new equipment comong soon!

For Immediate Release

January 24, 2025

Media Contact: Orion Newall-Vuillemot

Manager of Passenger Operations, Naugatuck Railroad Company

(860) 283-7245 | orion@naugfreight.com

Naugatuck Railroad Acquires Hi-Level Lounge and Coach Cars for Connecticut Excursion Service. The new rail cars will provide opportunities for expanded options on the railroad’s scenic excursions.

THOMASTON, Conn. — The Naugatuck Railroad is excited to announce that it has purchased

three Hi-Level rail cars, opening new scenic rail experiences in Connecticut. The two lounges

and one coach were acquired from the Steam Railroading Institute of Owasso, Michigan.

The Hi-Level cars, designed and built by the Budd Company, feature curving ceilings and

expansive rows of windows providing panoramic views of the surrounding scenery. The two

lounges entered service in 1954 on the El Capitan, a Santa Fe streamliner between Chicago

and Los Angeles. The coach was built and added to the train in 1964.

The three cars were acquired by Amtrak when the new railroad took over all U.S. intercity

rail passenger service in the 1970s. The coach was retrofitted for use as crew accommodations

and retired two decades later. Five former Santa Fe Hi-Level lounges were refurbished in the

1990s and entered service as “Pacific Parlour” cars on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train between

Los Angeles and Seattle, featuring a movie theater on the lower level and food and beverage

service on the upper level. The two Naugatuck Railroad lounges carried Amtrak names

“Willamette Valley” and “Columbia Valley,” and remained in service until 2018.

The Steam Railroading Institute purchased all three cars in 2019 and restored them to

passenger service on its Michigan excursion trains. The organization also completed

renovations on the cars that included glass replacement, new lighting, and removal of the

theater seating.

“These cars are unique and will be the first of their kind operating in New England,” said Orion

Newall-Vuillemot, Manager of Passenger Operations at the Naugatuck Railroad. “We’re

committed to providing the best possible service for our passengers, and these new cars will be

a tremendous upgrade for our excursion offerings. We’re grateful to the Steam Railroading

Institute for the work they’ve done to maintain and preserve these cars, and for the opportunity

to offer enjoyable new experiences for our visitors.”

“The Naugatuck Railroad will be great custodians of these three historic cars and will be able to

provide the resources to better display and operate them for the public to enjoy,” said Aaron

Farmer, Master Mechanic, Rolling Stock of the Steam Railroading Institute. “The funds garnered

from this auction will allow us to reinvest in our own fleet by improving our current cars. This will

be considered a ‘win-win’ for all parties involved, and will be its own milestone in historic railroad

preservation!”

The Naugatuck Railroad plans to use the three Hi-Level cars to expand its first-class seating

options, including the possibility of working with community partners to offer dinner train service.

The cars will arrive in Thomaston and enter service on the Naugatuck Railroad later this year.

About the Naugatuck Railroad

The Naugatuck Railroad manages freight rail operations as well as scenic train rides on a 19.6-mile line

between Waterbury and Torrington, Connecticut. The scenic excursions directly benefit the Railroad

Museum of New England, a not-for-profit educational and historic organization whose mission is to tell the

story of the region’s rich railroad heritage.