Transcisco Tours

Transcisco Industries

Transcisco Industries was founded in 1972 by Mark C. Hungerford to lease and manage rail cars; in the early 1980s it was split into two publicly-traded firms: Transcisco and PLM International.^[1] In 1990, Transcisco began passenger operations with three announcements: first, a new contract with Amtrak to operate luxury train service between the San Francisco Bay Area and Reno, Nevada; second, that it was negotiating with Amtrak for similar service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas; and third, that it was acquiring a dinner train in San Antonio.^[2] However, passenger service proved to be unprofitable, and Transcisco would file for bankruptcy in July 1991.^[1]

The company emerged from bankruptcy in September 1993 and in 1995 announced a contract to maintain rail cars leased to Burlington Northern and Southern Pacific.^[1] In addition, the company owned a substantial stake in the Russian firm SFAT (SovFinAmTrans, short for Soviet-Finnish-American Transportation Company), a rail transportation service provider.^[1][3]

In April 1995, Johnstown America Industries, a railcar manufacturer, made an unsolicited takeover offer of first $1.50, then $1.75 per share (approximately $9 million total).^[4] Although Johnstown's second offer was higher than the value of the stock and Hungerford supported it,^[4] Transcisco rejected the buyout offer in late May 1995.^[1] One year later, in May 1996, Transcisco accepted a buyout offer of $6.50 per share (approximately $46 million) from Trinity Rail Management,^[5] which also assumed control of the MCHX reporting mark.

Sierra 49er Express train

The Sierra 49er Express started from San Jose and offered stops in Oakland, Richmond, Martinez, Sacramento, and Truckee, with connecting van service to Lake Tahoe and Reno. Trains departed from San Jose on Mondays and Fridays, returning on Wednesday and Sunday, respectively. The cost of the ticket depended on the hotel selected for the stay.^[6][7] In 1990, ticket prices, including the two-night hotel stay, ranged from US$289 (equivalent to $540 in 2017) to US$439 (equivalent to $820 in 2017) for passage in the dome car,^[8] or travelers could opt to return on a later train to extend their stay to five or six nights at additional cost.^[7] Total trip time was seven hours for a 280-mile (450 km) ride.^[8]

Onboard, passengers could dine and dance (in the Club High Sierra, a converted Pullman Gallery Car which had previously been used on the Southern Pacific Transportation Company Peninsula Commute service between San Jose and San Francisco) or experience live entertainment, including strolling bards playing guitars while dressed as vintage train engineers.^[6] The service was called a "cruise train" and was meant to appeal to travelers seeking fun on the journey as well as retirees.^[8] Amtrak employees handled train operations, while Transcisco employees provided on-board customer service.^[8] Transcisco stated that it would need 50,000 riders per year to continue service.^[9]

The Sierra 49er Express started service on December 7, 1990 with a reported 18,000 advance ticket sales.^[8] Although the service filled the void left by the Reno Fun Train, which had operated for two decades had been canceled recently, the Sierra 49er Express did not attract the ridership it needed to break even and the service was quickly withdrawn; the last train ran on April 29, 1991.^[1][10] Transcisco Tours reported losses of US$13,839,000 (equivalent to $24,860,000 in 2017) in 1991 and US$3,500,000 (equivalent to $6,100,000 in 2017) in 1992 during the Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings, and paid US$1,500,000 (equivalent to $2,540,000 in 2017) to Amtrak in August 1993 for early termination of the five-year operating agreement.^[11]

The Texan dinner train

Washington Central Railway acquired the three locomotives and eight cars that were used for The Texan and announced plans to run a three-hour dinner train along Burlington Northern right-of-way between Montgomery, Illinois and Ottawa, Illinois.^[12]

Locomotives

Of the three EMD F45 locomotives, the only one equipped with head-end power was 1001.^[13]

Coaches

Coaches of Sierra 49er Express^[14][15]

Builder	Model	Number	Seats	Years of Service	Notes	Photograph
Pullman-Standard	Gallery	800532 Club High Sierra	unk.	1990–91	Previously in service (1955–1985) on the SP Peninsula Commute service between San Francisco and San Jose. Rebuilt from SP 3703, later sold to BNSF Railway and rebuilt as BNA 31 Silver Fox business car, later renumbered to BNSF 40 Fox River.[16]
		800533 Donner Lake	76		Rebuilt from SP 3702, later sold to BNSF Railway and rebuilt as BNA 33 Skagit River business car, later renumbered to BNSF 42. Subsequently rebuilt to track geometry car and renumbered BNSF 87.
		800534 Lake Tahoe	76		Rebuilt from SP 3701, later sold to BNSF Railway and rebuilt as BNA 32 Flathead River business car, later renumbered to BNSF 41.[17]
		800535 Sacramento	76		Rebuilt from SP 3700, later sold to BNSF Railway and rebuilt as BNA 39 Rio Grande River business car, later renumbered to BNSF 43.[18] Subsequently rebuilt to track geometry car and renumbered BNSF 80.
		800536 San Jose	76		Rebuilt from SP 3708, later sold to BNSF Railway and rebuilt as BNA 40 Colorado River business car, later renumbered to BNSF 44.[19]
		800537 San Francisco	76		Rebuilt from SP 3707, later sold to BNSF Railway and rebuilt as BNA ? Powder River business car, later renumbered to BNSF 45.
		800519–531	unk.	unk.	Recorded as being sold to Transcisco, but current status is unknown. Numbered as follows: 800519 ← SP #3704 800520 ← SP #3709 800521 ← SP #3737 800522 ← SP #3732 800523 ← SP #3729 800524 ← SP #3728 800525 ← SP #3727 800526 ← SP #3725 800527 ← SP #3724 800528 ← SP #3723 800529 ← SP #3721 800530 ← SP #3711 800531 ← SP #3710
ACF	Astra Dome	800556 Zephyr Cove	unk.	1990–91	Initially built as UP 9009 in 1955; leased from Northern Rail Car and returned after Transcisco's bankruptcy. Currently in service as UP 9009 City of San Francisco.[20]
Pullman-Standard	Dome diner	800558 Emerald Bay	unk.		Initially built as UP 7012 in 1958; leased from Northern Rail Car and returned after Transcisco's bankruptcy. Currently in service as UP 7011 Missouri River Eagle.[21]
ACF	Cafeteria Lounge	800559 Pine River	unk.		Initially built as UP 4003 in 1955; leased from Northern Rail Car and returned after Transcisco's bankruptcy. Currently in service as UP 4003 Pacific Limited.[22]
	Astra Dome	800560 Crystal Bay	unk.		Initially built as UP 8003 in 1955; leased from Northern Rail Car and returned after Transcisco's bankruptcy. Currently in service as UP 8004 Colorado Eagle.[23]

The ex-SP gallery cars were modified by raising the lower level floor by 3 feet (0.91 m) to create a baggage storage space, and windows were enlarged to 5 by 4 feet (1.5 by 1.2 m); passenger capacity was reduced from 145 (in Commute service) to 76 per car.^[9] As part of the bankruptcy filing, Transcisco Tours and Transcisco Texas Railways both liquidated their rolling stock by February 1993.^[11]