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| axleload = | aux = | powersupply = | hvac = | bogies = | brakes = | coupling = | gauge = | notes =〔 }} The Hi-Levels are a fleet of bilevel intercity railroad passenger cars built by the Budd Company for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ("Santa Fe") in the 1950s and 1960s. The first two coaches entered service on the ''El Capitan'' in 1954 and found immediate success. Budd built sufficient coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars to fully reequip the ''El Capitan'', with additional coaches seeing use on the ''San Francisco Chief''. Amtrak inherited much of the Santa Fe's Hi-Level fleet in 1971 and continued to use the equipment on its western routes. In 1979 the first Superliners, based on the Hi-Level concept though built by Pullman-Standard, began entering service. As of 2013 Amtrak continues to operate five Hi-Level lounges, which it calls the "Pacific Parlour Cars", on the ''Coast Starlight''. == Background == The Santa Fe introduced the ''El Capitan'' in 1938. The train ran on the Santa Fe's main line between Chicago and Los Angeles. Unusually for streamliners of the period, the ''El Capitan'' carried coaches only and no sleeping cars. Passengers flocked to the new train, and the Santa Fe added cars to meet the demand. The train grew from five cars in 1938 to fourteen in 1952, and often operated in multiple sections. The Santa Fe sought a solution to increase the capacity of the train without lengthening it further. Two popular innovations by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) suggested a solution. First, in 1945 the CB&Q introduced the first dome car, in which passengers rode on a second level high above the tracks, affording better views. Second, in 1950 it placed bilevel rail cars in commuter service in the Chicago area. Taken together, these innovations suggested a new possibility: a long-distance bilevel coach, with greater capacity than single-level cars and the panoramic views of a dome. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hi-Level」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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