Classic Trains - Winter 2019 PDF

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DOME CAR ON A MAIL TRAIN TO A DIESEL SHOW IN OMAHA
p. 64
WINTER 2019
THE ING
GOLDE D
N Y E A R S OF R A ILROA
End of the trail

Riding the Chiefs
to adventure in
the late ’60s
p. 16
plus BONUS
Vol. 20 • Issue 4
J. Parker Lamb’s Railway Seeking ONLINE

world of short Express streamliners CONTENT
line steam p. 46 Agency p. 34 in 1969 p. 54 CODE PG.
www.ClassicTrainsMag.com
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North American railroad history
DISCOVER
THE GOLDEN AGE OF RAILROADING
Classic Trains magazine celebrates the golden era of American railroading
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DOME CAR ON A MAIL TRAIN TO A DIESEL SHOW IN OMAHA
p. 64
On our cover
Winter 2019 • Volume 20 Number 4 THE
GOLDE
N Y E A R S OF R A ILR OA
DING
FP45s bring Santa Fe’s

End of the trail westbound Super Chief-El
ThisIssue
Riding the Chiefs
to adventure in
the late ’60s
p. 16
Capitan into Albuquerque

on April 7, 1968; at right,
RDCs on the connecting El
plus
J. Parker Lamb’s
world of short
line steam p. 46
Railway
Express
Agency p. 34
Seeking
streamliners
in 1969 p. 54
Pasoan wait to head south.
William P. Diven
Online Content Code: CTR1912

Features Enter this code at:
www.classictrainsmag.com/code
to gain access to web-exclusive content
COVER STORY
16 End of the Trail
WILLIAM P. DIVEN
Summer trips from New Mexico to Illinois exposed a boy to a world of
Midwestern trains and the final flowering of Santa Fe passenger service
28 Itinerant Agent 54 Seeking Streamliners

WALTER F. SMITH BOB JOHNSTON
Tales of working for NYC in A cross-country drive in 1969
Massachusetts through two captured some passenger
world wars and the Depression trains still in their prime and
34 Empire of Express
JEFF WILSON
others just barely hanging on
62 What’s in a Photo?
54
From baby chicks to reels of JERRY A. PINKEPANK
movie film, nearly everything Barre & Chelsea and Canadian Departments
Americans used reached them Pacific trains at Wells River, Vt.
by Railway Express 4 Welcome 50 years since the ’60s
64 Ingles Color Classics 5 Head End A potpourri of railroad history,
44 Bluefield Survivor J. DAVID INGLES then and now
J. W. SWANBERG Overnight to Omaha in a dome
An old N&W 2-8-8-2 remains coach: A 1962 excursion on 8 Fast Mail Letters from readers on
useful even as diesels close in CB&Q mail trains also yielded our Fall 2019 issue
around it photos of unusual UP power
12 Mileposts Commentary by Kevin P. Keefe
46 Archive Treasures 72 Best of Everything on locomotives in disguise
KEVIN P. KEEFE CHRIS BURGER
An all-star works the minor “Cheap & Nothing Wasted”: 14 True Color Seaboard sunshine
leagues: Master photographer A new job with C&NW brings
J. Parker Lamb turns his cam- a move to Wisconsin 80 The Way It Was Tales from railfans
era to short lines and railroaders
86 Car Stop Sand Springs Railway
88 Classics Today Illinois Railway Museum
91 Bumping Post Cincinnati Union Terminal
Classic Trains is published quarterly in January (Spring), April (Summer),

July (Fall), and October (Winter), (ISSN 1527-0718, USPS No. 019-502) by
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Welcome From the editor
50 years since the ’60s Editor Robert S. McGonigal

Senior Art Director Lisa A. Bergman
Hard to believe, but as the year 2019 draws to a close, the 1960s are now fully Associate Editor Brian Schmidt
Contributing Editor J. David Ingles
five decades gone. Not so long ago, it seems, the half-century club was reserved for Editorial Assistant Diane Laska-Swanke
sock hops, ration books, bread lines, and speakeasies. Now the Apollo moon landings Graphic Designer Lisa M. Schroeder
Lead Illustrator Rick Johnson
are on the list.
Contributing Illustrator Bill Metzger
But of course, 50 years is a long time. Nowhere is this more evident than in rail- Librarian Thomas E. Hoffmann
roading. In this issue we have several stories that provide ample proof of the changes Columnist Kevin P. Keefe
Editorial Director Diane M. Bacha
the industry has seen in the last 50-plus years.
In “End of the Trail” [page 16], Bill Diven recalls the summers he spent in northern Editorial
Phone: (262) 796-8776
Illinois and southern Wisconsin in the late 1960s and early ’70s. A teen-aged resident E-mail: editor@classictrainsmag.com
Fax: (262) 798-6468
of southern New Mexico at the time, Bill rode Santa Fe trains to the Midwest, where P.O. Box 1612
Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
he found a world of railroading that most of today’s young fans would not recognize.
Display Advertising sales
On page 54, Bob Johnston recounts his 1969 cross-country car trip — in a red Advertising Sales Representative Mike Yuhas
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some notable streamliners that soon would vanish or fall under the Amtrak banner. Customer service
Phone: (877) 243-4904
Contributing Editor Dave Ingles takes us back to 1962, when he rode to Omaha on Outside U.S. and Canada: (903) 636-1125
Customer Service: customerservice@ClassicTrains.info
a dome car cut into the consist of a CB&Q mail train [page 64]. As if that wasn’t excite-
Selling CLASSIC TRAINS magazine or products
ment enough, he also saw the trains of six railroads at Omaha, bagged several notable in your store:
Phone: (800) 558-1544
UP diesels in Council Bluffs, and lucked into some FTs working out their last miles. Outside U.S. and Canada: (262) 796-8776 ext. 818
E-mail: tss@kalmbach.com
These and other stories in this issue from the 1960s remind us just how different Website: www.Retailers.Kalmbach.com
things once were, even in the “recent” past. Visit our website
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Mukwonago, Wis., station agent Doug Siebert waits for the head brakeman to drop off an contributing, contact the Editorial Assistant.
eastbound Soo Line local led by GP9 404 in July 1967. William P. Diven
4 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

A potpourri of railroad history, then and now WE MISS . . .
The horsepower
HeadEnd
race. The builders
focus on reliability,
emissions, and effi-
ciency now. In the
1960s, they thrilled
us with their quest
for power. J. J. Young Jr.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, 4-8-4!

Southern Pacific’s old Oakland Pier station took a turn in the spotlight
— literally — just before it closed. The 1957 film Pal Joey opens with
Frank Sinatra, having been thrown onto a train in some town, arriving
at the terminal on his way to San Francisco. In brilliant Technicolor,
the camera captures GS-4 4443 steaming grandly into the shed, then
stealing the scene as Sinatra walks past her. Filming, pictured here,
was in April 1957, 15 months before SP moved out. CLASSIC TRAINS collection
Heritage fever
heats up
Canadian Pacific has maintained F units
and a GP38-2 in its 1940s–’60s livery for
special trains since the early 2000s; in
September, it received the first of 10 October 8, Chicago: CP 7010 and 7015 display two versions of a classic scheme. Lou Gerard
SD70ACu rebuilds dressed in two ver-
sions of the classic scheme for general
freight service. Then on October 8, New
Jersey Transit, marking its 40th anniver-
sary, unveiled its first heritage units: an
“Erie Lackawanna” ALP-45DP, a “Jersey
Central” GP40H-2 (built in 1968 as a CNJ
GP40P), and a “Pennsylvania” ALP-46A.
And Metra now has a “CB&Q” F40PHM-2! NJ Transit heritage: EL dual-mode 4519, CNJ diesel 4108, and PRR electric 4636. Ralph Spielman
ClassicTrainsMag.com 5
Head End VISIT US
ON THE
Reviews figure in the Harlem Renaissance
and friend to such luminaries as
tial captions. Photos are mostly of
good quality, apart from those
WEB
Jimmy Walker, Joe Louis, and Adam credited to the National Archives. ClassicTrainsMag.com
Clayton Powell Jr. Author Washing- Among the many maps are 12
ton is an elegant writer who large ones folded in a pouch in Fallen Flags returns!
proves that Grand Central’s lega- the rear. — Robert S. McGonigal “Fallen Flags Remembered” is back,
cy is so much more than just ar- with weekly updates including clas-
chitecture, red carpets, and the In- sic articles and new photo galleries.
formation Booth. — Kevin P. Keefe
Boss of the Grips: The Life

of James H. Williams and the
Red Caps of Grand Central
Terminal
By Eric K. Washington. Liveright Publish- Trains: Photography of Blog
ing, New York, N.Y. 368 pages, $27.95. A. Aubrey Bodine Read the weekly blog by our col-
By Jennifer B. Bodine. Schiffer Publishing umnist Kevin Keefe, who reflects
The already deep body of litera- Ltd., Atglen, Pa. 128 pages, $29.99.
ture on New York’s Grand Central on the places he’s been, the peo-
Terminal has been made incalcula- A Baltimore Sun feature photogra- ple he’s met, and how railroading’s
bly richer with this biography of pher for 45 years, Aubrey Bodine history impacts the industry today.
the man who for nearly a half- Conquest I: Pittsburgh to turned his camera to all facets of
century led the elite corps of red Erie, Ashtabula, Cleveland the city, including its railroads.
caps who attended to the passen- and Mansfield His work for a centennial history
gers of the New York Central. To By David W. Messer. Pennsylvania Rail- of the Western Maryland has Photo of the Day
road Technical & Historical Society, Bryn
follow the life of James H. Williams, Mawr, Pa. 240 pages, $80.
been widely published, shaping Enjoy a new photo from our collec-
“the Chief,” is to take an absorbing the image of the early-1950s WM tion each day. Subscribers can see
journey into the heart of New York The author of the landmark “Tri- as a proud, prosperous blend of the full archive of 2,000+ images.
social life in the first half of the umph” series on PRR’s lines east 4-6-6-4s, F units, coal hoppers,
20th century, especially as it re- of Pittsburgh has embarked on a and port facilities. Heroic, razor-
lated to African-Americans. Prin- similar study of Lines West. Befit- sharp pictures from that project
cipled and graceful, Williams was ting their importance, the PFtW&C dominate this handsome, if mod-
a pioneer, breaking the Terminal’s and C&P lines each get more than est-sized (9x8 inches), album. The
color barrier, fighting for recogni- 80 pages in this first volume. There 120 black-and-white photos are
tion and respect for his men. Along are more than 500 illustrations, presented one or two to a page,
the way he became a significant some in color, most with substan- with captions at the rear. — R.S.M. Follow us on Facebook
STREAMLINERS IN Comparing Burlington obs cars

CHICAGO PUZZLE Dallas; August 2, 1962; 1:30 p.m.: Parlor-buffet-observation car Silver
This 500-piece jigsaw puzzle features a Streak (left), built for the 1936 Denver Zephyr, brings up the rear of Fort
1940s photo of four Union Pacific and Worth & Denver’s Texas Zephyr. Next to it, 1940 diner-parlor-observation
Chicago & North Western streamliners Silver Hours caps FW&D’s Sam Houston Zephyr. Both Budds survive, in
in C&NW’s Chicago coachyard as a fifth Hill City, S.Dak., and Galveston, Texas, respectively. Charles M. Mizell Jr.
passes on the main line.
New from Kalmbach
REAL STORIES OF
Real THE RAILS BOOK
Stories
of the
Forty stories from the classic era by
Rails engine crewmen, conductors, opera-
First-hand
accounts of
tors, dispatchers, and other railroaders
railroaders
from the 1920s fill this illustrated, 192-page volume.

to the 1990s
The Streamliners in Chicago puzzle and

Real Stories of the Rails book are avail-
able at www.KalmbachHobbyStore.com,
or by calling (877) 243-4904.

Rocky Mountain stand-ins
In 1940 the Rock Island famously had EMD build two flat-fronted cab units, model AB6, for use on
the Colorado Springs section of the Rocky Mountain Rocket. The pair ran in this service until the
early 1960s, but didn’t make every trip, as these photos show. At the top, with snowy Pikes Peak in
the background, a steam engine leads the train east at Roswell, Colo., on March 20, 1951. Above, BL2
427 awaits departure at the Springs one day in August 1952. Top, Donald Duke; above, Bob Borcherding
Today we’re used to seeing

Patch job, 1957-style “patch jobs” on diesels after
they change hands. Not so 62
years ago, when ownership
changes were less common
and railroads were more image-
conscious. An exception is
New York Central NW2 9512 at
Cleveland in December 1957,
still in the livery of the recently
abandoned New York, Ontario &
Western. Herbert H. Harwood Jr.
OBITUARIES
Ralph E. Hallock, a New Jersey native Philip L. Moseley, author of three ar-
who began contributing photos to ticles in CT about his experiences
Trains in the 1940s, died August 20 working for Santa Fe and KCS, died
in Sandpoint, Idaho, at age 93. He had June 5 at Guthrie, Okla., at age 72.
two short articles in Classic Trains.
Bob Trennert, 81, died February 15 at
Former NRHS staff photographer Ara Chandler, Ariz. A California native, he
Mesrobian, 94, died June 18 at Chevy wrote stories for CT about Philadelphia
Chase, Md. His photos illustrated a in the 1960s and ’70s and (with Gordon
story on fantrips in Summer 2017 CT. Glattenberg) SP steam in 1956.
Fast Mail Letters from readers on our Fall 2019 issue
Bjorklund’s treasures
It was great to see some of John Bjork-
lund’s photos [“Archive Treasures: North-
western Exposure,” page 64], and hope-
fully we’ll see many more. I worked with
John for years while he was with Ford,
and I was in Penn Central’s and Conrail’s
automotive departments. There were al-
ways issues with auto-parts boxcar supply
and condition to deal with, but John was
always calm and collected in my dealings
with him. He was a true gentleman.
Bob Davis, Thayne, Wyo.
Cows that got away

I read with great interest Chuck Fulk-
erson’s “Hoghead Turns Cow Killer”
[page 80] about engineer Pete McLach-
lan. I have known Pete for over 40 years. I
Surprise in Upper Michigan too was an engineer on the Housatonic
Railroad and retired in 2012 as Superin-
I enjoyed reading J. David Ingles’ “Alcos In Dairyland” [page 54] and “Sailing tendent of Operations, ending a 44-year
to the U.P.” [page 56, Summer]. My friend Wayne Allen and I made a similar railroad career that began on the New
trip in fall 1978, traveling from New Hampshire to Michigan, across the lake on Haven in 1968.
I can well relate to Pete’s “cow dilem-
Ann Arbor’s carferry, then north from Green Bay to Escanaba and St. Ignace, ma.” One Friday afternoon while running
Mich., then south across the big bridge over the Straits of Mackinac to Lower a GP35 on NX-11 from Danbury to Ca-
Michigan. We were rewarded with GB&W and C&NW Alcos, MILW F units naan, we were just leaving a 10-mph
and FM switchers, C&NW BLW-EMD conversions, and the carferries. One speed restriction when, upon rounding a
curve, there were about nine cows cross-
surprise was at St, Ignace, where we found Algoma Central GP7 168, on loan ing the track slowly ahead of me. I
to the Soo Line, switching the cross-strait carferry Chief Wawatam [above]. brought the train to a safe stop, opened
Gregory L. Strout, South Paris, Maine the cab window and yelled out, “Come
on girls, let’s hurry it up!”
Upon their last “hind end” clearing
My old college friend Dave Ingles the right of way, I released the brakes and
knows better than to place the location of continued our trip with no more close
the Sumter & Choctaw as being in South encounters.
Carolina [page 60]. The short line was Rick Abramson, Trumbull, Conn.
named for the two counties, Sumter and
Choctaw, which it served in the state of Santa Fe’s “new” E units
Alabama! In “True Color” [page 11], the caption
S&C 2-8-2 102 steamed into 1961 un- says the Santa Fe bought no E units after
til firebox problems forced its retirement. 1945. That seems to ignore the 13 (8 A
Nevertheless, the nearby Mobile & Gulf and 5 B) E8m units Santa Fe acquired in
almost bought the 102 in 1962. But the Sabine River NC No. 408 is at the Museum of 1952–53. Yes, the ATSF 2-Class E1s and
M&G passed on the deal when it figured Transportation near St. Louis. Ron Goldfeder the 1-Class box-cabs were sent to EMD
out the 2-8-2 was a couple of feet too as trade-ins on the E8m units, but de-
long knuckle-to-knuckle to safely clear it to the museum. Electro-Motive built spite the reuse of some components (very
the M&G’s short wye at Buhl, Ala. The only five NCs, and No. 408 still has its little of which came from the two box-
Mike ended up at the Green Bay muse- Winton engine, making it a rare survivor. cabs), the E8m units were substantially
um, where Dave saw it in 1964. Ron Goldfeder, St. Louis, Mo. new locomotives.
Thomas Lawson Jr., Vestavia Hills, Ala. Michael W. Flick, Columbus, Ohio
¶ At least two other diesels from Dave’s
I enjoyed Dave Ingles’ “Dairyland” ar- “Dairyland” article survive. MT&W NW1 NYC in Pennsylvania
ticle. He might be interested to know that No. 90 [page 58] is at Green Bay’s National With great pleasure I opened to Chris
Marinette, Tomahawk & Western NC No. Railroad Museum. Copper Range DS-4-4- Burger’s “A Territory of My Own” [page
408 [page 57] survives today at the Na- 1000 (not a VO1000 as stated) No. 101 72]. His story as a trainmaster on NYC’s
tional Museum of Transportation near St. [page 56] is in the SMS Lines fleet, cur- seldom-remarked line down into central
Louis. After the MT&W, it went to the rently out of service at the road’s shop near Pennsylvania is welcome history. My sons
Sabine River & Northern, which donated Bridgeport, N.J. — R.S.M. and I made several canoe trips down Pine

