This coach was built with an upper level so it could carry more passengers than a standard coach.

The Budd Company built these "Hi-Level" cars in 1956 for the Santa Fe Railway, with 72 seats instead of the earlier 44. The cars have a central entry door with stairs to the upper level. Vestibules at each end connect the upper level of one car to the next, so people don′t have to go downstairs to walk between cars.

This car served on trains passing through Flagstaff and northern Arizona and became part of Amtrak in 1971 when that company took over U.S. passenger operations. After it was retired in 1990, this car served at smaller railroads until its donation to the museum in December 2019.

In the mid-1950s when its passenger trains were getting too long, the Santa Fe ordered innovative new "Hi-Level" cars from the Budd Company to serve on the "El Capitan," an all-coach train between Los Angeles and Chicago. These allowed greater seating on the upper level by keeping everything else on the lower level (lavatories, baggage areas, and mechanical equipment). The first batch of 47 cars consisted of 25 coaches like this one, plus 10 "step-down" cars, 4 dining cars, and 4 lounge cars.

At Amtrak, this car was assigned number 9948, later 39948. As built, this 85-foot car had steam heat and an electrical generator, but Amtrak required 480-volt head-end power (HEP), so it was modified to that new configuration at the Santa Fe′s Topeka Shops.

This car was sold in the 1990s to an excursion train in Cincinnati, then to the "Music City Star" commuter service in Nashville, then to a private individual who donated it to the Arizona Railway Museum. It arrived at the museum′s Tumbleweed Park location by rail on December 26, 2019. Because handbrake controls for passenger cars are located inside the car (which was locked), it was accompanied by a box car so handbrakes would be available from the outside. The box car was then returned to its home rails.

The Amtrak stripes have been removed and the car is being restored to its original Santa Fe appearance.

	11/23/2021 - View of Conductor's bedroom/workspace.  This was on the lower level adjacent to the public bathroom.
	View of the Conductors bedroom/workspace on the lower level.
	Interior view of the seating.
	2/4/2021 - Car has been de-Amtraked (Red, White, Blue stripes removed).  "Santa Fe" nameplates and number boards have been reproduced and installed.
	12/26/2019 - Side view of the car as it arrived at ARM.
	11/23/2012 - View of coach seating with Santa Fe headrest covers and original Kachinas on rear wall.

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