Talgo Series VI Bistro Car donated to the Northwest Railway Museum

Another train car is being preserved by the Northwest Railway Museum.

On Tuesday, the only surviving Amtrak Cascades Talgo Serie VI Car – Bistro Car #7394 – finished its trip by truck from Indianapolis to the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie. The train car will be conserved and eventually included in the museum’s exhibit hall.

Rail Excursion Management Company donated the Bistro Car to the Northwest Railway Museum, and provided assistance in preparing the car for its return to Washington.

“I am happy to have played a role in ensuring this important railway artifact is preserved,” Rail Excursion CEO Adam Auxier said in a statement.

History of the Talgo Series VI

Talgo Series VI pendular trains were designed by highly regarded and Award-winning industrial designer, César Vergara, and built specifically for the Pacific Northwest Corridor trains known as Amtrak Cascades.

Bistro Cars had a custom-designed Pacific Northwest interior that featured an illuminated map of the Northwest, representing the apex of Vergara’s career, which spans continents and many decades.

Final assembly of the Talgo Series VI cars was performed in Seattle and they entered service in the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor in 1999. Six Bistro Cars served on trains in the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor and were used to provide food and beverage service. They were retired in 2020, after carrying more than 14 million passengers to destinations between Eugene, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver B.C.

The only surviving Amtrak Cascades Talgo Series VI car, Bistro Car #7304, arrives in Snoqualmie. Photo Courtesy of the Northwest Railway Museum.

The only surviving Amtrak Cascades Talgo Series VI car, Bistro Car #7304, arrives in Snoqualmie. Photo Courtesy of the Northwest Railway Museum.