Creek and through the Grand Canyon of
Pennsylvania in the 1970s and ’80s. Pass-
ing Penn Central trains on the ex-NYC
line were an occasional added enjoyment
to these trips. We frequently stayed at
trackside hotels in Blackwell or Cedar
Run. Local track workers sometimes ap-
peared at these places to provide interest-
ing railroad stories.
At the time of our trips, there was not
much to be found on the route in either
history or photographs, but more recent
years have seen a change. I recommend
Richard L. Stoving’s, Wellsboro’s Own
Railroad (The Railroad Press, 2003) and a
visit to the Tioga Central Railroad near
Wellsboro, Pa., for readers wishing to
know more about the operation.
The right of way is now the “Pine
Creek Path,” a rail-trail to which I make
Semaphores and more
an excursion with friends each year. In the Fall-Winter 2019 issue of Railroad History:
Burger’s concern with rattlesnakes serves The disappearing semaphores of BNSF’s Raton
as a reminder to trail users today since Subdivision; The Hill lines and the Milwaukee Road
they are still occasionally seen. colonize the Northwest; The New York & Boston Air
Robert E. Mohowski Line; Illinois Central and the yellow fever epidemic
Greenfield Center, N.Y. of 1905; Jay Gould: robber baron or builder?
Railroad History is the journal
Barberton’s mystery AY&LOC
When I received the Fall 2019 edition,
of the Railway & Locomotive LW
OM
AI
Historical Society. Get your
the article “Mystery at Barberton” [page
THE R
OTIV
copy by joining R&LHS, or
50] caught my attention. I grew up in the as a non-member for $15
E
area but had never heard of this accident. postpaid (PayPal accepted)
tHIST
N Ct
During a recent visit to Ohio, I men- from Alden Dreyer,
Y tI
tioned it to my daughter (who lives in 91 Reynolds Rd., Shelburne,
OR
Barberton), since she was working on a
ET
MA 01370; 413-625-6384; IC
“Hauntings of Barberton” project for the aldendreyer@gmail.com A L S O CI
Barberton Public Library. She said that
she had just read about the accident in R&LHS membership is only $35 per year. Join today at rlhs.org
the book Ghosts Along the Tuscarawas
and showed it to me. A brief description
of the accident was given along with
three pictures from the Akron Beacon
Journal. The book stated that there where
six National Guardsman in the tank at
the time of the impact, three were seri-
ously injured and three where killed, and
that numerous passengers had to be hos-
pitalized as a result of the accident.
The book also says the Guardsmen
were actually directed to cross the tracks
because the crossing signal was not active
at the time of the accident and it was be-
lieved that it was safe to cross.
Rick Siegfried, Riverside, Calif.
I worked on the Erie Lackawanna’s

Kent Division signal gang in the early
1960s and heard the story of the passen-
ger train that collided with a tank. No
one who talked about it back then had
any solid facts, so it is most interesting
and satisfying after 58 years that Classic
Trains publishes an article that answers
“Two Mallets in Niles Canyon” Fast Mail
! railroadbooks.biz
NEW has 1,900+ new titles,
all at discount! factually the Erie passenger train/tank
ORDERS: collision that actually did occur. Wow!
60 Minute Color DVD U.S. (800) 554-7463 Chuck Rhodes, California, Mo.
International
“SKOOKUM” and “CLOVER VALLEY #4” Service. BUSINESS &
INTERNATIONAL:
in depth coverage of the rebuild (812) 391-2664 My two best references for Erie loco-
behind the scenes details for modelers Domestic
shipping FREE SEND: motive history both say that E8s 824 and
take a cab ride through the canyon over $63 $2 for paper book list. 825 arrived on the railroad in February
see a video preview on our website
1951, not “late 1949” as stated in the story
$29.95 - Add $5 shipping - CA residents add 8.5% tax E-mail for PDF list.
CATENARY VIDEO PRODUCTIONS relating the tragedy at Barberton. They
P.O. Box 144 were on the job less than three months
El Granada, CA. 94018 www.railroadbooks.biz PO Box 4, Bloomington, IN
chuck@railroadbooks.biz 47402-0004 U.S.A. when those three Ohio National Guards-
www.catenaryvideo.com
men perished in their M4 Sherman tank.
Mike Schleigh, Grove City, Pa.
FREE BOOKS! If You Join the C&O Historical Society! Steam’s Class of 1944
- 4 FREE hardbound books ($120 Value) “Steam’s Last Great Year” [page 16]
E-mail: cohs@cohs.org
showed a steam fan what 1944 was like
for someone who wasn’t born yet. Those
magnificent machines were so important
to the war effort going on at that time.
Kevin Keefe’s describing all the engines
that arrived during that year despite the
- Bi-monthly, 48-page print magazine wartime production restrictions was in-
- Monthly color e-newsletter (e-mail) sightful. The beautiful lines of the C&O
- Discounts on 2,000+ items (chessieshop.com) H-8 westbound along the Kanawha River
[page 29] is one of my favorites, but the
- Admission to museum (Clifton Forge, Va.) photo is not at Handley, W.Va., but Eagle,
JOIN: www.chessieshop.com or 540-862-2210 - M-F 9am-5pm a small town 4 miles east of Handley.
The last two issues were fantastic. I
can’t wait to what you have in store for
Available from the C&NW Historical Society the next issue.
Bill Sparkmon, Franklin, Tenn.
CNW Wall Clock - On seeing Jim Ehernberger’s photo of

13 3/4” battery-operated wall Big Boy 4024 exiting the Hermosa Tun-
clock made exclusively for
C&NWHS. $59.95. nels [page 48], I thought that I had seen
the same photo before. Checking my
The C&NWHS is pleased

to offer its all-color 2020 Beanies -
calendar, containing 13 photos of One-size-fits-all, 100% acrylic
C&NW and predecessor roads. Individual beanie to keep you warm on cold days. $14.99 each.
copies are available for $13.50.
1 YEAR
Membership:
Includes 4 issues of the
North Western Lines
magazine. $35.00 each. Chicago & North Minneapolis & St. Chicago Great
Western, green Louis, red Western, maroon
TO ORDER, send a check to C&NWHS: P.O. Box 1068 North Riverside, IL 60546
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the Reading!
Remembering the Iron Horse Rambles
• Remarkable • Personal Déjà vu: Photos of UP 4024 by Art Stensvad

Call 877-243-4904 Santa Fe
standoff
photos recollections (top, in the 1972 book Big Boy) and Jim Ehern-
ClassicTrainsMag.com Amtrak’s early years,
an insider’s view
• Detailed reporting • And more! berger (in Fall CT) were made moments apart.
s in 1966: Rolling SW1: Electro-
A boy’s epic trip laboratory of Motive’s mighty
to California the 1940s mite

45-plus-year-old-copy of William Krat-
ville’s book Big Boy, I found the photo on
the rear endpaper — or so I thought.
However, the photo in the book, repro-
duced in black-and-white, was credited
to Arthur Stensvad. Studying the photos,
it is obvious that the train is the same.
More study led me to the conclusion that
Mr. Stensvad was standing to the left of
Mr. Ehernberger and that he snapped the
shutter just after Mr. Ehernberger did,
judging by the position of the drivers and
the shadow on the eighth car. Also, the
black-and-white photo is sharper, proba-
bly because it was made with larger for-
mat film.
Ironically, on page 88 of Mr. Kratville’s O-8 Mikado 3378 (GN, 1944) stands at Havre, Mont., in 1945. H. W. Pontin, N. F. Priebe coll.
book there is a late-1958 photo of Big
Boy 4014 taken, according to the caption, Honorable mention for GN’s mighty O-8
“a few days before her breath was stilled
Reader Odell Braun of Ridgecrest, Calif., telephoned us to ask why Great Northern’s class
forever.” You just never know . . .
Mark Carron, Springfield, Mo. O-8 Mikados were not included in our review of 1944-built engines. GN’s shops produced
the first 5 of the road’s 22 O-8s in 1944, but to comply with WPB regulations the program
Fall corrections was classified as a “maintenance repair job” to improve the availability of existing class O-7
• Page 24: CN’s 1944-built 4-8-4s were 2-8-2s. However, the work was extensive enough to warrant a new classification, and the
class U-2-h. O-8 is regarded as the heaviest, fastest, and most powerful of all 2-8-2s. — R.S.M.
• Page 47: The location of the UP 3940
photo is Hillsdale, Wyo.
• Page 75: New York law required a third Got a comment? Write us at Fast Mail, CLASSIC TRAINS, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612;
brakeman on trains exceeding 25 cars. email: fastmail@classictrainsmag.com. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
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True Color
Seaboard sunshine
Six Electro-Motive GPs and a lone Alco RS11 power a northbound Seaboard Coast Line freight
through Baldwin, Fla., on September 2, 1968, 14 months after the merger of Seaboard Air Line
and Atlantic Coast Line. The three GP40s up front wear SAL’s final “Jolly Green Giant” scheme,
while the trailing first-generation units are in the livery introduced by the road’s FTs in the
early ’40s. Baldwin, about 20 miles west of Jacksonville, was the junction of north-south and
east-west SAL routes and one Atlantic Coast Line route. Today, both SAL routes are in service
for CSX, but the ACL line comprises the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail. Ralph W. Bostian

Mileposts Commentary by Kevin P. Keefe
Big steam
in disguise
Southern 4501’s recent turn
as “L&N 1593” is the latest in a
long line of transformations
Conventional wisdom tells us steam

died in part because it was so custom-
ized, and therefore not very versatile.
There was nothing so purpose-built as a
Norfolk & Western Y6b in the Blue
Ridge, or a New York Central 4-6-4 along
the Hudson River, or a Union Pacific Big
Boy on Sherman Hill. Railroads’ pen-
chant for starting every big motive-power
purchase with a blank design slate left the
technology ripe for the incursions of
standardization and mass production, the
diesel’s proverbial silver bullet. No Louisville & Nashville 2-8-2s were preserved, but Southern 4501 was a credible stand-in
But steam locomotives of disparate during the L&N historical group’s gathering at Chattanooga in September. David P. Oroszi
roads had more in common than we
might think, and not merely because of As Ron explains, creating L&N 1593 for a brief turn as “Clinchfield 676,” cho-
all those shared parts and appurtenances was easy in concept but tricky in execu- sen that year to pull the railroad’s annual
advertised in the Locomotive Cyclopedia. tion. The key was tracking down one of Santa Claus train. The stunt made sense:
How else do you explain the post-steam those extra-large Sunbeam headlights Clinchfield once fielded a fleet of 18
era’s entertaining tradition of one rail- used on L&N steamers. They eventually Challengers, a dozen of them bought new
road’s engine posing as another’s? found one through Ron’s friend Chad from Alco in 1942 and ’47 and nearly
Exhibit A: Recently, the Louisville & Harpole, who also loaned the group an identical to the UP engines. The railroad
Nashville Historical Society teamed up L&N chime freight whistle. “As an artist, I also had six secondhand 4-6-6-4s from
with the Tennessee Valley Railroad Mu- can tell you the most challeng- the Rio Grande.
seum to create a living, breathing L&N ing project is portraiture,” says Steam loco- The Challenger’s visit was a
2-8-2. The L&N group had already staged Ron. “If you make any error, classic case of the stars align-
a very basic re-creation three years ago the drawing or painting just
motives of ing. The cooperation of the UP
when the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. flat out doesn’t look like the disparate steam crew, led then by Steve
briefly dressed up its Chesapeake & Ohio person you’re trying to render. roots had Lee, was a given. Lee and his
2-8-4 No. 2716 as L&N M-1 “1992,” at If I drew someone but en- more in com- team loved any practical op-
the former’s shop in Ravenna, Ky., com- larged their nose considerably,
plete with numbered headlight glass and it would completely mess up
mon than we portunity to take 3985 out on
the road, and going to Appala-
an adroitly faked front end. But there was your brain, and it wouldn’t be might think. chia probably seemed too in-
no steam in 2716’s veins. Not yet, anyway. recognizable. With that large spired to pass up. Meanwhile,
In September, TVRM and the L&N headlight, 4501 didn’t even look like 4501!” changes in top management at CSX —
group conjured up the Old Reliable in a Aiding in the transformation was the traditionally hostile to steam — ultimately
more palpable way, dressing up famed addition of a temporary 1593 number- made the whole journey possible.
Southern 2-8-2 No. 4501 as “L&N 1593” plate, the L&N number on the headlight CSX figured in another bit of steam
to run during the society’s annual con- lens, and lettering elsewhere on the en- mimicry a year later, when the Fort
vention. It was a magical experience, says gine. Black duct tape to mask the white Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s
L&N historian and author Ron Flanary. trim on the tender frame and running ex-Nickel Plate 2-8-4 No. 765 starred as
“No doubt it was one of the most popular boards was the finishing touch. “Chesapeake & Ohio 2765” for a series of
and successful conventions since we were Ron is an old hand at this sort of excursions in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan,
formed in 1983,” Ron told me. “It was like thing. Back in 1992, he helped bring Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, culmi-
being transported back in time.” Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 3985 to Appalachia nating in that year’s New River fall foliage

trips on the former C&O main line out of 2017 Classic Trains]. But a few weeks
Charleston, W.Va. later I was on the platform at Hoboken
The fact that 765 originated on a Van Terminal for High Iron’s New York Ex-
Sweringen railroad helped immeasurably. press, an overnight round trip using the
Both Nickel Plate and C&O traced their former Erie to Binghamton and back on
basic modern steam designs to the Van the old Lackawanna via Scranton, includ-
Sweringen roads’ Advisory Mechanical ing a fast run on the road’s storied Cutoff
Committee, an attempt at standardization between Slateford Junction, Pa., and Port
within the single ownership of a group of Morris Junction, N.J.
railroads. With 765’s headlight lowered to There must have been upwards of
the pilot deck, modified air-pump shields, 1,000 people on that train. The 302 had
and new lettering, the 2765 was utterly its work cut out for it, hauling 22 cars
plausible as a C&O Kanawha. through the Poconos, but the 4-8-4 did
I can testify that it’s easy to fall under just fine, especially when High Iron’s Ross
the spell of these steam imposters, be- Rowland had it hooked way up as we
cause it happened to me back in 1973 roared across the Cutoff. It was quite the
when Reading 4-8-4 No. 2102 posed as a performance — a Reading hog dressed
Delaware & Hudson engine. Reading 4-8-4 2102, made up as “D&H 302,” up as a D&H thoroughbred slicing across
The creation of “D&H 302” originated rides the old Erie main line along the Dela- western New Jersey on the Lackawanna.
with D&H President Bruce Sterzing, a ware River during a Hoboken–Binghamton Now that was versatility!
CEO with a rare appreciation for his excursion in May 1973. Jim Shaughnessy
company’s past. To celebrate the D&H’s KEVIN P. KEEFE joined
150th anniversary, Sterzing arranged with bug-eye marker lights, and the iconic re- the Trains staff in 1987,
2102 owners Steam Tours, Inc., and lessee cessed headlight — made for a convinc- became editor in 1992,
High Iron Co. to modify the T-1 to look ing D&H 4-8-4, especially if it was com- and retired in 2016 as
like a D&H 4-8-4. Oh, you could tell it ing right at you. Kalmbach Publishing
was a Reading engine — the Wootten I missed the inaugural outing for No. Co.’s vice president,
firebox and arched cab window alone 302 in late April, a two-day Albany–Mon- editorial. His weekly
were giveaways. But changes to the front treal excursion to mark the sesquicenten- blog “Mileposts” is at
end — elephant-ear smoke deflectors, nial [“The Shaughnessy Files,” Summer ClassicTrainsMag.com.
WEST VIRGINIA. BY RAIL.
Six Trains. Three Depots. Elkins, Cass, Durbin.

CALL 304.636.9477 • MTN-RAIL.COM
Summer trips from New Mexico
to Illinois exposed a high-school
boy to a world of Midwestern
railroading and the final flowering
of Santa Fe passenger service

Author Diven, about to board Santa Fe’s
El Pasoan to Belen, N.Mex., stands with his
father, William A. Diven, at Las Cruces on
June 7, 1967. In the main photo, the west-
bound San Francisco Chief approaches its
station stop at Belen on December 28, 1968.
Early light brightens the tail of the El Pasoan as it rides north onto a fill across the Rio Grande floodplain 15 miles beyond Las Cruces in April ’66.
I
dling in regal impatience, the San cific trackage rights to Mojave, and joined which my father once sipped Scotch
Francisco Chief stood poised for the transcontinental main line at Barstow. whisky with actor Victor Mature. The San
departure as a pair of humble From there this Chief galloped across Ar- Francisco Chief, though, topped the time-
Budd cars shuddered to a halt two izona and western New Mexico to Dalies table as train Nos. 1 and 2.
tracks over to let loose a few con- and the Belen Cutoff. The Budd Rail Diesel Cars delivering
necting passengers. On this brilliant New Trailing the San Francisco Chief by 21⁄2 me from Las Cruces, N.Mex., to Belen
Mexico day in June 1967, the streamliner hours, the combined Super Chief-El Capi- that morning came from different stock,
from California arrived in Belen punctu- tan from Los Angeles clattered through tramping the Rio Grande Valley and des-
ally at 10:05 a.m. with 25 minutes allowed Dalies, veering northeast to Albuquerque ert backcountry as trains 13 and 14, the
to take on fuel, water, and a new crew and the slow summits of Glorieta and El Pasoan, escaping their namesake city
while granting travelers a quick stretch. Raton, yet winning the race to Kansas with the dawn to follow the Spanish cart
In the 22 hours since leaving the East Bay City Union Station by 25 minutes and road 253 miles to Albuquerque before
at Richmond, Calif., the newest of the Dearborn Station in Chicago by 30. Yes, scuttling back to Texas before midnight.
Santa Fe Railway’s long-haul trains the El Capitan crowed over extra-fare Cars DC-191 and 192 displaced a con-
skipped down the San Joaquin Valley, Hi-Level reserved seats while the Super ventional consist two years earlier, easily
twisted over Tehachapi on Southern Pa- Chief preened as The Train of the Stars on handling local business except when
Cab ride on No. 2, June 7, 1967: Alco PAs on No. 1 hold the main for a meet with 2 at Fort Sumner. Train 26 from Carlsbad — a PA, baggage car, and
coach-obs — stands at Clovis as 2 rolls in. Engineer Paul Shur (left) and fireman B. E. Clenenger pose at Clovis after hosting Diven from Belen.

