Typical Car Order

Source: https://actionroad.net/ski-train/ski-train-equipment-1987-2009

Cars one through four, plus six and seven, ran vestibule-rearward. All others ran vestibule-forward.

Additionally, the private cars usually ran as follows:

CALIFORNIA – Dome/Sleeper

UTAH – Diner/Lounge

KANSAS – Open-end Observation/Lounge

The order above shows the usual lineup. On special runs, charters, etc. (such as when used as the University of Iowa football parking shuttle), cars could be omitted at need. On the summer train, the dome CALIFORNIA was often removed due to the addition of the bicycle car– the tracks at Union Station could not accommodate more than 17 cars. On rare occasions, the winter train ran without any of the private cars at all.

Additional note: Sometime around 2007, MOUNT BIERSTADT was converted to a business-conference car, and relocated to run just ahead of the club cars.

When the Tempo cars were purchased in 1987, a couple of extras were included in the deal (to provide parts, mostly). At some point these cars were sold, and around 2017 *someone* put together the clues and discovered where they went. A bit of research by this person and me deduced that two of the cars ended up in Scottsdale, Arizona in the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. They have no trucks and have been completely gutted and turned into “party cars”, reservable for children’s birthday parties and the like.