Amtrak's Heritage Fleet consisted of the rolling stock provided to it when it assumed passenger service on commercial railroads.

The name was applied to a 1977–1983 program that converted the older, mainly streamlined, cars from steam heating to head-end power.

When Amtrak took over most intercity passenger service in the United States in 1971, the company selected the best equipment from its predecessor railroads.

[2]: 108 Amtrak used its secondhand equipment across its national system – often with cars from multiple railroads seen in a single train, creating the "Rainbow Era".

[2]: 114–115, 170 The unusually harsh winter of 1976–1977 sidelined much of the steam-heated fleet, causing cancellation of most Amtrak service in the Midwest for two months.

[7] On October 15, 1979, the Lake Shore Limited was the first Amtrak route to be permanently assigned HEP-equipped Heritage Fleet cars.