Christmas traffic and express brought
back an E8M, baggage car, and two
gon. The RDCs bleated adios, ambled up
the valley, and stole across hostile desert,
Gentlemen did not
coaches. The inglorious history burden-
ing the RDCs escaped notice when the
rolling into Belen shortly after the San
Francisco Chief. I handed No. 2’s conduc-
yet travel in sweat
Las Cruces newspaper announced the
change with a handout photo of the
tor my ticket and two letters, one from
the Santa Fe authorizing my presence in
pants, so the high-
coaches as built in 1952, glossing over the
conversion of DC-192 to coach-baggage
the cab of his train, the other from my
parents absolving the railroad should it
school kid boarding
after the 1956 Redondo Junction rollover
in Los Angeles that killed 30 passengers.
maim or kill me during the ride. One can
only surmise what engineer Paul Shur
the El Pasoan was
Following low-key assignments in Kan-
sas, the cars appeared on the “Horny
and fireman B. E. Clenenger thought
when a kid dressed for the spring dance
dressed in slacks,
Toad,” the southern New Mexico line
nicknamed by early Santa Fe men for the
climbed into their cab.
Extra fare to ride the locomotive
blazer, and tie.
spiky lizard common in the country. amounted to 5-cent stamps for neatly
The Santa Fe still hustled varnish with typed letters mailed early in the year to
style, as did the Chicago, Burlington & railroad officials gleaned from the Guide.
Quincy, whose Zephyrs and Hill Lines The cordial responses proved uniformly George T. Grader, special representative
brethren graced the Chicago–Twin Cities negative. CB&Q General Passenger Traf- for public relations. “I would like to sug-
route through Oregon, Ill., the hometown fic Manager W. F. Burke suggested a for- gest there may be some possibility we
my family had left a few years earlier. ward seat in a Vista Dome as a substitute may be able to honor your request,” he
Now the Santa Fe and Burlington were for the thrill of a cab ride, while his col- wrote. With another stamp I proposed a
ferrying me to the Midwest for a summer league Al M. Rung, director of public re- grand day from Kansas City to the bump-
job in the kitchen and dining hall at a lations, regretted that only operating per- ing post at Dearborn Station. Instead
YMCA camp outside Mukwonago, Wis., sonnel were allowed in cabs. Santa Fe Grader offered something within his pur-
100 miles from Oregon. General Passenger Traffic Manager Ross view: a 4-hour 35-minute sprint from
E. Chappelle expressed regrets, while R. D. Belen to Clovis over the Second and First
DRESSED FOR TRAVEL Shelton, operations vice president, said districts of the New Mexico Division.
Gentlemen did not yet travel in sweat cab rides were allowed only in exceptional The Belen trainmaster, he added, would
pants, so the high-school junior boarding circumstances, “otherwise the situation assign a chaperone.
the El Pasoan in Las Cruces that morning could quickly get out of hand.” At least Notching out the throttle of F3 No.
dressed in slacks, blazer, vest, and tie and they responded, unlike the Chicago Cubs 24C, Shur diverged east off the Toad at El
carried a briefcase holding among its when I inquired about becoming a batboy. Paso Junction, crossing the Rio Grande
contents the latest Trains magazine and The only glimmer of hope arrived for the ascent to Abo Canyon and the
a 1966 Official Guide liberated by the from Santa Fe general offices in Amarillo, scrubby highlands beyond. The San Fran-
friend-of-the-family CB&Q agent in Ore- Texas, in the triple-qualified response of cisco Chief’s 20 cars trailed his five red-
Fairbanks-Morse H12-44TS 541, one of only three built, places the Super Chief-El Capitan consist at Chicago’s Dearborn Station on June 15, 1970.
The combined Empire Builder, North Coast Limited, and Morning
Zephyr slows for its stop at Oregon, Ill., on June 7, 1968. The first dome
car is one of the two prototypes the Q rebuilt from flat-roof coaches.
CB&Q agent Rupert L. “Roy” Sharick stands

on the brick platform at Oregon on June 13,
1967. Camp cars, living quarters for a main- The mixed from Oregon switches the Kable Bros. printing plant at Mt. Morris, Ill., in August
tenance crews, are parked in the background. 1966. Diven and his cousin were aboard NW2 9224 as paying passengers.

and-silver Warbonnet diesels: a Railway slow stroll past division offices, officials’
Post Office; three baggage, mail, and ex- cars, and the daily Cavern up from Carls-
press cars; five regular chair cars; four bad — Alco PA 58, a baggage-express car,
Hi-Level chair cars and a Big Dome and chair-observation 3197, built in 1940
lounge; a standard-level diner; and five for the El Capitan — before boarding one
sleepers. Shur and Clenenger shared or- of No. 2’s chair cars. Still to come were a
ders and protocols with me, and the die- zebra-striped Baldwin VO1000 switching
sel maintainer, my designated handler out the business car in Amarillo, a diner
whose name I didn’t record, gave me a dinner, kaleidoscopic train-watching
tour of the prime mover and steam gener- from Kansas City into Chicago, and the
ator before vanishing aft to wait for some- westward flight of the Afternoon Zephyr
thing to break or me to get into trouble. from Union Station 99 miles in two stops
I yelled an occasional question and and 84 minutes to touchdown at Oregon.
shot pictures from the fireman’s seat with Yet 9 hours out of Las Cruces, the new
my Kodak Instamatic and the parents’ conductor in Clovis closed the curtain of
Polaroid, but mostly stood in awe. I’d rid- my high drama by checking the ticket of
den switch engines and fast trains before, just another chair-car occupant. The Chi-
but never flown in the nosecone of a cago Cubs may have crushed one child-
rocket. We owned the single-track. hood fantasy, but bless George Grader for
Freight trains stepped aside, flashing by making another dream come true.
in a blur of blue-and-yellow GP30s, Alli-
gators, and new SD45s tugging walls of GREAT TRAINS, TOUGH TIMES
dull-colored cargo. In that summer of 1967, flashy trains
At the Fort Sumner flag stop, four bearing legendary names masked an in-
Alco PAs running late with No. 1 held the dustry in free-fall gutted by stifling regu-
station track as we eased up the siding lation, lousy returns, deferred mainte-
making the meet usually held 20 miles nance, subsidized competition, and inter-
farther west. Shur rolled into Clovis on nal sloth. Desert newspapers provided
time at 2:50 p.m., starting the clock on 30 spotty coverage, so Trains delivered a
minutes for the crew change, servicing, monthly dose of business press, little of it
switching out Dallas and Houston sleep- good, with Editor David P. Morgan con-
ers, and coupling office car 37 to the rear. necting dots into an unpleasant picture.
After posing Shur and Clenenger for a Passenger service withered slowly, a Tippe-
photo and thanking them again, I took a canoe here, a Laker there, before plunging
CB&Q Mikado 4960 crosses the Rock River as

it departs Oregon with an Illini Railroad Club
New and old GN liveries mingle in the Empire Builder east of the Oregon station in mid-1968. excursion returning to Chicago. The June 26,
In Big Sky blue is diner Lake Ellen Wilson, while Great Dome River View wears Omaha orange. 1966, trip handled local freight en route.
Burlington Northern’s eastbound Morning Zephyr (combined with the Empire Builder and North Coast Limited) breezes into Oregon at 1:16 p.m.
on June 15, 1970. Trackside, the bold older brother decides he’s half a step too close to the rails, while a departing soldier strikes a jaunty pose.
Inset MILW
Midwest Waukesha
Santa Fe, almost ATSF
CB&Q
Davis Jct. MILW
MILW Oregon CB&Q
map
area
milieu Mukwonago
Milwaukee
CNW
CH
MILW
all the way East Troy

IC
AG
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SOO
MofET
O
ILL. W IS.
Ga
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Harvard
bu
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ATS
rg
IC Rockford CN
K A NS. W
CO LO.
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MO. MILW Davis Jct. Union

Ci
KA
e
La Junta
NS
dg
Oregon
A
Do
SC
Wichita
ITY
Trinidad Mt. Morris

Raton CB&Q Aurora CHICAGO
IL L . F
CB&Q ATS
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Joliet
vis ne
O KL A .
Clo Sum
Albuquerque
Belen
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Fo
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Am
0 25 50 75 100 miles
ar
illo
© 2019, Kalmbach Media Co., CLASSIC TRAINS, Rick Johnson

ATSF
N.MEX. N Not all lines shown

T EXAS
Las Cruces 0 100 200 300 400 miles
El Paso
Not all lines shown

Oregon agent Val Fischback holds up orders for an eastbound freight racing to stay ahead of
the Morning Zephyr on June 15, 1970. Three months after the BN merger, the train is led by
SD45s from NP, CB&Q (in a trial pre-merger livery), and GN. At right, Bob “Silver Skate”
Meade, who has worked the Oregon switch job, waits for the Zephyr to deadhead home.
off a cliff when the Post Office Depart- ing-worms herald of Penn Central. The
ment abruptly ended most rail contracts Hill Lines sought again to turn a 70-year
in September. Twenty years after its hero- courtship into proper matrimony, this
ic role in winning a world war, railroad- time as the Great Northern Pacific &
ing’s brave posture devolved into train-off Burlington Lines. Labor grievances shut
petitions, abandonments, and a scramble down the national system for two days a
to merge what might be saved. Compa- few weeks after I arrived at camp.
nies battled the Interstate Commerce In the cocoon of the old hometown of
Commission, Supreme Court, Wall 3,500 people, the only stoplight in the
Street, unions, and each other, no holds county cycled at the courthouse square,
barred. The iconic 20th Century Limited and 14 name trains called at the depot
didn’t last the year; sponsor New York overseen by agent Rupert L. “Roy” Shar-
Central and arch rival Pennsylvania van- ick, a Burlington man at Oregon since
ished two months later behind the mat- before my grandparents married in 1919.
As the kid hanging out on the crew side
of the depot, I’d become friends with Mr.
Sharick, as I always called him, and we’d
maintained a correspondence after our
family moved to New Mexico. Engineer
Henry “Hank” Fruit and conductor Jim
Kereven, 50-year men themselves, and a
series of brakemen managed the Oregon
job switching coal and lumber yards, the
Carnation milk plant, Quaker Oats
equipment shop, the E. D. Etnyre & Co.
tank-truck factory, and National Silica,
formerly my granddad’s and a partner’s
flint quarry 2 miles west of town.
Most days the Oregon job and its NW2
ran the Mt. Morris branch on 7 miles of
ex-Chicago & Iowa track that had been
stubbed at the Kable Bros. printing plant
when the CB&Q pulled up the rest to the
Illinois Central connection at Forreston
A rearward view from a dome on BN’s Afternoon Zephyr shows Gulf, Mobile & Ohio E7s shov- in 1932. Kereven considered the waycar a
ing the Abraham Lincoln toward Chicago Union Station before its afternoon departure for St. nuisance, so the rare passenger on the
Louis on June 5, 1970. At right is the former PRR Polk Street Freight House and an ex-PRR SW1. mixed train usually paid 50 cents to ride
The joint Union Pacific-Milwaukee Road City of Portland-City of Denver brakes to its eastbound stop at Davis Junction., Ill., where MILW’s west-
ern main line crossed CB&Q’s branch to Rockford, on August 25, 1967. At Chicago, Diven transferred to a Santa Fe train out of Dearborn Station.
the cab and deck of the diesel or an empty

boxcar with Kereven.
Beside its own Morning and Afternoon
Zephyrs from Chicago and Minneapolis,
the Burlington handled Great Northern’s
Empire Builder and Northern Pacific’s
North Coast Limited. Marketers holding
sway on the GN dumped the road’s Oma-
ha orange and deep green passenger col-
ors for Big Sky blue, and buffed Rocky the
goat into a “more vigorous, dynamic crit-
ter,” to quote a GN ad placed in Trains.
Many supposed the expense and timing
of the makeover foretold the post-merger
colors of the GNP&BL. Oregon remained
a flag stop for those West Coast trains, so
the Builder and North Coast blazed
through town restricted to 75 mph, occa-
sionally barely stopping for passengers to
or from Fargo, N.Dak., and beyond. In
reality 14 names equaled 8 trains in June At Rockford, Ill., on Illinois Central’s Iowa Division, an eastbound freight departing the yard
1967. The Builder and North Coast were behind two GP9s gets its orders from the agent at the passenger station on June 11, 1968.
combined, as were the eastbound After-
noon Zephyr and GN’s Western Star, while
the nighttime hours mingled the Western on the San Francisco Chief, Santa Fe PAs Ringe returning to Wisconsin and, to our
Star, CB&Q’s Blackhawk, and NP’s Main- led the way, pausing this time in Clovis to mutual surprise, the tiny village of Muk-
streeter going west and the Blackhawk and pick up the Dallas and Houston sleepers wonago. The unheralded highway cross-
Mainstreeter coming back. for the West Coast. It would be 20 years roads giving rural Phantom Lake YMCA
My return trip to New Mexico in 1967 before I rode behind a PA again, and that Camp its mailing address claimed maybe
began not with a Zephyr but the joint would be out of Nogales in Mexico. 1,500 residents and a Unitarian church
Union Pacific-Milwaukee Road City of pastored by Ringe. On my days off from
Portland-City of Denver. Cousin John MAKING FRIENDS IN “MUK” the camp, meals and Scrabble with the
provided the shuttle to the Milwaukee’s Heading to camp in 1966 aboard the Ringes competed with cheeseburgers and
crossing of the CB&Q Rockford branch Super Chief-El Capitan, I sat down for din- chocolate malts at the Rexall soda foun-
at Davis Junction for the 80-mile trip to ner on the 90-mph track east of Trinidad, tain, neither of which kept me from the
Chicago Union Station. Out of Dearborn Colo., and met Rev. Frederick and Bess Soo Line station at the north end of town.

Crewmen of a morning C&NW commuter train operating in push mode On the same date, Illinois Railway Museum volunteers work on Chi-
confer at Harvard, Ill., before departing for Chicago on July 5, 1968. cago “L” car 1808 at Union, Ill., home to the museum since 1964.
Agent Doug Seibert held court for the ance in Milwaukee on June 30, 1967, the 5629, its tender labeled for sponsor Jos.
Soo in 1966 and ’67, frothing over the morning bus from Mukwonago reached Schlitz Brewing Co., whistled and clanged
sorry state of society, politics, and rail- the city 5 hours ahead of the special train ahead of a rainbow consist of circus wag-
roading when he wasn’t shuffling freight carrying wagons from the Circus World ons on flats trailed by three heavyweight
bills for feed and coal dealers and inter- Museum at Baraboo. Knowing the city passenger cars in red, white, and blue.
change with the electric Municipality of only from railfan and modeler maga- Alco bred the 4-6-2 to run, but my pref-
East Troy Railroad, an 8-mile loose wire zines, I first targeted Walthers’ Terminal erence tilted to Burlington 4960, the
from Milwaukee’s interurban era. The last Hobby Shop on Water Street to gawk at dowdy 2-8-2 that handled the special in
Laker blew through Mukwonago early in HO merchandise and express condolenc- previous years. We’d last met two years
1965, leaving Seibert only freight traffic es on the passing of founder William K. earlier when it took over the mixed Eola–
to inspect as it rolled by, waiting for the Walthers the previous month. My first try Oregon wayfreight handling pickups and
creaky maroon wooden caboose or a new at riding a big-city bus ate time while ac- setouts on a well-patronized fantrip. But
International white-and-red wide-cupola complishing nothing, so I gave up on new CB&Q President Lou Menk snuffed
model to wave an all-clear to a crewman finding the Trains office on Seventh the steam program, dooming the road’s
or, as I failed to notice until a family slide Street. Instead I walked to the new Mil- monumental 4-8-4 5632 and sentencing
show, exchange one-finger salutes. waukee Road station, a modernistic box 4960 to decades of wandering.
On days when I didn’t paddle a camp unloved by its many critics and home to
canoe across Upper and Lower Phantom MILW Hiawathas and Chicago & North THE AIRLINES WIN
Lake to “Muk,” as the camp staff called it, Western 400s. An E7 led Milwaukee train By the summer of 1968, railroad devo-
the 2-mile hike mostly followed the 12 into the station for its 11:30 departure lution had come to New Mexico. The
MofET tracks bought in 1939 by a town for Chicago, while a Fairbanks-Morse Santa Fe discontinued the El Pasoan in
clinging to its rail connection as The Mil- station switcher paddled around in the
waukee Electric Railway & Light Co. colors of western partner Union Pacific.
withered away. Crewmen Tom Chart and A dozen blocks east at the lakefront,
John Frymark worked the Soo connection only a tall ribbon of weeds defined the
the day I was invited aboard the M-15, a single track on the C&NW property re- The mixed train’s
1920 box motor. Another day I rode the cently scraped clean of coach yard and
back of the camp’s stakebed truck on a roundhouse, with only the classic tow- conductor consid-
field trip to Madison, but escaped to the ered station, whose few remaining trains
Milwaukee Road station, where the Varsi- had been moved to the MILW station a ered the waycar a
ty was positioned for its late-afternoon year earlier, awaiting demolition. Nervous
trip to Chicago. The YMCA in Waukesha North Western brass prudently ordered nuisance, so the
managed the camp, giving me time on an F-M switcher into the jungle, where it
another day to wander that town while confirmed the presence of track and rare passenger
the camp director attended to business. promptly broke a rail. Trackworkers
That led to the Soo main and yard, where drilled and spliced the pieces and replaced usually rode the
a switch crew hailed me aboard their Alco a tie as other men whacked weeds and ex-
S2 for a few moves around the brick shops humed steel from a paved-over crossing. cab of the diesel or
dating from Wisconsin Central days. The special arrived 90 minutes late, as
When steam was due for an appear- Richard Jensen’s Grand Trunk Western an empty boxcar.
A Soo Line F unit still dressed in the road’s
classic maroon-and-gold scheme leads a
In Milwaukee, C&NW E8 5019B eases into the Milwaukee Road’s three-year-old station with westbound freight at the north edge of little
the Bi-Level Peninsula 400 from Ishpeming, Mich., to Chicago on a rainy June 29, 1968. Mukwonago, Wis., in July 1966.
friend, I ventured to his home in the

northern woods at New London for
Green Bay & Western switching with an
Alco RS27-C424 duo. A swing into north-
eastern Illinois started at Harvard, termi-
nal for C&NW Northwest Line push-pull
commuter service and the bi-level coaches
shoved by F7 4070C toward Chicago, 63
miles away. At Union, a few Illinois Rail-
way Museum volunteers labored among
the July weeds on the fledgling stable of
mostly electric rolling stock relocated to
the country a few years earlier. The Burl-
ington still enlivened Oregon, although
the Empire Builder and North Coast Lim-
ited were now combined most days with
the Morning Zephyr from the Twin Cities
and the Afternoon Zephyr out of Chicago,
About an hour later, MILW’s Chicago–Minneapolis Morning Hiawatha takes on fuel and and Kereven and Fruit’s Mt. Morris turn
changes crews during its Milwaukee stop. FP7 100A and E9 34C sandwich an F7B. had become freight-only. Traditions
seemingly held firm, but in truth I wit-
nessed a museum of railway collectibles
April, so my cab-ride letter-writing cam- temporary custody of a 1959 Mercury V-8 decorating the landscape.
paign targeted officials on lines east of El battlewagon, giving me freedom to roam. As college loomed, the next summer
Paso and north of New Orleans without Rockford, Ill., revealed the Burlington’s led to a job on a survey crew pounding
success. Kansas City Southern Vice Presi- sedate yard, while next door an Illinois stakes in the New Mexico desert for real
dent and General Manager R. J. Blair said Central agent hooped up orders to a freight money — $3.20 an hour plus overtime. It
sorry but no dice, while Gulf, Mobile & departing eastward behind two GP9s. would be June 1970 before the El Capitan
Ohio Assistant Vice President-Public Re- Chill rain grayed Milwaukee on my return and the Afternoon Zephyr delivered me to
lations B. M. Sheridan signed his regrets to the MILW station, where C&NW’s Oregon for a short visit, their sweet rides
“Berney.” However, Sheridan also sent Ishpeming, Mich.–Chicago Bi-Level Pen- belying a world turned upside down. The
consolation prizes: an annual report and insula 400 came and went, MILW’s daily- Santa Fe, its postal income gone, applied
Howard Fogg lithograph depicting Alco except-Sunday train 27 arrived from Chi- to drop 33 of its 39 daily trains, and
FAs and banana reefers departing the port cago, and the sun shone on cue for the mostly succeeded. The CB&Q vanished
at Mobile, Ala. So, for this summer Amer- circus train, hooked again to GTW 5629. in March, replaced by the amalgamated
ican Airlines, a bus, and Cousin John de- The Merc swilled transmission fluid, Hill Lines thankfully known simply as
livered me to Oregon in time for dinner. but still made Waukesha, where the Soo Burlington Northern. Agent Sharick had
For the first time I packed a 35mm ran fast freight behind EMD GP30s on retired, conductor Kereven was dead, and
camera and a driver’s license coupled to Alco trade-in trucks. Along with a camp engineer Fruit, after taking his fill of two

