| Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad coach 6000, named Silver Pendulum, eastbound at Naperville, Illinois on April 20, 1963, photo by Chuck Zeiler. This is a relatively rare car, only three were built by the Pacific Railway Equipment Company. This one was built January 1942 as a 60 seat coach. One was built for the Great Northern, and one for the Santa Fe. CB&Q #6000 is seen here in the consist of Train #48, which combined parts of the Northern Pacific's 'Western Star' and the Great Northern's 'The Blackhawk', for forwarding to Chicago from Minneapolis and St. Paul. The name 'Silver Pendulum' was derived from the car's design, which was described in both Railway Age (Jan. 24, 1942) and Railway Mechanical Engineer (Feb. 1942) as; 'Pendulum car truck is designed to support the car body 14 inches above the center of gravity and secure easy riding around curves at high speed'. There is a photo to go with that statement showing the truck, and it appears that the springs and stabilizers extend upward into the carbody a couple of feet, which probably explains the lack of windows over the truck centers. |