. It was larger than the 400
class and had one extra bedroom, making it possible to have overnight guests. As Chairman of
the Santa Fe Hospital Association, I always invited a guest couple to accompany us when we
went to Albuquerque in the Fall of the year to the annual Hospital Association meeting. I
averaged at least one trip per month on the business car and frequently had the Chief Engineer
and others who were involved with Maintenance and Budget items.
On one occasion I took the business car to Anaheim, CA to take part in a scheduled
meeting of the Santa Fe Personnel Dept. and the General Chairmen of the Operating Craft
Unions. This was because Dal Fish, the General Manager of the Coast Lines, was ill and could
not be present to assist Floyd Elterman, who was representing our Personnel Department.
All the General Managers were assigned the 30 Class Business Cars, similar to the
37 described above. The Chicago officers generally used the Atchison, the Topeka or the
Santa Fe. These three cars were lighter weight and were streamlined. The Santa Fe was the
one used by the Chairman. When more than one business car was trained on the rear of the
train, the car of the highest ranking officer would be on the rear end, preceded by other cars
in the order of rank of the occupant. There was one additional car in the fleet that was
unassigned and available for special use. This was The Mountainaire which had an extra
bedroom and had been acquired by Santa Fe as I remember from Benjamin Fairless of United
States Steel. My recollection is that this car had a total of five bedrooms, making it suitable for
larger parties such as officers of the Traffic Department and their guests.
Many things have changed on the railroads since "my day," but I am happy to see that
the modem officers still occasionally find a place for the business car.
Functional not extravagant.
Dad is and always has been a very humble person and realized these cars could give the wrong impression. He always made a point of explaining the perceived "extravagance" of these business cars in a simple but effective manner. These cars were first and foremost an office. Back when these cars were most widely used, rail travel was still the most functional mode of transportation.
Motorways were largely unpaved and most stayed this way until after World War Two. There was no air travel to speak of, especially in rural areas that made up the majority of the railroad and still do. Since the business was the railroad, a rolling office made the most sense.
Communication was still wired telegraph and handwritten memos. Radios were still a few years off and even then not widely effective. The division was the superintendent's responsibility (probably more than today, as decisions now are being made quicker and at a lower level). Being in an automobile on the road was essentially wasted time and having the ability to have other responsible parties with him (road master, foreman, etc...) made a great deal of sense. These cars predated hi-rail vehicles so they were one of the primary modes of hands on track inspection.
The cook/porter again was a necessity of the time. He was essentially in charge of the car and the trip and had to feed everyone on board, which would have been impossible otherwise. Dad always said "Never pass up a lunch room or a restroom; you never know where the next one will be". Same for the bed rooms - no need to find a motel. I'd venture to say when you add up all the work these cars performed, they were probably more cost and time effective than today's business travel. You were essentially working from your first cup of coffee to bedtime. The extinction of these cars came about by the same need for efficiency that created them in the first place. As communication systems improved and highway and air travel became more convenient, and local offices were centralized and consolidated, these rolling offices became comparatively less effective. Today the business cars are much more of an extravagance and though still used by the executives for right of way inspection they are now primarily used for a marketing tool which was rarely the case in the days of the 404 and 409.
Motorways were largely unpaved and most stayed this way until after World War Two. There was no air travel to speak of, especially in rural areas that made up the majority of the railroad and still do. Since the business was the railroad, a rolling office made the most sense.
Communication was still wired telegraph and handwritten memos. Radios were still a few years off and even then not widely effective. The division was the superintendent's responsibility (probably more than today, as decisions now are being made quicker and at a lower level). Being in an automobile on the road was essentially wasted time and having the ability to have other responsible parties with him (road master, foreman, etc...) made a great deal of sense. These cars predated hi-rail vehicles so they were one of the primary modes of hands on track inspection.
The cook/porter again was a necessity of the time. He was essentially in charge of the car and the trip and had to feed everyone on board, which would have been impossible otherwise. Dad always said "Never pass up a lunch room or a restroom; you never know where the next one will be". Same for the bed rooms - no need to find a motel. I'd venture to say when you add up all the work these cars performed, they were probably more cost and time effective than today's business travel. You were essentially working from your first cup of coffee to bedtime. The extinction of these cars came about by the same need for efficiency that created them in the first place. As communication systems improved and highway and air travel became more convenient, and local offices were centralized and consolidated, these rolling offices became comparatively less effective. Today the business cars are much more of an extravagance and though still used by the executives for right of way inspection they are now primarily used for a marketing tool which was rarely the case in the days of the 404 and 409.