officials nitpicking his switching moves,
told them to get off. When they didn’t, he
did, leaving them and his motor idling in
the Oregon yard. Even the vast concourse
of Chicago Union Station fell to air-rights
development, wedging passengers into a
basement dungeon.
When the Super-El Cap departed
Dearborn for Albuquerque, three EMD
FP45s bought with freight capabilities in
mind led the way, maintaining a stoic
Warbonnet face past a battered trade-in
line of Warbonnet F units outside EMD’s
La Grange plant. Railpax, looming not
quite a year in the future, by which time
it was rebranded as Amtrak, ended pas- An eastbound Soo local led by GP9 2401 stops at the Mukwonago station before switching town
senger trains to Oregon as well as the San industry and the Municipality of East Troy Railroad interchange a mile ahead on June 18, 1968.
Francisco Chief, 17 years after its silvery
sleekness first glided through New Mexico.
SURVIVORS SOLIDER ON
Not everything went to wreck and
ruin, of course. The Pacific Railroad Soci-
ety is restoring the surviving El Pasoan
Budd car, DC-191, and the Empire Builder
still connects Chicago and Seattle, albeit
through Milwaukee and not Oregon,
where dedicated volunteers and the town
government have saved and restored the
1914 depot. Even the wispy electric line
from East Troy to Mukwonago remains
under juice, connecting with Soo succes-
sor Canadian National but hauling only
tourists and dinner patrons. Both its M-15
and a maintenance motor are preserved
at the now-expansive Illinois Railway
Museum, whose rolling-stock collection
has grown tenfold since 1968 [page 88]. Before being invited aboard to ride a few switching moves, Diven photographed Soo Line
While CB&Q 5632 and GTW 5629 Alco S2 2107 pulling into the Main Street yard at Waukesha, Wis., on August 10, 1967.
infamously went for scrap, the Q’s 4960
steams onward at the Grand Canyon Rail-
way where a slick restoration extended its
life while erasing its Burlington roots.
Even four Santa Fe PAs remain, two still
in Mexico, one in Portland, Ore. (in Nickel
Plate colors), and one being restored to
Warbonnet glory at the Museum of the
American Railroad in Frisco, Texas, which
is also home to Santa Fe obs car 3197.
Passenger trains even call at Belen again,
although extending state-sponsored Rail
Runner Express commuter trains to
points down the Horny Toad is only hope
and chatter. And the Howard Fogg print
mailed by Berney Sheridan hangs in my
office as a reminder of how a few stamps
can bring priceless adventure.
WILLIAM P. DIVEN is a veteran print and

broadcast journalist who began contribut-
ing to Trains in 1974. He lives northeast
of Albuquerque. This is Bill’s second article MofET’s ex-Milwaukee Electric motor M-15 rests in East Troy, Wis., on June 18, 1968. At left is
in Classic Trains. the ex-interurban line’s power substation, now the depot for East Troy Electric Railroad trains.
Itinerant
agent BY WALTER F. SMITH
Tales of
working
through two
world wars and
the Depression
in New England
A sixth-grade dropout at the

start of the 20th century, my
father, Albert E. Smith, be-
gan his railroad career in his teens,
working on the big trolley cars of
the now forgotten Portland-Lewis-
ton Interurban in Maine. Going
over to the steam cars, he wrestled
baggage at the India Street Station
of the Grand Trunk in Portland
and was fired for some infraction
he would never confess to me. But
the railroads must have been for-
giving in those days as he quickly

A Boston & Albany train
rolls west of Worcester,
Mass., in June 1942. Engine
619 is the last of 20 class J-2
Hudsons built during 1928–
31 for the B&A. H. F. Harvey
Facing page: Author Smith’s

father, retired railroader Al-
bert E. Smith, stands with the
author’s daughter Adrienne
in 1968. Walter F. Smith coll.
Boston & Albany mixed train 571 trundles
along the Ware River Branch at North Palmer,
Mass., with 2-8-0 No. 1051. Author Smith’s dad
worked frequently on the branch during his
time as a B&A gatetender. Wayne Brumbaugh
went to work as a clerk for the Portland

Terminal in Maine.
After World War I he landed in Bos-
ton, where he worked at South Station at
the Auditor of Freight Accounts for the
Boston & Albany Railroad. Dad, who was
always something of a reactionary, felt
that the virgin B&A had been shanghaied
by the rapacious New York Central. To
him the beloved railroad was always Bos-
ton & Albany. The only entity he hated
more than the New York Central was
then-mighty rival Pennsylvania Railroad.
During the war he served in the military
railway services, building boxcars in
France. He had worked under some
Pennsy officials and disliked them all.
Later, he considered PRR’s Stuart Saun-
ders the peer of Darth Vader.
When the Great Depression clamped
down on the B&A, dad lost his job at
South Station. For a brief time, he even
NYC 4-8-2 No. 3002, one of the famed Mohawk-type locomotives, leads train 49, the Knicker- worked for a tire company. But railroad-
bocker, west through Twin Ledges at Middlefield, Mass., on October 15, 1947. Robert A. Buck ing was in his blood and he accepted a job

An eastbound freight passes Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass., in the 1940s. Agent Smith
often sold tickets to college students when he worked the station here. Wayne Brumbaugh
The author’s hometown station at West Brookfield, Mass., looking east on September 30,
1945. This was 25.3 miles west of Worcester and 14 miles east of Palmer. Robert A. Buck
tending crossing gates on the Ware River between deaths, illnesses, retirements, bocker for St. Louis, train 49, made a stop
Branch, reclaimed his pass like a kid and some unusual events — like an agent on Friday only. One Friday a couple of
claiming a birthday present, and moved who went to jail for pilfering from box- Pop’s co-workers decided to disappear
us all to central Massachusetts, where I cars — Pop had only three days of down- just as the crowd began to gather for No.
was born and lived until adulthood. time in all his years! But to the day he re- 49. Dad sold tickets like a whirling der-
After VJ Day the Central began prun- tired he still believed that next week there vish, rolled out a couple of carts of bag-
ing, and early victims were crossing ten- would be no work and his family would gage, and, when the Knickerbocker de-
ders who worked 20 minutes a day pro- be out in the street. parted for the west, made sure all the
tecting against four trains. In 1946 stop young ladies of Wellesley College were on
boards were erected at the Route 32 Bucking the board. One of Pop’s colleagues was heard
crossing in Gilbertville, and Dad moved spare board to grunt, “That SOB sure can sell tickets!”
to the clerk/agent/telegrapher roster, In some places Pop copied train or- One Sunday evening the superinten-
where he remained for 20 years, bucking ders and held the hoop, while in others dent called Pop and told him to report
the spare board. he reported each train that passed to the Monday to Wellesley Farms, which was a
It’s ironic that Pop, as his children all dispatcher. In a couple of assignments, he commuter station. There he would also
called him, should have been the one to sold thousands of dollars worth of tickets have to sell newspapers and tend a small
lead this uncertain, nomadic life. He was in a day; in others there might be one post office in the depot. Before he could
a nervous, insecure man who disliked hour of work for the entire shift. take the job, however, he had to go some-
change and believed every rumor that One of his favorite jobs was ticket where and be sworn in or he could not
came rolling by the depot. As low man on clerk at Wellesley, Mass. The college and sell stamps!
the roster, he took all the spare work. If commuter traffic was considerable, and The agent’s best friend in those days
he held a job, and another was abolished, the station had at least four clerks besides was the Railway Express Agency. As the
the bumping process would begin and the agent. In addition to daily calls by local agent, you automatically became the
Dad would be the ultimate victim. But regular trains, the westbound Knicker- agent for REA in most places. The local
An eastbound Boston & Albany freight
crests the summit of the Berkshires, 1,459
feet above sea level, at Washington, Mass.,
on August 5, 1946. Charles A. Elston
would come home for the weekend.

One Friday I rode to Brookview on
No. 575 to spend the day with Pop and
then accompany him home. He closed
the depot at 3:30 p.m., and we walked
over the hill to Castleton, N.Y. We caught
a bus to Albany, from where we dead-
headed on No. 90, the Chicagoan, for
Springfield. There Pop planned to catch
local 514, which stopped at West Brook-
At Framingham, Mass., Mohawk 3005 hurries the Boston-bound Southwestern Limited past new field. But that night No. 90 kept hitting
Alco RS2 8219, waiting with the consist of a suburban train to Milford, circa 1949. H. W. Pontin red signals, and by the time we got to
Springfield, No. 514 was gone. But he al-
ways had an alternate plan. We ran down
man got 10 percent of shipping costs for in our hometown, West Brookfield, Mass. Carew Street and around the corner and
incoming parcels and 15 percent for orig- There he would catch train 43, which just caught a Short Line bus that deposited
inating ones. In some depots Dad made stopped at 1 a.m. This took him to Albany, us in the center of West Brookfield. Dad
more money from REA than he did from where he would catch all-stops local No. never liked this option, though; unlike
the railroad! 6 back to Brookview. He would arrive NYC 514, he had to pay to ride the bus!
Besides the insecurity of the job, one there in time to sell tickets for the morn- Another strange job where Pop served
of the biggest drawbacks of the spare ing Beeliner Rail Diesel Car from North a number of times was at Chelsea draw-
board was the living conditions inherent Adams, Mass., to Albany. He would stay bridge on the Grand Junction Branch. He
in working so many scattered assign- all week in the depot, selling a few tickets would leave home Monday morning to
ments. One week, Dad might be at Chel- and billing an occasional freight car. take the second-trick job at Chelsea.
sea on the Grand Junction Branch run- This station, incredibly, had no elec- There he would raise and lower the aged
ning the drawbridge, or he might be tricity, and he slept on a bench and ate bridge to allow the ships, mostly tankers,
general agent at Brookview, N.Y., a few out of a local general store. Nights there to come up the waterway. The only train
miles east of Albany, on the line west of were especially dull; the only thing that was a local that hung around all day and
Post Road Crossing where the freight line broke the monotony was the occasional half the night. It was impossible to com-
goes off to Selkirk Yard. passing of a train, and a passionate young mute to this job without a car, so Dad
For many of those spare-board years couple who used the depot yard to get to- took a room in the area and ate in low-
our family did not own an automobile and gether. As they pledged their love for one cost beaneries like the Waldorf Cafeteria,
Pop became an expert on getting around another, they were not aware that every- of which he was particularly fond. Days
without one. When he was agent at thing was being overheard by a man just were a boring routine of sitting around
Brookview, he would leave home before trying to sleep on a bench the other side reading the Boston Daily Record and
midnight Sunday and walk to the depot of the open window. Friday nights he waiting for 4 p.m. He took to going to the

matinee at a cheap theater near his
rooming house. He saw the John Wayne NYC’s Boston & Albany
movie She Wore A Yellow Ribbon so many VT. N. H.
times it became a family joke. One night,
when Pop was not working, the job at North Adams
Winchendon
Athol
Chelsea ended abruptly. The operator
Co
Albany M AS S.
rd
raised the bridge, and halfway up it shift- Selkirk
av
n
Brookview
to
Chelsea
ille
Sa
ing
Gi
xo
/S
ed to one side and fell into the water! The
d
East Boston
lbe
sh
nv
ou
iel
Wo
Wa
ille
r tv
th
lef
railroad promptly abandoned the branch South Station
vil
ce
eld
dd
ille
le
s te
Ware
Mi
sf i
We ing
beyond the river.
r
tt
Fr
lle ha
Pi
am
eld
sle m
One of the sleepier jobs Pop filled was NEW
tf i
y
We
s
Mi
We
lb
s
the dual stations at Cordaville and South- YOR K
Mi
N
tB
ur
Pa
lf o
ro
y
lm
rd
Sp
ville, which were located only a short dis-
okf
er
We d
ri n
iel
bs
gf
tance apart. Aside from a few commuter
te
iel
r
d
tickets and billing an occasional car of 0 10 20 30 40 50 miles R. I.
grain, there wasn’t much to do. But one CO NN.
afternoon the 4-8-2 Mohawk that was
powering the Knickerbocker threw a tire
in front of the Cordaville depot and could
go no further. In an hour the place was
crawling with brass hats and Pop became
the man of the hour, manual-blocking
everything around the train.
One time on the Ware River Branch,
where the B&A mixed train and a Boston
& Maine local freight shared the same
track, a train-control issue landed Pop on
the carpet. He was serving as relief agent
in Ware, the station he had first been a la-
borer at after leaving the crossing. The
Ware agent would give the B&M crew
permission to enter B&A trackage at For-
est Lake south of Ware. From there they
would use B&A track to a place called
Creamery, where they would enter their
own trackage once more.
One day, the B&M local called from
Forest Lake for permission to enter the
branch. Pop told the fireman, “You may
come to Ware, but proceed with caution.
No. 571 [the mixed train] is in the yard.”
At the subsequent hearing on what hap-
pened that day, it turned out the fireman
had simply returned to the engine and About 13 miles west of Worcester, a westbound freight crests Charlton Hill on August 28,
said, “OK for Ware,” leaving out the warn- 1948, with Lima-built A-1b class Berkshire No. 1439 providing quite a smoke show. C. A. Brown
ing. The local continued to Ware and
rear-ended the mixed. Naturally the B&M
crew blamed Dad, and we wondered if he railroader of the era. The elimination of is a really busy station! Have you noticed
would lose his job or receive an unpaid jobs made it more and more taxing to all the people coming through here?”
leave. Fortunately for him, examination of reach the few jobs that remained, and he At his funeral I read the Edna St. Vin-
the train sheets showed that the engineer was now beyond retirement age. So, he fi- cent Millay poem, which ends:
was guilty of speeding, which cast doubt nally took his pension around 1968, but My heart is warm with the friends I
on the B&M crew’s version of events. remained a railfan, always interested in make, and better friends I’ll not be know-
what the carriers were doing and always ing. Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,
Retirement up for a train ride, of which we took many. no matter where it’s going.
As the 1950s moved on, Alfred E. Perl- In 1989, when he was 98, Pop was a Even in his final days, those years of
man had become president of the New patient in the intensive care unit of a moving from depot to depot remained
York Central and was phasing out stations Connecticut hospital. He had a couple of some of the proudest and happiest mem-
and services as rapidly as regulators strokes and was frequently confused. This ories of his life.
would allow. Despite the personal hard- ICU had an in-the-round arrangement,
ships this policy brought him, Pop always and there was a constant flow of foot traf- REV. WALTER F. SMITH, 85, is an active
had an enormous admiration for Perl- fic by the door. ordained Congregational minister. This is
man, whom he considered the greatest Suddenly, he said to me, “Walter, this his first Classic Trains byline.
FROM BABY CHICKS TO
REELS OF FILM, NEARLY
EVERYTHING AMERICANS
USED REACHED THEM BY
Empire of
RAILWAY EXPRESS
express
BY JEFF WILSON
L
ong before the delivery trucks of UPS and FedEx dominated the ness forms, usually traveled by REA.
Valuables, such as cash, gold, silver, and
parcel delivery business, it was the green trucks of Railway Ex- jewelry, were often shipped by express.
press Agency that delivered packages, moved urgent shipments Offices and messenger cars (baggage cars
with an REA employee riding in them)
among businesses, and provided next-day deliveries. At its busi- had safes to protect these items. Custom-
est from the 1930s through the 1950s, REA used both railroad ers included Federal Reserve banks,
which often shipped cash among branch-
cars and trucks — along with coordinated service among airlines es, and military bases, which distributed
— to deliver large and small shipments across the country. payroll in cash. Through this era, many
other companies also paid employees in
cash, which was often carried by REA.
Grandma in Oregon needs to send Railway Express Agency had a virtual A major portion of REA traffic not
Christmas presents to grandkids in Texas, monopoly on express traffic in the U.S., seen by the public was its business-to-
Florida, and Ohio? No need to go to the and its ubiquitous green trucks could be business deliveries. This could range from
post office: Just call Railway Express and found seemingly everywhere: lined up at something as small as a single vacuum
a truck will stop by the house and pick up railroad depots in towns and cities of all tube to an engine block for a tractor. If a
the packages. Paramount Studios has 400 sizes, and stopped along city streets mak- machine in a factory broke down and
prints of new movies to send to theaters ing deliveries and pickups. needed a new part from a supplier hun-
across the country? Call REA. A whole- dreds of miles away, odds are that it
saler in Chicago has 12 pairs of shoes to WHAT WAS EXPRESS? would be shipped by express (and quite
send to a store in a small town in Iowa? The variety of products and items likely via REA’s Air Express division).
REA again. shipped by express was staggering, as was Almost any other product produced at
Choosing an express shipment could the volume: 231 million shipments in a factory could travel via express, espe-
shave several days off the delivery time 1946. Consumer goods, notably those or- cially fragile items, perishables, large
compared to standard less-than-carload dered from big catalog distributors such items, or cases of any products that didn’t
(LCL) freight. The difference was that as Sears and Montgomery Ward, which warrant a full truckload.
REA shipments traveled in passenger were extremely popular among those liv- Into the 1960s, retail stores — especially
trains (aboard baggage cars) instead of ing in rural America, were often shipped those in small towns away from large cit-
the freight trains used by railroads’ LCL by express. ies, and thus outside the range of compa-
services. In the heyday of REA, the com- Common parcels and personal pack- ny-owned delivery trucks — received a
pany guaranteed five-day service almost ages were a staple of express traffic —
anywhere in the country, whereas a stan- think Christmas and birthday presents,
dard cross-country railroad LCL ship- or any other items that people could send Some idea of the diversity of Railway Ex-
ment could take seven to ten days (and to each other. press shipments can be had in this view of
the U.S. Post Office Department’s Parcel Important paperwork, including legal an REA cart beside Katy train 6-26, the
Post service, the only other real option, documents such as deeds, contracts, northbound Katy Flyer, at Muskogee, Okla.,
might take a couple of weeks). stocks, bonds, permits, and other busi- in about 1946. Krambles-Peterson Archive

lot of their merchandise by both REA cluded medical supplies and equipment, most historians trace the express business
and conventional railroad LCL. human blood, movie films (which were to 1839. In that year William Hernden
A 1940s REA ad featuring a live moose both fragile and quite flammable) and began a one-man operation by collecting
[page 39] is cartoonish, but REA was well-scripts, radio recordings, and baggage — small parcels from multiple senders and
known for shipping live animals. Com- namely trunks and cases shipped by peo- carrying them by hand in a bag between
mon shipments included baby chicks, ple moving, students heading to college, New York and Providence, R.I. His enter-
sent by the millions in cases from hatch- and military personnel being transferred. prise was successful and business grew
eries to farms; zoo animals; and pets and REA handled cans of milk and cream rapidly, with multiple carriers soon serv-
other small animals. These were shipped (en route from farmers to creameries) on ing clients in New York, Boston, and oth-
in cages, and owners were required to in- routes not busy enough to support a ded- er cities.
clude food and other necessary items, icated milk car or train. In warm weather, By the late 1800s, dozens of express
plus handling instructions for agents. messengers would have to keep ice atop companies had sprung up across Ameri-
the cans to prevent the ca. As the country expanded, the business
contents from spoiling. evolved, with companies using a combi-
Although Railway Express Agency didn’t Fresh fish and seafood nation of railroads, steamship lines, and
come into existence until 1929, most histo- were often shipped, their own wagons (later trucks) to trans-
rians trace the express business to 1839. packed with ice (or dry port packages.
ice) in insulated con- Express companies allied themselves
tainers. REA also han- with multiple railroads, signing contracts
Racehorses were often shipped via REA in dled large-scale refrigerated shipments, as and building routes that allowed them to
horse cars or converted baggage cars (both we’ll see in a bit. claim specific territories that they cov-
usually leased from railroads), and pre- ered. In contrast to common-carrier rail-
mium livestock (breeding animals or oth- EXPRESS BEGINNINGS road LCL business, express parcels were
er valuable stock) often traveled by REA. Although Railway Express Agency carried on passenger trains rather than
Other common express shipments in- didn’t come into existence until 1929, freight trains, allowing faster delivery. For

