by David C. Warner and Elbert Simon/photos as noted
May 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the first delivery of an Amfleet passenger car from the Budd Company. In total, 642 of these tubular-cross-section cars, based on the Metroliner car shell design, were eventually ordered, as 492 Amfleet-I series and 150 Amfleet-II series. These cars introduced new standards of comfort and reliability across the Amtrak network, especially in the Northeast where equipment suffered from years of neglect under Penn Central and predecessor railroads.
As this year’s anniversary milestone occurs, it is likely than many passengers have known no other Amtrak experience. Budd’s all-stainless-steel construction and flexible interiors based on two configurations (with or without an off-center snack bar) have served Amtrak well in “Making the Trains Worth Traveling Again” (Amtrak’s first marketing slogan in the start-up year of 1971).
Amfleet-I
The Amfleet-I cars were delivered from Budd’s Red Lion plant in suburban Philadelphia between May 19, 1975, and June 8, 1977. Apart from two groups of Turboliners for Midwest service, these cars represented Amtrak’s first purchase of new passenger cars. Amfleet-II cars, 125 coaches and 25 lounge cars, were ordered and delivered in the early 1980s. There were initially five configurations of Amfleet-I cars, based on two different body styles. There was a basic coach, in short-haul and long-distance versions.
ABOVE: Amcoach 21020 wears Phase II colors, without Amtrak logos, at Chicago. —Kevin EuDaly collection
Then there was a food-service car with a snack bar offset near the center of the car. This came in an Amcafe version (seats at both ends); an Amclub (coach seats at one end and 2+1 club seats at the other); and an Amdinette (coach seats and booth-type table seating). Amtrak initially planned to obtain long-distance versions of each of the three food-service cars, and actually did acquire three clubs and three dinettes for its first long-distance Amfleet train, the Palmetto, introduced in June 1976. However, the rest of the proposed long-distance food-service cars (nine cafes, 23 Amdinettes, and 10 clubs) were delivered as “normal” versions and numbered above the existing cars.
Amtrak adopted two conventions with Amfleet: none of the new cars would be named, and all would receive a five-digit number. (Names were later applied to several cars for San Diegan service, and two company-service conversions.) Five-digit numbers had been relatively uncommon on passenger cars, but New York Central sleepers, Southern Pacific diners, and Missouri Pacific deluxe equipment come to mind. Amfleet-I coaches would be numbered in the 21000 series, and food-service cars in the 20000 series.
ABOVE: Lounge 28013, at Rensselaer, N.Y., on October 23, 1982, illustrates the taller windows, and exterior door at only one end, that are spotting features of the Amfleet-II cars. All of the Amfleet-II cars were delivered in Phase III striping. —John Bartley; Kevin EuDaly collection
Four separate orders were placed with the Budd Company — initially for 57 cars, and then additional groups of 200, 35, and 200. Budd set up three production lines — two of which turned out 361 coaches, and one that constructed 131 food-service cars. By May 1976, Amtrak had decided to divide the orders into 241 coaches (numbered 21000-21240); 120 long-distance coaches (21800-21919); 45 cafes (20000-20044); nine long-distance cafes (20575-20583); 27 Amclubs (20110-20136); 13 long-distance clubs (20675-20687); 11 dinettes (20200-20210); and 26 long-distance dinettes (20750-20775). (Sometimes the dinettes were identified as Amtaverns or Amlounges.)
Sharp-eyed readers will note that several differences exist between these car numbers and the final deliveries. As noted, the cafes were completed as 20045-20053, the clubs became 20137-20146, and the dinettes became 20211-20234 when completed as “normal” cars.
ABOVE: Embodying the “new Amtrak,” P30CH 705 leads am Amfleet train at Bloomington, Ill. —Kevin EuDaly collection
As for the coaches, the mix of normal and long-distance cars was changed several times, and finally ended up as 271 normal cars and 90 long-distance versions. The first Amfleet-I cars were delivered in the Phase-I scheme (with predominant red-over-blue colors in the window band, and logos at each end). As deliveries progressed, one of the logos was eliminated, creating a “modified” Phase-I scheme. Eventually, the Phase-II scheme (no logos at the cars ends) was applied to a portion of the running fleet. Subsequent color schemes — i.e., Phase III (three equal-width red-white-blue stripes) and Phase IV (wide blue stripe with narrow red-white stripes above) — were applied to Amfleet-I cars during overhauls. Amfleet food-service cars Amfleet food-service cars were originally built in several variations that included an off-center snack bar. This created a “long” end and “short” end in the car, each of which can be configured with different interior arrangements, as will soon be seen. Externally, these cars are easily identified by the windowless area at their center.
The first 57-car order included 11 Amcafes, in which coach seats were included in both the long and short ends of the car. A wheelchair-accessible lavatory, and a wheelchair parking space, were provided in the long end along with 27 2+2 coach seats; 32 coach seats were installed in the short end.
ABOVE: An Amfleet San Dieagan stands beside the former Santa Fe station in the train’s namesake city behind B32-8WH 500 on February 25, 1992. —Andy Smith photo, Kevin EuDaly collection
Subsequent orders included the Amclub configuration, in which 18 2+1 seats were installed in the short end of the car. Amdinettes were delivered with eight four-seat tables in the non-lavatory, long end. Plans for “long-distance” Amclub and Amdinette cars were shelved after completion of three of each for the Palmetto. Amdinettes 20750-20752, accordingly, were renumbered to 20234-20236 in summer 1977.
The three long-distance Amclubs (20675-20677), however, became full club cars (club seats at both ends) in May 1977, but were not renumbered. “Split clubs” 20132-20136 were converted to full clubs (20670-20674), also in early 1977. These eight cars initially protected three Boston–Washington round-trips. Amtrak next modified the three lowest-numbered Amclubs (20110-20112) into “Ampub” lounge cars for the Montrealer in February 1978 to allow the conversion of this train to Amfleet. The numbers of these three cars were left unchanged…