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The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe was a large owner and user of self propelled rail motor cars. Most of these cars were marketed by the Electro Motive Company and had car bodies built by St. Louis or Pullman. However, in 1931 the railway ordered two cars from the J. G. Brill Co. on lot 22919. The new Brill cars were 80 feet in length, had a body which included a Railway Post Office and Baggage compartments and were equipped with a 535HP distillate engine. The cars were numbered M -160 and M -161.

The cars were ordered for a long run between Amarillo, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico via Clovis, New Mexico, a round trip of 576 miles. The cars were capable of pulling two heavy-weight trailers, and the schedule required both cars. The run was so demanding that an additional car was ordered from Brill on lot 22959 and delivered in early 1932, numbered M -162. The additional car permitted a spare car so that the fleet could be rotated through the shop at Amarillo for maintenance. Most of the Amarillo-Carlsbad run was on mainline track, and the cars were allowed a top speed of 60 mph. It was found that gasoline allowed better performance from the engine than distillate and all were converted to use that type of fuel.

In 1937 the three Brills were transferred to the Wichita, Kansas to Fort Stockton, Texas (via San Angelo, Texas) run. This route was acquired from the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient in the late 1920's and was known as the Orient Route. This was probably the longest gas-electric motor car run anywhere, 674 miles one way. The run was just too long to reliably operate and was but back to San Angelo. The cars remained on this schedule until the late 1950's when they were replaced. On this run the cars used two trailers, a baggage car and a coach for passengers as far as Clinton, Oklahoma where the baggage car was cut off the train.

On May 17, 1946 the M -160 was rebuilt with a Sterling diesel engine. This conversion was considered successful enough that the M -162 was also converted to the same power plant on April 10, 1947. The last car, M -161, was also dieselized on August 14, 1948, but was equipped with a Hamilton engine. All of these engines were rated at 535HP. The engine change caused some modifications to the roof area. In 1952-53 all three cars were again rebuilt, this time with EMD 6-567B diesel engines. With the new engines the cars were still rated at 535HP.

The Brill cars were replaced on the Wichita-San Angelo run in the late 1950's. M -161 and M -162 were placed in storage, while M -160 was used as a relief car for the San Angelo run, and was also used occasionally in freight service on the branch to Sonora, Texas. Later the M -160 was moved to Wichita and used on trains out of that terminal. In February 1960 the M -160 was laid up, while M -161 and M -162 were sold for scrap on January 14,1960 to Luria Brothers of Corwith, Illinois.

In 1962 the M -160 was sent to Albuquerque and refurbished. The car was equipped with a steam generator and repainted in the famous Warbonnet color scheme. The car was then assigned to the same route where it started, on the Clovis to Carlsbad run. On this train the car usually pulled streamlined chair-observation car #3197. Both motor car and trailer were retired on July 9, 1968 and were donated in 1969 to the Southwest Railway Historical Society and placed on display at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas.

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