A Railway Express Agency truck is
backed up to the messenger car of
Grand Trunk Western train 54 at Pontiac,
Mich., to transfer parcels in August
1956. J. J. Buckley, Dan Pope collection
During World War II REA hired women to cover many positions. In June 1943, Ida Hicks worked
as an assistant at the agency in New Britain, Conn. Gordon Parks, Library of Congress collection
this, express companies charged a premi-

um rate — often double the standard
charge for conventional LCL.
Into the 1900s, the U.S. Post Office
didn’t handle packages, leaving that to
private express companies and railroad
LCL services. In 1913, however, the Post
Office introduced Parcel Post (fourth
class) service, allowing packages up to 11
pounds and a combined length plus
width plus height of 72 inches (weight A vehicleman poses with his small Ford delivery truck in 1940. REA derived significant reve-
limits would increase over the years). nue from the sale of advertising space on the sides of its trucks. Jeff Wilson collection
Although Parcel Post was slower, it
was much cheaper and took a big bite out
of the express business — especially for of express companies as common carriers Northern Express (owned by Great
personal packages. Express companies (meaning they were subject to Interstate Northern Railway) and Northern Express
objected, claiming Parcel Post was unfair Commerce Commission approval for (owned by Northern Pacific).
competition because it operated at a loss routes and rates) — led to several compa- Increased wartime traffic caused seri-
and was subsidized by the government. nies going out of business, with others ous congestion and delays on American
The protests were to no avail, and Parcel merging. railroads. Heavier traffic, aging equip-
Post would remain a thorn for REA into By the eve of World War I, four major ment, and a lack of cooperation and co-
the 1970s. interstate express companies remained: ordination among railroads in inter-
A loss of business to Parcel Post, to- Adams Express, American Express, changing cars were major problems.
gether with increasing government regu- Southern Express, and Wells Fargo, plus Most know that in December 1917
lations — namely the 1906 classification two railroad-owned companies: Great President Wilson ordered the takeover of
Several of REA’s iconic green delivery trucks
are parked behind the New Haven’s station
at Canaan, Conn., in the early 1960s. REA’s
distinctive red diamond emblem was a com-
mon sight at large and small stations
throughout the country. Paul Larson
American railroads by a government express companies didn’t “own” routes in RAILWAY EXPRESS OPERATIONS
body, the United States Railroad Admin- the way railroads owned their tracks and Duties and responsibilities were divid-
istration (USRA). The USRA streamlined rights of way, and because so many agen- ed among REA itself and the carrier rail-
operations, ordered new equipment, and cies had been combined and closed, it roads. REA was responsible for handling
coordinated operations among railroads, would have been impossible to divide all package pickup and delivery to and
getting traffic flowing again. American Railway Express back into the from customers, all billing, and all trans-
What fewer know is that in 1918, the individual entities as they existed before fer of parcels at terminals and among
existing express companies were also the war. various types of transport (trucks, trains,
consolidated. A newly formed company, The result was that AREX continued and planes).
American Railway Express (AREX), as- operations. The lone exception was South- Railroads were responsible for provid-
sumed all operations. To improve service eastern Railway Express, which covered ing space on trains, for moving the trains,
and speed, AREX closed duplicate offices, routes of the Southern Railway and sub- and for providing space at terminals as
sidiaries and parts of needed (usually in freight rooms of de-
Railroads were responsible for providing the Mobile & Ohio pots). REA parcels were carried in bag-
space on trains, for moving the trains, and Railroad (and which
would be acquired by
gage cars — more accurately, “baggage-
express” cars. These were owned by the
for providing space at terminals as needed. REA in 1938). various railroads, but carried railway
The 1920 contract express agency sublettering.
combined smaller agencies, consolidated between AREX and the railroads gave the Rates were strictly regulated by the In-
and streamlined rail and truck routes and railroads the option to purchase AREX, terstate Commerce Commission, and
other operations, and adopted uniform which they did in 1929. A group of 89 were generally about double what it cost
nationwide billing. Class I railroads bought the company, di- to ship via standard LCL. REA’s profits
In March 1920 USRA control of rail- viding 1,000 shares of stock based on the were divided among owning railroads
roads ended, with individual railroads amount of express carried by each rail- proportionately by shipments hauled by
again assuming operations. However, it road. The new company was named Rail- each. Non-owning railroads still partici-
wasn’t as simple for the express business. way Express Agency. The agreement pated in REA operations and were paid
Railroads were the primary means of car- granted REA the exclusive right to carry for services, but did not share in REA
rying express parcels. But, because the express shipments on U.S. railroads. profits. For example, by 1962 REA was

co-owned by 61 railroads but operated
over 104.
At its peak, REA operated 22,000
agencies across the country. Most were
located in railroad stations, although some
were in storefronts or in other structures
away from the tracks. The familiar red di-
amond emblem hung at agency depots.
Each agency was assigned a specific area
for which it was responsible for pickup
and delivery. Large transfer terminals
were located adjacent to yards in major
cities. These received and dispatched cars
of express shipments to other terminals.
Duties were divided among employ-
ees, and this varied by the size of the of-
fice. An agency in a city of 15,000 might
have an agent, a cashier, several vehicle-
men (what REA called drivers) and trucks,
and an assistant or two. Many small-town
agencies had a single employee perform-
ing all tasks. REA also contracted with
railroad employees at many locations to REA worked hard to maintain the image that it would ship virtually anything. This ad
perform part-time duties. appeared in a 1940 issue of the company’s employee magazine, Express Messenger. REA
REA’s basic operations are easy to fol-
low. A customer could either drop off a
parcel at an agency office or call for a
pickup, and soon a familiar green truck
would stop by. An invoice, waybill, and
label would be completed for each parcel,
and payment made (collect-on-delivery
was also an option).
Pickups were consolidated at the agen-
cy for loading into baggage cars; likewise,
inbound shipments were unloaded from
baggage cars at depots and sorted for de-
livery. Not every passenger train carried
express. Certain trains were assigned the
task, and each town with an agency was
served by one or more trains.
Baggage cars carried REA shipments.
Larger stations might receive full sealed
cars that were set out for unloading,
while smaller agencies were served by
“messenger cars” that dropped off and
picked up parcels as the train paused at In the mid-1940s, Pennsy GG1 4867 stands at Harrisburg, Pa., amid carts laden with mail and
each town. As the name implies, these Railway Express shipments including, at left, boxes of baby chicks. Bob’s Photo
cars had a messenger — an REA employ-
ee or contracted railroad employee —
riding the car who was responsible for New York City terminal that were des- senger trains, often railroads’ secondary
tracking all waybills and parcels as they tined for locations in central and north- trains for a given route. For example, on
were transferred at agencies. Messenger ern California would be placed in a the Northern Pacific, the North Coast
cars were indicated by having a star sten- sealed car. This car might travel to Chica- Limited didn’t carry express, but the
ciled with the car lettering. These cars go on the New York Central, then ride Mainstreeter usually had several express
were equipped with a desk, lavatory, and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy to cars at the head end. On high-volume
a safe for valuables. Council Bluffs, Iowa, the Union Pacific to routes, railroads also ran dedicated mail-
Sealed cars were used to carry parcels Ogden, Utah, and the Southern Pacific to and-express trains that either carried no
between major terminals. These operated San Francisco. The car would then be passengers or might have a single rider
on regular schedules, just like passenger opened and parcels sorted and reloaded coach at the rear.
cars. They would be carried in passenger aboard railcars or trucks to individual Many cities were joined by two or more
or dedicated mail-and-express trains and agencies in the region. railroads in the REA ownership group,
be handed off among railroads. These cars — along with baggage cars and part of REA’s operating contract
For example, parcels gathered at the of mail — were handled by regular pas- specified that traffic was to be divided
American Car & Foundry built 500 new 55-foot express refrigerator cars for REA in 1947–48.
The ice-bunker cars were initially painted aluminum and green as shown here. ACF
A sure sign that a train was about to arrive was the station’s expressman driving a “mule”
pulling carts of outbound express into position. This is Centralia, Ill., in 1946. Henry McCord
by REA, especially for the first harvests
of a season when they could command
equitably among owning railroads. This leading to express traffic departing for premium prices. Other fruits often car-
was important, since profits were distrib- trucking companies. ried were apricots, plums, peaches, and
uted to owning railroads based on the cherries. Flowers and live plants were of-
proportion of shipments carried — not EXPRESS REEFERS ten shipped via refrigerated express (es-
per parcel, by weight, or by space occu- Railway Express Agency was also re- pecially before Easter and Christmas), as
pied by car carried. sponsible for express shipments of per- were prepackaged baskets of fruit, meat,
Another key part of the contract stip- ishables. It maintained a fleet of refrigera- and cheese.
ulated that railroads must be used for tor cars and also managed operations of Cars could be loaded at the site of har-
intercity shipments whenever routes were railroad-owned express reefers to handle vest, having been precooled at a nearby
available (i.e., those on which passenger these shipments. Express reefer opera- icing station, or at a central terminal. An
trains were operating). On these routes, tions were faster than conventional example was REA’s Jacksonville, Fla., ter-
REA could only use trucks (or planes) freight reefers by two to four days for minal, which loaded a great deal of re-
with the permission of the railroads that cross-country trips — and as with con- frigerated express goods bound for mar-
would have participated in the shipment. ventional express, the rates were also kets in the Northeast and Midwest.
In 1929 this wasn’t a negative for REA, higher (typically 1.5 to 2 times the regu- Express refrigerator shipments could
since rail routes were usually the best lar refrigerator-car rate). be handled at the front of standard pas-
option. Most highways were generally Refrigerated express comprised a wide senger or express trains with other head-
poor quality, and trucks were small and variety of products. Berries (namely end traffic (including sealed cars of mail
inefficient for long hauls. Within the next strawberries) were almost always shipped and standard express). For large, multi-
20 years, however, this clause would via express because of their short shelf car shipments, express reefers were some-
greatly hinder the company’s flexibility, lives. Citrus fruits were frequently carried times handled as a dedicated train, usual-

The North Coast Limited was Northern Pacif-
ic’s glamour train to the West Coast, but the
Mainstreeter was the workhorse that han-
dled express. At least nine head-end cars,
many carrying REA shipments, trail train 1’s
F units at St. Paul in 1967. J. David Ingles
ly as an extra section of an existing pas- These refrigerator cars were often used ness, which provided airport-to-airport
senger or express train. This made re-icing for non-refrigerated shipments. In fact, service. By 1940, REA had contracts with
of cars a bit easier. by the late 1950s and early ’60s, they were 17 airlines at 216 airports.
Express refrigerator cars differed from rarely used as originally intended. The This allowed same-day and next-day
standard reefers by having high-speed decision to purchase reefers in the late delivery, an exciting innovation for the
trucks and steam and signal lines, which 1950s had been controversial, as refriger- 1930s — albeit a costly one, as air rates
enabled them to be carried at the front of ated express shipments
passenger trains. Express reefers were were already in a steep
typically longer than conventional reef- decline. Most traffic that REA maintained a fleet of refrigerator cars
ers, with most wood and early steel cars was once a staple for rail and managed operations of railroad-owned
measuring 50 feet long instead of 40. shipment — notably express reefers for perishable shipments.
In 1947-48 REA bought 500 new steel berries — was now car-
55-foot cars built by American Car & ried almost exclusively
Foundry. Cooled by ice, these cars initial- by truck. were often 10 times those of standard ex-
ly wore a catchy silver (aluminum) and press. Air shipments topped 1 million in
green scheme, but were repainted solid AIR EXPRESS 1940 and rose to more than 7 million per
green by the early 1950s. REA bought an- Air express had begun in 1927 by REA year by the 1960s, with rates dropping as
other 1,000 similar cars from General predecessor American Railway Express. equipment (and speed) improved.
American in 1955 and ’57, as well as 275 A uniform contract with multiple airlines
reefers converted from former World (approved by the Civil Aeronautics DECLINE AND DEMISE
War II troop sleepers. By the early 1960s, Board) covered rates and duties. REA Improving roads, the introduction of
REA had also acquired many express provided full door-to-door delivery of air the Interstate highway system, and larger,
reefers formerly owned by railroads. parcels, unlike airlines’ own freight busi- more-efficient trucks meant more and
more express business moved from REA The difference was that UPS, for inter- The new contract removed the
to trucking companies during the 1950s state transport, was a contract carrier, not rail-only stipulation from most routes
and ’60s. Railroads were eliminating and a common carrier (even though in some and also changed the way railroads were
cutting schedules of passenger trains, giv-
areas UPS had common-carrier status for compensated. Under the new system,
ing REA fewer (and often slower) options intrastate hauls). REA began leasing baggage-car space
for shipping parcels long distances. This meant that, unlike common-car- from railroads, dividing revenue with the
Less-than-truckload (LTL) truckers rier REA, UPS could pick and choose the carrying railroad. REA also experimented
were not hindered by rail-only rules, and traffic it hauled, and it specialized in fairly with containers of various types as well as
could schedule trucks on their ICC-ap- lucrative high-volume retail and store piggyback service.
traffic. REA, meanwhile, Ultimately the changes were too little,
as a common carrier too late. After a brief increase in ship-
Improved roads and larger, more-efficient was obliged to accept all ments in 1963, REA’s business again de-
trucks meant more and more business business, including to clined and the company began operating
moved from REA to trucking companies. and from expensive- at a loss. By the mid-1960s multiple rail-
to-serve low-traffic and roads had pulled out of the REA contract,
low-population areas. including major carriers such as New
proved routes as needed, whereas REA A new contract with railroads in 1961, York Central and Southern. The owning
was hamstrung by its requirement to ship together with a new management team, railroads began looking to divest them-
on many routes by rail. briefly improved REA’s profitability. selves of REA.
United Parcel Service, which would Thousands of small agencies were closed, The railroads’ own LCL services were
ultimately get ICC approval to provide replaced by “Key-Point terminals,” which suffering the same fate, with carloadings
package service in all 48 contiguous states were basically larger regional distribution plummeting from 1.1 million in 1962 to
after REA’s demise, was growing rapidly. centers that could serve wider areas. just 96,000 by 1969. By 1970 most rail-

Southern Railway 28, the Cincinnati–
Columbia, S.C., Carolina Special, curves
along the French Broad River west of
Marshall, N.C., in fall 1964. The REA reefer
between the diesels and baggage-RPO
will come off at Asheville, N.C. Other cars,
carrying mail and express, are bound
for Greensboro, N.C. (in train 22), and
Columbia. A coach, dinette-coach, and
sleeper round out the train. Jim McClellan
The Nashville Key-Point Terminal was one of about 50 regional centers opened by REA in the
early 1960s to replace less-efficient agencies based in small-town depots. REA
Ford delivery trucks await disposition in New York City following REA’s bankruptcy and ces-
sation of operations in 1975. They wear REA’s final upward-arrow scheme. Jeff Wilson collection
roads were exiting the LCL business, un- 1971, rail operations had virtually ceased. previous-owner railroads, a legal battle
able to compete with truckers. Package An unofficial name change to “REA with the railway clerks’ union, and finally
service of any kind needs a high volume Express” had taken place in 1960, elimi- with embezzlement charges against sev-
to justify the equipment, routes, and per- nating what was considered to be the un- eral REA officers. The company declared
sonnel required. Below a certain traffic desirable and dated “railway” from the bankruptcy in early 1975 and operations
level, the service becomes untenable; company name. This name change be- ceased. Any hope of reorganization died
both LCL and express had fallen below came official in 1970, with a paint-scheme in November of that year when courts or-
sustainable amounts by that time. change to light gray and the dropping of dered all REA assets to be liquidated.
Through the 1960s, railroad LCL and the familiar diamond logo, which was re- The days of familiar green delivery
REA were both still hampered by ICC replaced by an upward-pointing arrow. trucks were gone, replaced with the
strictions on trucking routes, and truck- By 1972, REA carried just half as brown of UPS and white of FedEx, but
ing companies were quick to file protests many shipments as it had in 1965. The the legacy of Railway Express remains a
anytime REA petitioned for new routes if company was trying to recover by push- fascinating part of railroad history from
they thought their territory was being ening its Air Express service, but yet anoth- the 1930s through the 1970s.
croached upon. er blow came in 1974 when the Civil
In 1969, REA was bought out by an Aeronautics Board ordered airlines to JEFF WILSON has written 40 books on
investor group led by REA officers, which drop their REA-exclusive express con- railroading and model railroading, includ-
acquired almost all stock from the own- tracts. Although this was appealed and ing Express, Mail & Merchandise Service
ing railroads. By this time the move from officially pushed back to 1978, the ruling (Kalmbach, 2016), which featured REA
trains to trucks and air was almost com- would shortly become moot. and other package services. He’s an editor
plete (less than 10 percent of REA revenue REA’s end came slowly and painfully, in Kalmbach Media’s Books Department
at the time came from rail operations), amid protests of ICC regulations, litiga- and also co-owns a photography studio.
and by the coming of Amtrak in May tion with UPS, a futile lawsuit against the This is his first Classic Trains byline.
CHANGE IS ON
THE HORIZON IN
THE WEST VIRGINIA
COAL FIELDS
BLUEFIELD
SURVIVOR
BY J. W. SWANBERG • Photo by the author
H
er brass number plate is freshly polished, but Norfolk & Western
2-8-8-2 No. 2105 is nearing the end of her career on March 31, 1959.
She waits to be pulled automatically through the “Lubritorium” at Blue-
field, W.Va., for typically efficient N&W steam locomotive servicing.
Dieselization of the railroad is well under way, as evidenced by the Alco RS11 seen at left.
Although still in service, No. 2105 is an ancient Y5 Class, built in the early ’30s but mod-
ernized to emulate her newer Y6 sisters.
Those newer sisters are mostly dead, already displaced by road diesels. The reason for
the 2105’s longevity is indicated by her footboards — she has been downgraded to yard
service, and Bluefield Yard’s switching chores have not yet been dieselized. Few railroads
would use a giant 2-8-8-2 as a switcher, but the N&W marshals such long cuts of heavy
coal hoppers that the company’s 0-8-0s sometimes need a helping hand. The venerable
2105 still provides that needed muscle, even in 1959. Alco T6 diesel switchers are being
built at Schenectady to replace her, but it will take three-unit sets of them to match the
power of this giant.
On the Norfolk Southern of the 21st century, big six-motor diesels are required for the
same heavy work at Bluefield. But back in March 1959 the West Virginia hills still echoed
to the “hooter” whistle of a true dinosaur, a Bluefield survivor.
Archive Treasures
J. Parker Lamb photographed short

lines with all the passion he brought to
portraying the big railroads

works the
minor
leagues
BY KEVIN P. KEEFE
Photos by J. Parker Lamb,
Center for Railroad Photography
& Art collection
Preceeding pages: One of the Mississippian Railway’s two ex-Frisco 2-8-0s
ambles past a plowed field in 1956. Alco S1s replaced steam here in 1967.
Below: Bevier & Southern 2-6-0 109 approaches the road’s tank at Bevier as
a freight train passes on Burlington Route’s line across northern Missouri
on March 6, 1959. The 9-mile coal-hauler was all-steam until 1962.

