Michigan State Coach (the RR kind of coach)

[Roger Holmes]

Yesterday and today this car was the lead car ahead of the normal four coaches and Amcafe consist on the 12:50 pm departure from Springfield, IL on the southbound Chicago to St. Louis train.  At first glace from a block away it looked like a baggage car but it is actually a coach wrapped in the same type of covering they put on advertising busses that looks opaque from the outside but allows full view from the inside.

I Googled the car and only found an artist's image and a dark night time You Tube video.  The car started in service last month to be hauled by Amtrak on football weekends from Chicago to Ann Arbor, MI since there are so many MSU alums in the Chicago area.  Not sure why it was running laps from Chicago to St. Louis on a Tuesday and Wednesday.

While I am a die-hard U of Ill fan (and,boy, did we die hard this past football season) this would make an interesting decal project for one of you guys with an ALPS.

[jmlaboda]

There appears to have been two designs purposed, the other is shown in the links below... (note that the true Amtrak Phase V scheme is under the artwork on the car in the second link)
https://evbdn.eventbrite.com/s3-s3/eventlogos/3307183/spartanlinecar.jpg
http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wkar/files/styles/card_wide/public/201210/spartanline.jpg

Given that the coach is fairly new it may take a little while before it shows up in railfan photos.  One shot is now up on the RR Picture Archives...
http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3295627

[fredmoehrle]

But that would only be good for one weekend every other year!
Michigan State is in East Lansing.
Universty of Michigan is in Ann Arbor.
(And, State lost this year.  Hee he he....)

Still, it'd be nice to see more of those, and football specials again!

[Roger Holmes]

Fred--My bad.  MSU is definitely in East Lansing.  Never got to go there when I was in the Marching Illini (drumline captain) from 1969-1973 since our team and attendance was so bad that there was only money to send the band as far as Evanston (Chicago suburb) to play at the Illinois/ Northwestern game which was always the last (and coldest) game of the year.  Since that game usually determined who would finish last in the Big Ten we affectionately referred to it as the Toilet Bowl.