Anticipating increases in overnight Denver-Salt Lake City rail passenger traffic after the end of World War II, the Rio Grande restored the "Prospector" on October 1, 1945 using conventional heavyweight equipment. The railroad also began planning the acquisition of new lightweight equipment for the train. In 1949 it purchased three dome-observation cars built by Budd, and in 1950 it took delivery of 25 Pullman-Standard cars — equipment that had been ordered by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, but never used by that railroad. The Pullman-Standard cars began service on the "Prospector" in late 1950, whereas the Budd dome cars generally served on the "Royal Gorge" (see below) and therefore only appeared on the "Prospector" west of Grand Junction, Colorado.