C

oal smoke drifts over a
field in Mississippi as a
trim 2-8-0 goes about its
business. It’s a weekday
morning in May 1956 and
the Mississippian Railway has work
to do, hauling lumber, wood chips,
and bentonite along the 25 miles be-
tween Amory and Fulton. Photogra-
pher J. Parker Lamb caught up with
the steam holdout several times and
fell in love with the short line’s two
ex-Frisco Consolidations. “To see
them swinging through the dew on
50- and 67-pound rail at 30 miles per
hour with a dozen or so cars is a sight
to warm the heart,” he said.
That warmth is reflected in Lamb’s
image [pages 46–47]. Shot in a broad-
side panorama, it captures not only
the quaint appeal of the old Baldwin,
but also the men who make it go. As
the engineer keeps an eye on the
Shay No. 5 of the Twin Seams Mining Co. works uphill with seven loads in December 1959. spindly track ahead, a brakeman
The pike used steam into the ’60s to serve coal mines around Kellerman, Ala. hangs on in the breeze back by the
doghouse atop the tender. It’s a de-
ceptively simple photograph, telling a
simple story — something Lamb has
done throughout more than a half-
century of distinguished photography.
Renewed interest in Lamb’s work
has come with the 2015 donation of
his archive to the Center for Railroad
Photography & Art (CRPA), based in
Madison, Wis. In addition to catalog-
ing his complete collection and grad-
ually making it available online, the
Center is publishing a deluxe hard-
cover retrospective of his work, The
Railroad Photography of J. Parker
Lamb, to be released in November.
Lamb began making train pictures
in high school, in the late 1940s, in
his hometown of Meridian, Miss. His
early efforts were predictably conven-
tional, but he quickly displayed a tal-
ent and an urge for going beyond the
ordinary. Soon his images displayed a
knack for finding unusual angles and
making the most of light and shadow.
He discovered creative ways for put-
ting railroaders into the middle of the
action and perfected the motion-blur
panned shot. His first published pho-
to ran in Trains in the August 1954
issue, depicting GM&O’s Gulf Coast
Rebel at Meridian.
Lamb’s name quickly became as-
sociated with a number of other pio-
Meridian & Bigbee GP7s 102 and 1 pass stacks of sawed lumber on their way into Meridian in neering photographers who shattered
July 1958. The 51-mile M&B has grown into a 189-mile subsidiary of today’s Genesee & Wyoming. old notions about railroad pictures.
Bevier & Southern 2-6-0
110 steams at the engine-
house at Bevier, Mo., in a
December 1958 view from
atop retired sister 112.
Twin Seams Mining’s

Shay gets its sand dome
topped off in September
’59. The crew made two
trips on a “good” day —
which they defined as
one with no derailments.
The fireman of Bonhomie & Hatties-

burg Southern 2-6-2 250 takes a break
as his engine rolls toward Hatties-
burg, Miss., in August 1956. The Prairie
went on to a career on tourist roads.

His public anointment, as it were,
came in Trains’ 15th-anniversary is-
sue, November 1955, when Editor
David P. Morgan included Lamb in a
special Photo Section that also fea-
tured such luminaries as Richard
Steinheimer, Jim Shaughnessy, Philip
R. Hastings, and Wallace W. Abbey.
Morgan could have been talking spe-
cifically about Lamb when he wrote
that the images on the surrounding
pages were “evidence that there is no
ceiling on imaginative insight.”
After high school, Lamb began a
distinguished academic career in en-
gineering. He earned his bachelor’s
degree at Auburn University, then
spent several years on a career arc
that took him to the Air Force in
Dayton, Ohio; graduate school at the
University of Illinois in Champaign-
Urbana; and his first faculty appoint-
ment at North Carolina State Univer-
sity in Raleigh. He reached his ulti-
mate destination in 1963 when he
moved to Austin and a position at the
University of Texas, where he enjoyed
a long tenure as both a professor of
engineering and department chair-
man. He retired from UT in 2001.
Lamb’s early, peripatetic career
gave him an opportunity to get up
close and personal with a number of
railroads, most of them Class I carri-
ers and several during the steam-to-
diesel transition years of the late
1950s. He often has been associated
with the Baltimore & Ohio, Illinois
Central, Southern Railway, Seaboard
Air Line, and, later in his career, San-
ta Fe and Southern Pacific. Familiar
Lamb photographs would depict SP
six-motor units battling the grade of
Paisano Summit in the mountains of
West Texas, or Warbonnet F units
leading the Texas Chief through his
adopted home state.
But Lamb had a taste for the sim-
pler pleasures of railroad life, as this
sampling of classic short lines shows.
In his native Mississippi, he recorded
significant images of three short lines
still in steam: the Mississippian, which
connected with the Frisco at Fulton;
Meridian & Bigbee, a 50-mile line that
wandered east from Meridian; and the
flavorfully named Bonhomie & Hat-
tiesburg Southern, 27 miles of a for-
mer GM&O branch between Hatties-
burg and Beaumont. At Twin Seams
Mining he captured the twilight years
Aberdeen & Rockfish GP7 205 eases into the enginehouse at Aberdeen, N.C.,
after its daily run in April 1961. The 47-mile A&R, long the first entry in the
Official Guide’s index of railroads, remains an independent carrier.

of Shay operation on the coal hauler
out of Kellerman, Ala., southwest of
Birmingham. Over in northeastern
Missouri, he was on hand to record
Bevier & Southern steam not long be-
fore the railroad dropped its fires in
1962. In North Carolina, he caught
the venerable Aberdeen & Rockfish’s
F3s and Geeps.
In all these photographs, Lamb dis-
plays the insights that set him apart. As
an engineer, he loves to demonstrate
the bedrock foundations of a railroad,
from signaling to structures to track,
but he strives to make the experience
an artful one. Thus we have his haunt-
ing depiction of a Mississippian 2-8-0
waddling in the distance toward the
photographer, crouched down in the
gauge amid a Sargasso Sea of weeds.
Or his portrait of an A&R Geep wait-
ing outside the brick arch of the road’s
ancient enginehouse, photographed
from the end of the inspection pit.
Lamb also has a deft eye for the hu-
man element in railroading. In his
Late on a June 1957 afternoon, a Mississippian train follows weed-covered rails toward Amory, work on short lines, he looked for what
Miss., on the Frisco’s Birmingham line. The 25-mile short line still runs in 2019. set the small roads apart from the big
ones, especially if it involved the little
compromises dictated by scant re-
sources or working conditions. His
photograph of an engine crew using a
tin pail to pour sand into the dome of
Shay No. 5 speaks volumes about the
realities of life at Twin Seams Mining.
In his Introduction to the new book
from CRPA, writer Fred W. Frailey
ponders the essence of J. Parker
Lamb’s appeal: “[His] gift was his al-
most unfailing ability to look at a
scene he was about to photograph and
find the element or the approach that
would take what he saw and raise it
out of the ordinary.” That was never
more in evidence than when Lamb
pointed his camera at some very spe-
cial short lines. Minor-league railroad-
ing it might have been, but only in
mileage, not appeal.
KEVIN P. KEEFE edited the Center for

Railroad Photography & Art’s new
book about J. Parker Lamb and serves
on the organization’s board of directors.
Classic Trains’
“Archive Treasures”
series features
images from CRPA’s
growing collection.
In the best tradition of southern locomotives, Bonhomie & Hattiesburg Southern 2-8-2 300 Lamb lives in Aus-
carries a decorative eagle, albeit slightly askew, on its smokebox in July 1956. tin, Texas.
MORE ON OUR WEBSITE Read John Gruber’s “Great Photographers” article on

J. Parker Lamb from Winter 2000 C LASSIC TRAINS at ClassicTrainsMag.com.
The westbound California Zephyr approaches Western
Pacific’s Oakland, Calif., station at Third and Washington
streets on September 11. Six months later, the train
would abandon WP rails after being cut back to a tri-
weekly Chicago–Salt Lake City service.

Seeking BY BOB JOHNSTON • Photos by the author
streamliners
in
A CROSS-COUNTRY DRIVE 50 YEARS AGO

CAPTURED SOME PASSENGER TRAINS
STILL IN THEIR PRIME AND OTHERS
JUST BARELY HANGING ON
On September 12, a Southern Pacific SDP45
leads the City of San Francisco past an east-
bound manifest (and author Johnston’s
LeMans convertible) at Blue Cañon, Calif., on
the west side of Donner Pass.
prompted a reacquaintance with another

“girl,” the California Zephyr, whom I first
met two summers earlier when working
as a Chicago, Burlington & Quincy pas-
senger agent at Chicago Union Station.
Once that job ended, I had jumped at
the opportunity to ride the CZ west to its
terminus in Oakland, Calif. I boarded the
train at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on Labor
Day 1967. The first order of business was
to head to the observation lounge, press
w
the little white service button, and order a
Tom Collins. The attendant delivered the
hat is a vagabond disc form to explore places like Mount Rush- tall, cool, frosted glass on a silver tray to
jockey to do when more and Yellowstone National Park on (where else?) the dome-obs car’s rear-fac-
faced with the opportu- the way west? ing seat.
nity to chart any course The Guide made it possible to figure Hustling through farmland was a far
from northern Califor- out where to snag shots of passenger cry from the scene I witnessed on Sep-
nia to Chicago? Why, he consults the “bi- trains like the Burlington’s Morning Zephyr tember 11, 1969, when a gleaming A-B-B
ble,” of course! in Wisconsin and Northern Pacific’s set of Western Pacific F units marched
That would be the Official Guide of the North Coast Limited in Montana. It also the inbound Zephyr slowly down Third
Railways, June 1969 edition. The 800- helped me catch all kinds of passenger Street in downtown Oakland. Following
plus-page book had just arrived when I action in the Pacific Northwest when I the CZ’s pause to drop off some folks at
drove from business school in New York wasn’t spinning records or building the streetside station, I watched the train
through Chicago to take a summer an- KGW’s oldies library for the station’s im- slowly lumber off to its final stop at Mid-
nouncing job at KGW-AM in Portland, pending switch to a Top 40 format at the dle Harbor Road, where a bus connection
Ore. Fortunately, I had enough experi- end of the summer. to San Francisco waited.
ence in college radio and other stations to Was that all there is, as Peggy Lee had
land the gig, a quasi-audition for station ZEPHYR RENDEZVOUS asked that summer? I vowed right then to
owner King Broadcasting’s management Now it was time to plot a route back attempt more Zephyr encounters on the
training program. A driver who fell east. I offered my new Portland girl- drive east.
asleep and almost killed me netted a set- friend, Sheryl, a ride to her new job in
tlement that provided my ride, a red 1967 San Francisco — quite a detour, but we CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO, SORT OF
Pontiac LeMans convertible, so who got married four years later (and still are Enough rail literature had mentioned
wouldn’t want to utilize that windy plat- today). The trip to the Golden Gate Blue Cañon, Calif., on Southern Pacific’s

At Winnemucca, Nev., during a crew change, the lantern carried by the eastbound California Zephyr’s rear brakeman appears as a squiggle
of light in this time exposure as he walks along the train inspecting the running gear.
original transcontinental route over Don- for all meal service on that train. MORE ZEPHYR ENCOUNTERS
ner Pass, so it made sense to catch the One of the displaced diners, Coffee Witnessing the legendary City of San
line’s premier train, the City of San Fran- Shop Lounge 10408, turned out to be Francisco in deep decline prompted my
cisco, there the following morning. I had well-suited for this morning’s shortened next highway routing decision: attempt-
witnessed Southern Pacific’s emaciated City. Its big windows revealed passengers ing to again snare the California Zephyr, a
Portland–Oakland Cascade while in Ore- taking in the scenery while enjoying a late “real” streamliner seemingly still in its
gon, but hoped to see a vintage orange- breakfast — exactly the travel-enhancing glory days, at least two more times. How
and-red Alco PA leading a string of color- role a dining car can provide. A 1952 Of- about Winnemucca, Nev.? Another
matched streamlined cars on Donner. ficial Guide description of the Sunset’s unique town name that stood out in
However, sweeping around Blue equipment notes that the car was “for timetables and would serve as a good
Cañon’s curve was a single coach passengers,” while overnight stop. Eastbound train 18
SDP45 wearing SP’s Pullman passengers had obliged by arriving at the crew change
then-current gray-and-red their own dining and lounge point ahead of schedule, which allowed
paint, leading an abbreviat- cars. Times had changed. several time exposures that included not
ed westbound City with Not surprisingly, most of only the obligatory tail-car shot with a
UP’s Armour yellow coach- the former Sunset cars, built lantern-toting trainman making a brake
es interspersed with silver by Budd for that train’s 1950 inspection, but also a view of dining car
or gray SP cars. The stain- streamlined reincarnation, Silver Cafe pausing in front of Winne-
less-steel standouts in the migrated to Amtrak and led mucca’s weathered Western Pacific depot.
consist had been bumped productive lives for decades Six months later, in March 1970 — poof!
from the Los Angeles–New after their conversion to The California Zephyr on the WP would
Orleans Sunset Limited. The head-end power. The ending be history, and only remnants remained
once passenger-friendly was not so happy for the on the Rio Grande and Burlington
railroad had not only limited-capacity SP coffee Northern.
dropped all of the Sunset’s The June 1969 Official shops, as they were all sold. Attempting to capture Union Pacific’s
sleepers but also substituted Guide was the “bible” for Amtrak would retire No. combined City of Los Angeles and City of
an “Automatic Buffet Car” Johnston’s expedition. 10408 in 1976. San Francisco with gleaming E units be-
Early morning half-light shimmers against the eastbound California Zephyr tiptoeing over Soldier Summit on September 14. Slow running
and stops at Price and Helper, Utah, provided enough time for Johnston to catch it again later the same day.
came a heavily weighed option for me,

especially after barely making it to the
Golden Spike National Historic Site be-
fore closing [right]. But waiting for that
eastbound train’s 9:35 a.m. departure
from Ogden would have blown any
chance at multiple California Zephyr
sightings through eastern Utah the same
morning.
The decision to stalk the Zephyr didn’t
disappoint. Although early-morning light
sorely tested my camera’s Kodachrome,
stops at Helper and Price, Utah, enabled
me to get ahead of the CZ for a panora-
A combined westbound Super Chief-El Capitan climbs Raton Pass on September 15. New ma sequence. I then raced ahead to stop
FP45s in proud Warbonnet paint affirmed Santa Fe’s positive passenger outlook. the car near enough to a U.S. Route 6
overpass just as observation lounge Silver
Planet cleared the bridge. That was my
last glimpse of the train — ever.
RATON BECKONS
Had this journey occurred a few years
earlier, Rio Grande’s Salt Lake City-bound
Royal Gorge would have warranted the
next stakeout. But that train, which I had
ridden in 1963 [see “Intermountain Od-
yssey,” All Aboard 2014], was first cut
back to Salida, Colo., then disappeared
completely before the end of 1967. In-
stead, I looped down through Durango,
Colo., to see if the narrow-gauge line
over to Antonito that I had traveled in
Drifting downgrade from Raton Pass, the Super Chief ’s sleepers, Pleasure Dome, and diner ’63 on an Intermountain Chapter NRHS
trailing the El Capitan’s Hi-Level coach section epitomize why this train was special. special was still intact, only to find thick

Bounding through the arid landscape east of Helper, Utah, a matched A-B-B-A set of Denver & Rio Grande Western F units leads the east-
bound California Zephyr under pristine sun later on September 14. The train had six months to live.
Rolling to
Promontory
Of all the bucket-list destinations
crossing the country in 1969, missing
the hallowed ground where the first
transcontinental railroad had come to-
gether 100 years earlier would be tragic.
Besides, the National Park Service had
recently completed a visitors’ center at
what was then the Golden Spike Na-
tional Historic Site for the May centen-
nial earlier that year, so there could be
no excuse for missing it.
But crossing the Nevada and Utah
deserts in one day all the way from
Winnemucca turned out to be a longer
slog than anticipated. The site’s 5 p.m.
closing time was fast approaching as Just before closing time at the
the LeMans’ gas-gauge needle slid past Golden Spike National Historic
“E,” but I screeched into the parking lot Site, 4-4-0 Jupiter reposes on
with just enough time to see Jupiter the re-enactment track (above),
sitting on the track and soak in the quiet but getting to the remote spot in
ambiance of the place. As I left, I had time meant Johnston’s Pontiac
faint hopes of reaching the next gas would later run out of gas (left).
station, 25 miles east at Corinne, Utah.
Did I make it? Yes, thanks to a guy
in a passing pick-up who brought me
back with a gas can to where the con-
vertible, out of fuel, had rolled to a stop
on the side of the road. — Bob Johnston
weeds choking abandoned rusty rails.
Best to quickly leave that sorry scene and
head for the Santa Fe.
The combined Super Chief-El Capitan
exuded confidence with its Warbonnet-
festooned FP45s — evidence, I thought,
that the train would be impervious to
discontinuance threats then plaguing re-
nowned streamliners elsewhere.
Westbound train 17’s slow crawl over
Raton made it easy to catch on both its
climb and descent. The leisurely passage
allowed plenty of time to marvel at
unique feature cars like the Super’s dome
lounge, with its Turquoise Room used by
celebrities for private dining, and the El
Cap section’s curious full-length lounge
with windows at the roofline. It was im-
possible to know at the time that this car
With a clear order signal and no passengers waiting to board, Kansas City Southern’s north- — indeed the entire Santa Fe-commis-
bound Southern Belle has no reason to stop at Westville, Okla., on September 16. sioned Budd Hi-Level concept — would
plant seeds which germinated into a Su-
perliner fleet that has lasted 40 years and
helped preserve Amtrak’s network.
END IS NEAR
There were more-direct highway
routes back to Chicago than heading due
east through Oklahoma’s Panhandle (I
had always wondered what that little map
sliver was like; turns out, it’s flat, lonely
country) and across that state. But the
most compelling option was the impend-
ing threat to a train I had admired from
afar, Kansas City Southern’s Southern
Belle. The Official Guide advised that New
Orleans- and Kansas City-bound Belles
were scheduled to meet in Noel, Mo., at
2:45 p.m. I ambitiously tried to intercept
the northbound farther south at West-
ville, Okla., but pulled into town about
The Belle’s ex-New York Central tavern lounge rolling through Westville lost its companion the same time the tiny train was rolling
New Orleans–Kansas City sleepers when the Pullman Company shut down at the end of 1968. right through its flag stop.
The lone white E8 had kicked up lots
of dirt, but the red and yellow stripes on
the trailing baggage car, coach, and
“Cafe-Lounge-Observation (bar service
in Missouri and Louisiana)” provided an
amazing accent to the shiny black pocket
streamliner. While downgraded in length
from the days it carried sleepers and
more head-end business (but before the
ex-New York Central round-end obser-
vation cars were acquired), the Belle
clearly still exuded the company’s pride
as it hustled north, even if the weed-in-
fested Westville platform and tracks in
front of it suggested otherwise. A more
tangible sign of decline: the dreaded
“Discontinuation of Service” notice on
the station door.
Southbound train No. 1 loops through Sulphur Springs, Ark., 39 miles north of Westville. Dis- Not wanting to make the same late-
continuance notices had been posted, and the Belle’s last runs terminated on November 4. arrival mistake with southbound train

