Budd Baggage Dormitory Car - Assembled -- Seaboard Coast Line

Give on-board crews a break. On long-distance runs, porters, chefs, waiters and car attendants stayed on the train for the entire trip. Working and sleeping in shifts, dormitory cars provided them with a place to rest, relax and wash-up. A small baggage compartment provided additional storage space for express shipments or luggage and helped earn some extra revenue on each trip. Sleek, stylish, modern, comfortable . . . everything railroads could offer post-war travelers would be found in their new Budd-built streamliners. These lightweight "trains of tomorrow" trace their roots to experimental rail cars of the early 1930s, when Budd pioneered the use of stainless steel. Real success came in 1934 with the introduction of Burlingtons Budd-built "Zephyr." The radical new design caught the attention of the traveling public and of other railroads. In 1936 the Santa Fe took the idea a step further with a stainless steel coach. The lightweight car could be used in any trai