| Bringing up the rear of the westbound Yampa Valley Mail was Dome Coach-Lounge-Obs. 1248. 1248 was built by Budd in 1948 as Chesapeake & Ohio 1875. It was sold to the Rio Grande in 1949 and renumbered 1248. 1248 was sold to Autoliner in 1970 and was sold that same year to Ben Butterworth. Butterworth ran the car as the "Big Ben" out of Chicago on the Rock Island for most of the 1970s. "Big Ben" was later leased to Golden Arrow Tours. In 1995, "Big Ben" was donated to the C&O Historical Society. It would be sold to a private owner in 2002. In 2005, the Butterworth family would buy the car. It is currently stored in an undisclosed location. |