The remnant of B&O’s former St. Louis flagship, eastbound into Salem, Ill., on September 17, sports only two baggage cars, a Chesapeake &
Ohio coach, and a “Coffee Shop Car.” It had even lost its National Limited name, being now just an extension of C&O’s George Washington.
No. 1, I had plenty of time to seek a suit-

ably bucolic station setting at Sulphur
Springs, Ark. The platform was under-
standably in bad shape, because no trains
had called there since the early 1960s, but
the building was a beauty. As the south-
bound Belle slunk into view around a
curve and bounded past, I wondered if
anyone in the observation lounge had
forgotten to order drinks in Missouri.
Looking for a similar small-town set-
ting while circling back to Chicago, I
raced over to Salem, Ill., in a vain attempt
to conjure up Baltimore & Ohio’s Nation-
al Limited, a train I had ridden out of
Baltimore as far as Cincinnati in 1966.
Shortly thereafter, B&O’s former St. Louis Only a few travelers prepare to board B&O train 2 at Salem. By early 2019, the depot and
flagship became an extension of partner brick platform had survived, but CSX’s rails were rusty.
Chesapeake & Ohio’s multi-destination
George Washington west of Cincinnati.
Except for two E8 locomotives, the train eastbound George Washington. The had been removed and were sitting in the
braking to stop at Salem’s tidy brick out- train-order signal was gone, the brick weeds! CSX had not only downgraded the
post in September 1969 had lost its B&O platform was gravel-strewn, and the sta- line; it had unceremoniously chopped it.
identity and any former grandeur. One of tion, as evidenced by the vehicles parked My cross-country drive of a half-cen-
the two passenger cars was a C&O Coffee around it, had morphed into a CSX tury ago revealed some passenger trains
Shop (“Light meals and beverages,” ad- maintenance-of-way building, still in their prime and others poised for a
vised the Guide), but sleeping cars and Yet something was amiss. Why was last gasp. But the realities of changing
the signature round-end observation I the track so rusty? Clearly no train had business conditions are inevitable, and it’s
had ridden were just a memory. This graced those rails in weeks, maybe sobering to witness scenes today like
ghost of the National would hang on un- months. CSX certainly had other ways to those in Salem and Odin where trains of
til Amtrak, then vanish. move freight from its eastern network any kind may never run again. Seeing
into St. Louis — primarily the ex-Pennsy them in 1969 still providing mobility
POSTSCRIPT line through Indianapolis and Effingham, across rural America as intended offered
That train in Salem — was it east- Ill., that once hosted the Spirit of St. Louis. a fleeting glimpse of their proud roles
bound or westbound? With just a foggy Heading 5 miles west to Canadian Na- tying the nation together.
memory and no notes, one way to be sure tional’s ex-Illinois Central “Main Line of
was to visit the place again. Driving into Mid-America” at Odin, Ill., I saw inter- BOB JOHNSTON has covered passenger
Salem on April 6, 2019, I could see the locking signals still guarding the crossing rail news and operations for Trains since
sturdy depot was still standing, proving that the B&O passenger train had once 1991. This is his fourth byline in a
the image I recorded 50 years ago was the clattered across. But the track diamonds Classic Trains publication.
What’s in a Photograph?
Shortline mixed, mainline freight

Barre & Chelsea and Canadian Pacific trains at Wells River, Vt., July 1946
BY JERRY A. PINKEPANK • Main photo by Philip R. Hastings
Wells River, Vt., was an important 3 CP section tool house (behind tank) 7 High-banner switch stand compound, it was simpled in 1920. Sold to M&WR
junction on the “Conn River” line of Canadian Under its lease, CP would maintain and dispatch For the crossover switch near the water tank; in February 1935, it was scrapped in January ’47.
Pacific and Boston & Maine. CP came south the track north of Wells River; B&M did the this crossover appears to have been for the pur-
from Montreal, to Newport, Vt., 108 miles. CP same to the south. The vertical white line in pose of running around the B&C’s combine 12 North Wye
subsidiary Quebec Central also connected at front is a crossbuck for a road that cuts into the when the engine turned on the wye, and for CP In 1954 the B&M abandoned Woodsville to Plym-
Newport from Sherbrooke, Que. Newport to bank on the other side. engines on Woodsville turns to run around their outh, N.H., cutting off much of B&C’s business.
White River Junction, Vt., 105 miles, was owned caboose. In prior years it was also used to run The ball signal was removed, and in 1956 B&C
by B&M but from 1926 CP leased Newport–Wells 4 High-banner switch stand around a set-out coach regularly spotted on the was abandoned. Conn River line passenger ser-
River and both B&M and CP trains ran through The track next over from the station platform stub track across from the station. vice ended in 1965; the closed station burned in
between Newport and White River Junction with was a siding, and the next two were yard tracks. 1974. The wyes and Woodsville yard remained
their own power and crews. At Wells River, High-banner switch stands are used to show the 8 Milk car for several years.
some CP trains made the 0.3-mile move across position of switches that affect movement of Insulated to protect milk cans brought to sta-
the Connecticut River to Woodsville, N.H. The road trains. In an unusual situation, operators at tions by farmers along the line to go to the
B&M-affiliated short line Montpelier & Wells River Wells River were also responsible for lining creamery. It also carried the empty cans back.
had crossed the Conn River line in the move switches before signaling movements held by
shown in the main photo from July 1946. The their train order board to proceed. For B&C 9 Flatcar loaded with granite
M&WR was merged into the Barre & Chelsea in moves crossing the Newport–White River Junc- Quarried in Barre, Vt., the blocks are probably
1944 as B&M simplified its corporate structure. tion main line, or for any moves using the wye headed for a firm that makes grave markers.
tracks, this was done with the ball signal at the The B&C reached the quarries by a 6-mile
Tank CP to Newport depot. All through mainline trains leaving Wells freight-only line south from Montpelier.
B&C to 64.7 miles River got new clearance and orders so the order
Montpelier © 2019, Kalmbach Media Co., N board was always at “stop” unless summoning a 10 B&M White River Division main line
37.9 miles CLASSIC TRAINS, Jay Smith
Not to scale train held out of the station to come ahead. Once the B&C train is clear, the CP train will ei-
Wells River Ball signal ther proceed along this route to White River
B&M yard Water plug 5 CP freight from Newport Junction, where CP connected with both B&M
er
and station Powered by a D-10 4-6-0, a class which CP fa- and Central Vermont, or it could be a Woodsville
Ri v
er
t
Riv vored for freight operations out of Newport. The turn that will use the North Wye.
c ticu
V T.
Wells
signal mast to the right carries the entering sig- Wells River station and ball signal displaying
nn
Woodsville
Co B&M yard nal for CP’s automatic block. B&M’s line to White 11 Barre & Chelsea 2-8-0 No. 21 3 balls, 1950; lights were used at night. Main
B&M to White River B&M to Boston
Junction 40.4 miles,
River Junction did not have block signals. Ex-B&M 2353, it was built as B&M 1178 by Alco’s photo was taken from top of stairs at base of
via Laconia
to Boston via 166.9 miles Schenectady plant in April 1902. Originally a ball signal pole. H. W. Pontin, Dwight Smith coll.
Franklin 183.3 miles N. H. 6 No home signal
The CP train is holding clear of the B&C move due
1 Triple combine to a “stop” indication on the station train-order
Coach-baggage-Railway Post Office No. 14 was signal. Timetable special instructions would
Barre & Chelsea’s only passenger car. have told trains to hold here until a “proceed”
indication was given, which was probably done
2 CP water tank using the order board. In the small depot photo
There isn’t a spout; instead, water was piped to at right, the other order board on the back side
a water column (“plug”) between the main track of the station was no longer used and shows
and the siding just north of the station. The “proceed” because orders for trains departing
ClassicTrainsMag.com
shed seen above the hopper cars in the train is from Woodsville were by then being given at
probably the pumphouse for a well, or to lift wa- Woodsville station instead of by the Wells River
63
ter pumped over from the nearby river. operator, as had formerly been the case. B&C combine 14, built in 1914 as Rutland 271, is at Montpelier in 1947. R. C. Gray, L. A. Marre coll.
Ingles Color Classics
A 1962 excursion on two CB&Q mail trains also yielded photos of unusual UP power
BY J. DAVID INGLES • Photos by the author
Who but railfans would while CB&Q’s Chicago–Denver trains 7 J. W. “Bill” Schultz quotes the 14th Street
charter a dome car for a and 8 — coach-only, head-end-heavy, all-
stops, 28-hour locals — were the “Fast
(Chicago) coachyard “Orders No. 1” of
Friday, February 23, 1962, thus: “The
9-hour ride . . . at night? Mail.” Go figure.) Sil[ver] Bridle to run on No. 29 tonight
The Railroad Club of Chicago did, for its I’d just enrolled at MacMurray College next behind the units; car to return on
“Iron Horse Tour of Omaha” on the last in Jacksonville, Ill., west of Springfield, No. 14 Sunday [which then] must operate
weekend of February 1962. The car would home to my friend R. R. “Dick” Wallin. into the depot. Approximately 35 per-
be in two Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Somehow, we learned of the club’s trip; ar- sons, Mr. Dave Wire in Charge. . . . Car is
trains that did not carry passengers, west- ranged to board and disembark at Gales- to be set in depot by 7:30 p.m.”
bound on 29 — well-known as the “Fast burg, Ill., 100 miles away; and secured Silver Bridle, a.k.a. CB&Q 4716, a 1948
Mail” — and eastbound on what CB&Q tickets. In those days the Q’s passenger Budd coach with 46 seats downstairs and
people called “Express 14.” A better trip department didn’t need any arm-twisting 24 upstairs, was built for the California
description might’ve been “Iowa After to run such a charter, this one being set Zephyr. It would serve Amtrak and later
Dark.” (Chicago Union Station employee up by the late Dave Wire, a veteran Rail- haul tourists in Alaska, Mexico, and then
timetables labeled 29 “Mail and Express,” road Club trip organizer. CB&Q historian for various U.S. operators.

A 3-hour-late California Zephyr (right) en-
ables this photo at CB&Q’s Omaha station af-
ter 8 a.m. on February 24, 1962. At left is train
20 for K.C., due out at 8:15, and in the middle
is the rear of train 3, the Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr,
scheduled in at 8 a.m. for a 20-minute stop.
Omaha
maha …
in a dome coach?
Early birds: In our first Saturday morning photo, MoPac’s Missouri River Eagle is ready to leave Union Station at 8 a.m. Soon after, the FP7s and
one coach of Milwaukee’s overnight Chicago–Omaha Arrow have terminated after leaving the head-end cars at UP’s Council Bluffs Transfer.
EMD’s first GP30, built in mid-1961 and intro-
duced as No. 1962 in October, still wears GM
paint but a new number, 5629, as it leads UP
SD24 427 west toward Omaha Union Station.
Train 29 departed Chicago at 9 p.m.,

stopped at 10:10 at Mendota to receive
mail, and arrived Galesburg at 11:20. It
was allowed all of 3 minutes there to un-
couple the rear “jeep” of mail and relocate
the markers; change crews; and, on this
Friday, to board Dick and me. “Jeep,” in-
cidentally, was a CB&Q term for the
road’s 300 ex-Army World War II-era
kitchen cars, used systemwide to carry
mail and express. Schultz says No. 29
would leave Union Station with four jeeps
on the rear to be uncoupled at Galesburg,
then Burlington, Ottumwa, and Creston,
Iowa, presumably for switch crews to
fetch off the main track after 29 left. Our
train made five more Iowa stops — the
three above-mentioned plus Albia and
Osceola — before arriving at Union Pa-
cific’s Council Bluffs Transfer facility
around 5 a.m. When you’re in your early
20s, staying up all night is no big deal.
When finished at “U.P. Transfer,” our
train crossed UP’s Missouri River bridge
into Omaha to terminate at 5:45 in the
Burlington depot, often with only its 60-
Running an hour behind schedule, Chicago Great Western 13 from the Twin Cities rolls into foot Railway Post Office and a rider-
CB&Q’s Omaha depot behind two F7s, with ex-Milwaukee Hiawatha coach 200 on the rear. baggage car remaining behind the E units.
Normally 29 dropped at U.P. Transfer
single carloads of mail and express for
Salt Lake City, Sacramento, and Portland;
a carload of mail for Oakland; and multi-
ple cars of storage mail for “the Bluffs” in-
cluding some to move west on UP’s head-
end-heavy train 5. When Dick and I
alighted from Silver Bridle in Omaha,
along with the other charter riders, all we
remember is that it was still dark.
WHAT TO DO IN OMAHA?
How to spend Saturday’s daylight hours
was an easy decision for Dick and me. Be-
ing diesel fans, we planned to taxi to UP’s
C’mon up! Dick Wallin and I are about to board UP No. 1, first of the road’s 30 8,500 h.p. three- engine facility in Council Bluffs for our
unit turbines, at the hostler’s invitation, to ride around the Council Bluffs loop track with him. first look at the road’s new “second-gen-

Six-month-old GE U25Bs 625–628 were among
the highlights of our visit to Council Buffs. UP
had 16 U25Bs, 11 with high noses; all were off the
roster by the end of 1972.
eration” power. But first we hung around

the adjacent CB&Q and UP Omaha sta-
tions to photograph passenger trains, and
had breakfast in a depot cafe. (Today, Am-
trak’s small depot is next to the revital-
ized Burlington station, an 1898 building
that houses a TV station. In 1962, an en-
closed pedestrian overpass over the two
roads’ tracks connected it to UP’s 1931 Art
Deco Union Station, today a museum.)
First up was MoPac’s Missouri River
Eagle, with Alco PA 8031 in front, ready
for its 8 a.m. Union Station departure to
Kansas City and ultimately St. Louis. Next,
also at Union (used by Rock Island, too),
Milwaukee FP7s 99C and 102C arrived
ahead of their scheduled 8:20 time with Also at the Bluffs were UP’s four Alco RS27s, parked half inside and half outside the shop
one car after leaving the rest of their train building. The road bought the former demonstrators five months previously.
at U.P. Transfer. The lone coach was all
that was left of train 19, the overnight Ar-
row from Chicago. Omaha rated only the for a 5-minute stop, the CZ was about 3 cars built in 1934 by Milwaukee Road for
one coach, but during an hour-plus stop hours late. It’s possible No. 20 had held the original Hiawatha. CGW bought
spanning 5 a.m. at Manilla, Iowa, 65 for the CZ. them in 1961 to “modernize” trains 13
miles short of Omaha, the Arrow’s sec- Interrupting the varnish was a west- and 14’s minimal passenger accommoda-
tion for Sioux City, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, bound UP freight, which cleared the river tions. MILW Nos. 4410 and 4416 became
S.Dak., diverged for a 180-mile trek with bridge behind a GP30/SD24 duo, notable CGW 200 and 201.
mail and express cars, a coach, a “lunch- for the lead unit being the first GP30! In- During this activity, we saw no one
lounge” car, and a 16-duplex-roomette/4- troduced by EMD in Detroit in October else from the Chicago contingent. Dick
double-bedroom Pullman. 1961 as No. 1962, it still was in its origi- remembers overhearing talk in the dome
We then hustled back across to the nal black-and-white GM livery but now the night before about members of the
Burlington station where, thanks to a de- was numbered 5629, just above EMD’s group wanting to see a Burlington branch-
lay caused by winter weather out west, we four 1960 GP20 demonstrators 5625– line train’s last run. Research confirms
included three trains in one photo [pages 5628; soon it would become UP 875. Not that yes, this day would mark the finale
64–65]. They were nameless No. 20 (for- long after that surprise, Chicago Great for train 15-42 from Lincoln to St. Joseph,
merly the Silver Streak Zephyr), with E7 Western 13 from the Twin Cities, due Mo., via Wymore, Nebr. Apparently that’s
9929A and four cars, due to depart for into the Q depot at 7:30, also was show- what was a number of the riders did go
K.C. at 8:15; No. 3, the overnight Chica- ing winter’s effects, toddling in an hour witness. From notes and slides taken by
go–Lincoln Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr, due out late with F7s 155 and 154 and five cars. the late Jim Neubauer of Chicago, exam-
at 8:20; and No. 18, the California Zephyr, Carrying the snow-encased rear markers ined in the Burlington Route Historical
led by E8 9965. Scheduled in at 5:05 a.m. was coach No. 200, one of two 48-seat Society’s archives by BRHS’s Jim Singer,
The true gem at Council Bluffs was the quartet of experimental cab units built by GE in 1954; UP got them in April ’60, retired them in October ’63.
15-42’s regular equipment, RPO-coach

motor car 9772, had been laid up a few
days before. Therefore the last run, which
left Lincoln at 9:55 a.m. for the 183-mile,
5-hour trip, instead had E7 9930A,
RPO-baggage 1949, heavyweight coaches
4541 and 6141, and the Q’s only Pendu-
lum (“tilting”) chair car, Silver Pendulum.
Likely Neubauer and others left Omaha
at 8:20 on the Ak-Sar-Ben, arrived Lin-
coln at 9:25 a.m., saw the last run depart,
then returned on 12, the Nebraska Zeph-
yr, arriving Omaha at 11:20, when Dick
and I still were in Council Bluffs.
COUNCIL BLUFFS BONANZA

Once in the Bluffs, what a treasure
trove of Union Pacific diesels Dick and I
found! After photographing Nos. 625–
628, a quartet of 6-month-old high-nose
General Electric U25Bs, we were invited
by a hostler into the cab of three-unit GE
gas-turbine No. 1, and rode around the
balloon track with him to get the “big
blow” pointed west. GE built just 15
high-nose U25Bs, 7 of which were dem-
onstrators. The units we saw were built
for UP, but our next subjects were
Back in Omaha, we caught two Rock Island freights. First, three GP7s approached the depot ex-demos, UP RS27s (a.k.a. DL640s for
area with an eastbound; next, two Fs and a GP7 rolled west off UP’s Missouri River bridge. their Alco specification number) 676 and

