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  As lightweight articulated streamliners were proving their reliability and economy on the Union Pacific and Burlington route, Santa Fe made its' first investment in modern equipment with an order to Budd for a stainless steel coach numbered 3070 delivered in January of 1936. The car would be built with the patented Shotweld process that produced a full size car with a great savings in weight over the standard riveted cars (83,000 vs. 160,000 lbs.) The shiny fluted sides gave a pleasant appearance to the car and were easy to maintain. Santa Fe's second lightweight car, 3071, built at St. Louis Car Co. from welded Corten steel came in at 98,00 lbs., a great weight savings but not enough to sway Santa Fe from placing orders for 103 cars with Budd for eight new streamline train sets: a new Super Chief, San Diegan, Tulsan and twin sets for El Capitan, Golden Gate and Chicagoan-KansasCitian. A second Super Chief was also added. 47 more cars were ordered for delivery 1940-1942

  Pullman produced the first conventional size lightweight sleeping car, Forward, in November of 1936. The car provided for 8-sections, 2-Double bedroom and 2-compartments. It was the first car to use welded Corten steel truss frame construction. The car also featured fluted side sheets like Budd products. The Budd sides were fully structural where the Pullman sides were only decorative. The A problem developed when railroads were unable to keep water from going behind the stainless steel sides. The Corten body rusted away to where most railroads removed the siding and rebuilt the cars with smooth sides. Pullman delivered 61 stainless steel sided cars to Santa Fe before the the start of WWII.

  119 6 Sec-6 Rmt-4 DB cars were built under Lot #6669 to Plan 4099 and delivered in June of 1942. Except for exterior paint and air conditioning systems the cars were identical and assigned to the Missouri Pacific (4), Erie (4), Illinois Central (12), Overland Route (60), Golden State (13) Santa Fe (26). These were the first smooth side streamline sleepers on the Santa Fe.
   These cars were to be used to provide new sleeping cars for secondary trains Grand Canyon and Ranger. Painted in the new Pullman two-tone gray scheme these cars were pressed into service during the war on the previously all-stainless steel sided Chief.

  After the war the decision was made to make the Super Chief a daily train and to introduce a new streamline Chicago- Texas train, the Texas Chief. Cars builders needed to retool after their efforts in war production and had a huge backlog of orders to fill. Heavyweight diners and lounge cars along with the pre-war 6-6-4 Valley series cars were refurbished and used to fill the gap until orders arrived. The coach green and two-tone gray cars were repainted aluminum color and "shadow-lined", a paint method used to simulate fluting on non-fluted cars. This was accomplished by masking lines along the car and using a spray gun to feather the gray underneath the tape. When the tape was removed a sharp edge was left over the feathering. The cars looked good and passed the 50-50 rule (50 feet or 50 m.p.h.).
   By 1950 Santa Fe had received large numbers of the post-war cars to replace the shadow-lined cars in the name trains. Shadow-lined cars were returned to the shop for repainting in the Santa Fe post war version of two-tone gray. Most cars were reassigned to secondary trains. Some cars were still assigned to the Chief for transcontinental service Los Angeles to Washington D.C. through Chicago via the Baltimore and Ohio.
  With the rapid decline in Pullman travel from 1955 on, newer cars replaced the Valleys' in most service and they were used mostly in tour group service. Starting in 1965 cars were scrapped with most going during 1967. Two cars have survived: Pleasant Valley was sold to Morre Clebolt and renamed Chief Illini II and stored at the Monticello & Sagamon Valley Museum in Illinois. Verde Valley was sold to the Gulf Coast Chapter N.R.H.S.