677, half the foursome built as 640-2 provided most of the tonnage past the Denver Zephyrs, the eastbound CZ, and
through 640-5 in December 1959 and depots, freights bound from or to their train 14 operated via Plattsmouth.
January 1960. They became UP 675–678 respective Council Bluffs yards. A couple Two Rock Island trains led off, the first
in September ’61. All four were together, miles to the west, the Rock left UP tracks an eastbound with GP7s 432/1287/1204
the rear two inside the shop building. for its own line at South Omaha Junction. and piggyback loads up front; the second,
The true gem parked near the shop UP freights carried traffic from most heavier with piggyback, headed west be-
was the A-B-B-A set of GE cab units, eastern connections, though some hot hind F2 39, F7 108, and GP7 1211. As its
prototypes for what would be the two CB&Q and Chicago & North Western caboose cleared, an eastbound CB&Q
“XP24” experimental hood units for the freights bypassed Omaha. C&NW inter- transfer behind an SD7/SD9 duo passed
under-development U25B. The four, built changed to UP at Fremont, Nebr., 20 en route to Council Bluffs. After late-run-
at Erie, Pa., in 1954, were initially painted miles northwest, while Burlington gave a ning CB&Q No. 7, due in at 2 p.m., ar-
as Erie Railroad 750A, B, C, and D, and train to UP out at Grand Island. CB&Q rived behind E7As 9934B and 9932B, an
leased to the Erie, which ran them until long-distance freights bypassed Omaha inbound UP freight rumbled through be-
1959. Built to compete with EMD’s F9, 15 miles south (as BNSF’s do today), us- hind “gallery” turbine 75, GP9 300, and
they had Cooper-Bessemer engines, ing the direct line between Oreapolis GP9B 300B to finish the freight show.
FVA12LTs rated at 2,000 h.p. in the first (Plattsmouth) and Ashland, Nebr. At the
two and FVA8LTs rated at 1,200 h.p. in time of our visit, most Q passenger trains MAIL TRAIN EAST
the second two. GE rebuilt them in ’59 ran between Pacific Junction, Iowa, and My last slide in Omaha was of our
with 12-cylinder FVB12LTs rated at 2,000 Omaha via Council Bluffs, although both conveyance east, CB&Q 14, nominally
h.p., designated them UM20Bs, and in
early ’60 sold them to UP, which ran
them as 620/620B/621B/621 for 31⁄2 years.
More than pleased with our UP visit,
we taxied back to Omaha’s depots in the
early afternoon, and after lunch were
back on the CB&Q platforms. The morn-
ing train from Kansas City, 27, arrived
on-time at 2:30 with five cars — two cars
of storage mail, a baggage-RPO, and two
coaches — behind E5A 9915B, built in
1941 as Silver Clipper. I walked to the
head end for a shot, then went east of the
10th Street overpass to snap the consist of
counterpart 26, due out at 4:15 with an
identical consist behind E7A 9922B.
Next, four freights nicely filled a gap As piggyback cars of the westbound Rock Island freight pass in the background, Burlington
in passenger traffic. Rock Island and UP SD7 400 (in the new “Chinese red” livery) and SD9 437 head east with a transfer run.
Bound for UP’s Council Bluffs yard, “gallery” turbine 75 and two Geeps nose under the footbridge linking the Omaha depots. A Q switcher is at left.
also a “Fast Mail” and carrying no reve- cific Junction, Iowa: refrigerator cars of at Congress Park and Cicero, would tie
nue passengers, parked at the platform meat for Indiana Harbor Belt at Congress up in Chicago’s 14th Street coach yard at
ready to go. Our Silver Bridle was the sec- Park, Ill., and TOFC trailers of meat for 4:25. On this trip, of course, it took Silver
ond car behind E7A 9923A and E8A Cicero Yard. It added a caboose at Gibson. Bridle on into Union Station.
9948B. We would leave on-time at 5:20. Scheduled out of Pacific Junction at 6:35 We did catch some shut-eye across
No. 14 usually was shorter than 29; Bill p.m., 14’s carded times were 7:57 at Cres- Iowa, but at an unknown point we were
Schultz notes from photos and Q docu- ton; 10:00–10:03 at Ottumwa; 11:22 at awakened by conversation in the dark-
ments that 14 would depart the depot Burlington; and 12:31–12:40 a.m. at ened dome as we overtook an eastward
with the rider-baggage off 29 (whose RPO Galesburg, which included fueling the lo- freight that would warrant us hanging
returned east on No. 8) plus deadheading comotives. The Galesburg stop allowed around Galesburg on this Sunday. Why?
mail and express cars (loads moved on 8). Dick and me to disembark without dis- It was powered by Rio Grande FTs work-
En route east, 14 first picked up at the Q’s rupting things. To the east, 14 was to pass ing to Chicago be traded in to EMD for
Gibson Yard in Omaha, and then at Pa- Aurora at 3:15 a.m. and, after the setouts GP30s. Dick and I have no recall of our
Galesburg arrival time, or when or where
we napped until the morning was light
enough for photography. With that, we
drove 7 miles west to Cameron, where
Santa Fe’s main crossed above Burling-
ton’s, to wait. By and by the train came,
with Q’s first SD24, 500, splicing FTs 5431,
5402, and 5404; we got our photos, then
went into town for more at the round-
house, where the Grande FTs kept brief
company with some of CB&Q’s. In mid-
day we headed home. Dick dropped me
off in Jacksonville, then drove on home to
conclude a unique and fun weekend.
J. DAVID INGLES, contributing editor for

CT and a Burlington Route Historical So-
ciety member, thanks several BRHS men
and other CB&Q historians, especially Bill
Schultz, for their help with this article. Be-
sides Dick Wallin and Jim Singer, contribu-
Burlington ran three nameless locals between Kansas City and Omaha each way per day. tors included Harold Edmonson, Pete Hedg-
Slant-nosed E5A 9915B has arrived from K.C. on-time at 2:30 p.m. with train 27. peth, John Szwajkart, and Hol Wagner.
E7A 9922B idles before heading out at 4:15 with local train 26 to Kansas City on a 195-mile, 3 3⁄4-hour run down the Missouri River valley.

Dome coach Silver Bridle, our ride back to
Illinois, is the second car behind the E units
on mail train 14, ready at the Omaha platform
to depart at 5:20 p.m.
During the night, our train overtook a freight whose power included Rio Grande FTs working their way to EMD for trade-in. After disembarking in
Galesburg, we drove west to Cameron, Ill., for an action photo, then shot the units next to Q FTs 114A-B back at the Galesburg engine terminal.
The Best of Everything
“Cheap & Nothing Wasted”

A new position with the Chicago & North Western brings a move to Wisconsin
BY CHRIS BURGER
Photos by the author
was in my trainmaster’s office C&NW had been at Englewood (Chi- talked it over and, figuring we had noth-
I at Newberry Junction, Pa., on

a rainy October 1967 after-
noon when a recruiter called
asking if I’d be interested in a move to
cago), where it had been the most consis-
tent of all the railroads we interchanged
with and its employees the most profes-
sional. At the time it was garnering a lot
ing to lose, I made arrangements to fly to
Chicago for an interview.
Two or three days before I was to leave
for Chicago, I was called to go to Lyons,
what I think he described as a Midwest- of press by claiming its passenger opera- N.Y., to assist in clearing a huge freight
ern railroad. In the course of the conver- tions were profitable, so I was impressed. derailment. By the time I got there one of
sation I learned that the railroad was the My wife Rita was pregnant with our first the four tracks had been cleared, with
Chicago & North Western and the job child, and we both loved living and work- trains instructed to get permission from
would be a trainmaster with a salary ing where we were, but knew that the “employee in charge” before proceed-
range above what the New York Central wouldn’t last forever, with or without the ing through the site. I was assigned as
was paying me. My only exposure to the looming Penn Central merger, so we that employee, which meant ensuring
that everyone and everything was in the
clear before authorizing movements by

radio. Finally, with all tracks open, I was the Wisconsin Division. This sounded a
released to go home late in the evening lot better, so I accepted and on December
before my mid-afternoon Allegheny Air- 1, 1967, we were in America’s Dairyland.
lines flight. After the drive home, I had
only time for a nap, packing, and the A FIVE-FOLD STEP UP
drive to the airport. The interview and In contrast with my 130-odd-mile
extensive testing took place the following New York Central territory, the Madison
morning. I felt it had gone well despite trainmaster’s consisted of around 700
my being short on rest, didn’t learn any- miles of main and branch lines from
thing that discouraged me, and was told Waukesha to Madison and west on the
to expect a call back in a “Ridge Runner” line to
week or so. Lancaster and Cuba City;
When the call came it
I learned a lot from Evansville to Elroy
was to offer me the train- more from my on what had once been
master position at Sterling, employees than the Chicago–Twin Cities
Ill. Neither Rita nor I had main line; North Lake,
heard of the place, but we they did from me. Wis., to Winona, Minn.;
learned it was a steel mill and Fond du Lac to Janes-
town 100 miles west of Chicago. None of ville, Wis., on part of the earliest C&NW
that sounded appealing — notwithstand- line. There were yards at Madison and
ing that the mill was switched using Adams and large customer switching op-
steam locomotives — and my reply was erations at Jefferson Junction and Wauke-
that we liked what we knew about the sha, together totaling about 30 crew starts
railroad but not the location. We didn’t a day. Although I was the only transpor-
know how this would play with the tation officer, having a radio-equipped
C&NW, but a week or so later I received company car and a secretary made the
an offer to be trainmaster in Madison on job easier, as did yardmasters at Madison
and clerical personnel at the other loca-
tions who kept things lined up for the
crews — and me out of trouble.
SD40s, top-line power on the North

Western when I arrived in late 1967, lead
freight 479 west on the Adams Line at
Oxford, Wis., in spring 1968.
An outhouse, water tower, train-order signal, MofW camp cars, and a couple of boxcars surround the Adams Line depot at Dalton, Wis., in 1970.
More classic C&NW infrastructure is on view 34 miles east at Clyman Junction, where a westbound freight picks up orders in early 1978.

The Ridge Runner line took up a lot
more of my time than its traffic warranted
because of derailments and snow block-
Trainmaster’s territory
ades and was ultimately — long after I’d
Winona
moved on — abandoned. Track condi-
le
vil
d
am
ye
for
tions on the rest of the territory were
W
Fond du Lac
Ad
Ox
La Crosse
good, with freight trains authorized 60
n
Elroy
lto
Da
mph on the Elroy and Adams lines, both MINN.
of which had handled passenger trains Baraboo
.
t
Jc
into the 1960s. Indeed, I have a 1930s
n
North Freedom
ma
ke
Cly
employee timetable showing the maxi- Burger’s territory
La
Other C&NW lines W I S C O N S I N LAKE
rth
x
N
se
mum speed for these trains on the Adams
SO
MICHIGAN
No
s
Not all lines shown
Su
DI
ille
e
MA
or
Line to be “None.” It must have been
ev
im
dg
MILWAUKEE
nn
quite a ride on a steam locomotive. There
Do
Fe
Je
Wa
ffe
were men at Madison and Adams who
uk
rs
es
Lancaster
on
had great stories of working those trains
ha
Jc
Evansville
t.
in the 1950s and early ’60s, by which time N Platteville
Janesville
the limit was 90 mph for passenger trains. Cuba City Kenosha
Six Chicago–Twin Cities and four Head Beloit
0 25 50 75 100 miles
of the Lakes (Duluth, Minn./Superior,
Wis.) trains, plus seasonal potash and ore
trains, used the Adams Line, which was
built in the early 1900s to provide a route
with fewer grades and curves than the
one via Madison. One Twin Cities pair ran
via Madison and Elroy, mainly to better
handle GM’s Janesville auto plant traffic.
I learned a lot more from my employ-
ees than they did from me, especially as a
newcomer to the North Western. One day
in the middle of winter, we had to pull a
string of flatcars that had been stored on
a siding on the Adams Sub and were
snowed in. We called a crew from Adams
for the job and had a section crew there
as well. When the engine and waycar (ca-
boose) from Adams arrived, the veteran
conductor asked what we all were doing.
When I told him we were there to help,
he said, “Well, you can watch.” He then
proceeded to cut his engine off, double to On the Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s ex-CN&W line, Warren & Ouachita Valley 4-6-0 No. 1
the lead flatcar, cut in the air, walk back tops the grade out of North Freedom with a passenger consist in fall 1968.
five or six cars, turn the angle cock, dyna-
mite the air, slide the cars out to the
main, release the brakes, and shove back
to the waycar. The process was repeated
five or six times until all the cars were on
the main, and they were on their way east
in an hour or so. The section crew
thanked me for the easy overtime.
Another day I was at Adams when
one of the through freights arrived with
cars to be set out and picked up. The yard
crew got off their engine and walked over
to the road power to make the moves.
Thinking that, as on the NYC, changing
engines would involve an arbitrary pay-
ment, I told them to stop. When they
asked why, and I explained, they laughed
and told me there was no such thing on
the North Western — but did I know if
the Central was hiring! A Caterpillar tractor from derailment-cleanup contractor Hulcher works a spring 1968 wreck
A couple of other big NYC/C&NW at Evansville, Wis., that involved an old wood-sheathed Western Fruit Express reefer.
One of the North Western’s seven U30Cs,
the carrier’s only GE road units until 1989,
heads a mixed diesel consist on west-
bound train 415 in Sussex, Wis., in 1978.
differences for a trainmaster involved

budgets and safety. Each trainmaster ter-
ritory and stations within it had an an-
nual budget with a quarterly review of
performance and exceptions. I didn’t like
it, but understood it was a tool to do a
better job of managing as well as a learn-
ing experience.
The North Western claimed to have
originated the term “Safety First,” and
there was a lot more emphasis on it and
efficiency-testing than had been the case
on the Central. Each trainmaster had a
quota, and there was a list of authorized
tests covering various operating rules. Of
course, we all had our favorite tests and
locations. The crews knew what and
where they were, which was fine with me,
as the important thing was for them
know I was interested — and for me to
know they were on the ball.
Derailments were part of the safety
equation, too, and there was one that I’ll
never forget. It occurred shortly after our
first daughter was born, when I was left
alone with her for an hour or so in the
evening. I had instructions to change dia-
pers if necessary, which of course it
turned out to be, and was in the process
when the phone rang with a call that we
had locomotives and cars “piled up” at
Clyman Junction with damage to a track-
At Jefferson Junction, source of much C&NW traffic from a big Ladish Malt complex, three side fertilizer plant. I had the phone in
Geeps head toward Madison with a short train in mid-1978. one hand, a dirty diaper in the other, and

a screaming baby on the kitchen counter
when Rita got home.
When I got to the derailment, the local
fire department along with track and me-
chanical department folks were there —
as was the smell of leaking chemical from
punctured fertilizer tanks. The head-end
crew had been taken to a local hospital to
be checked out and were found to be OK.
The wrecker outfit had been ordered up,
as had wrecking contractor Hulcher. It
was clear that the lead unit had been the
first to derail, and we all wanted to know
why, but the leaking chemical kept us
away until finally the fire chief said he’d
let me use one of his respirator masks. I
was told how to use it and that a warning
bell would sound when I had 5 minutes
left in the 20-minute supply of air. I
strapped it on, and just a few minutes
later was about halfway to the locomo-
tives when the warning bell went off. I Visits to see family enabled me to keep tabs on railroading in my home area. Penn Central
high-tailed it back to safety, tripping over RS3s, ex-New Haven FL9s, and an ex-NYC P-motor are at North White Plains, N.Y., in mid-1969.
a barbed-wire fence in the process. We
later found a broken axle on the lead unit
to be the cause. I had never seen Hulcher being the highlights. It also served the cus World Museum in Baraboo and its
in operation, and they were impressive, Rock Springs quarry, which during the annual circus train to Milwaukee. In 1968
helping clear the main line and later re- maintenance season loaded daily unit Dick Jensen’s Grand Trunk Western 4-6-2
railing the cars and locomotives much trains of the famous “Pink Lady” quartz- No. 5629 was the train’s power. I was in-
more quickly that our wrecker could have. ite ballast. These helped me learn another volved in the makeup of the train at Bara-
Rule G was a safety issue, too. I was lesson when one day we had extra ballast boo but sadly had to leave for Army Re-
home one Saturday afternoon when the cars to be moved in the wayfreight in- serve summer camp on the day it ran.
dispatcher called, saying the crew of a stead of the usual unit train. They would I remained interested in the changes
wayfreight wanted me to put the train over the ton- “back east.” Family vacations to visit our
meet them at the yard. The conductor nage rating for its power, parents included opportunities to check
There were no details, but and I was discussing this out the new Penn Central and other rail-
I did know the train’s tried running, but I with the yardmaster when road doings. Being new to the North
conductor had recently was younger and the train’s engineer over- Western and now with a family, I didn’t
been reinstated following faster — and sober heard us and said he take many photos on the job, but did on
dismissal for a Rule G vi- could handle it all with these vacations.
olation, and the word was — so I caught up. the power he had. When I In retrospect, I can’t think of a better
that he’d probably be a re- asked if he was sure, he place than Madison to have begun my
peat offender. Sure enough, when they said, “Come and watch.” They passed me North Western career. I was impressed
got stopped, he almost fell off the waycar at Dane, top of the ruling grade, with a with the company and its employees,
steps and staggered toward the parking wave and toot on the horn. After that I convinced I’d made the right move, and
lot. When he saw me he tried running, but was always suspicious of published ton- came to understand and take pride in its
I was younger and faster — and sober — nage ratings, and had traveling engineers “Cheap & Nothing Wasted” moniker. I
so I caught up. I heard the sound of glass check to see what could really be handled had mixed emotions when, after a year
when he set his grip down. I asked to see without jeopardizing traction motors and a half I was promoted to the train-
what was in it, and found a couple of whis- and/or running times. The result usually master job at North Fond du Lac on the
key bottles. I told my superintendent, an was fewer locomotives or more tonnage. Lake Shore Division.
up-from-the-ranks former conductor, how The Elroy Subdivision also included a
I thought it was unusual for the crew to re- connection with the Mid-Continent Rail- CHRIS BURGER, retired since 1998 from
port their conductor. He agreed, but burst way Museum’s line, a former C&NW a career with NYC, New
my bubble by pointing out that both brake- branch at North Freedom. Mid-Continent Haven, Chicago &
men were junior to him, and that one of was then considered one of the country’s North Western, Central
them had been the previous conductor premier steam operators, and while its Vermont, and Central
and would now regain that position. C&NW Ten-Wheeler, No. 1385, was not of Indiana, lives with his
operable at the time, two or three other wife Rita in north-cen-
HAULING “PINK LADY” BALLAST engines were. All of these were factors tral Indiana. This is the
Our line north of Madison was scenic, leading to the North Western’s 1980s 10th entry in his “Best
with Devil’s Lake and the long bridge steam program with the 1385. Another of Everything” retro-
over the Wisconsin River at Merrimac interesting feature of the line was the Cir- spective series.
The Way It Was Tales from railfans and railroaders
A ride on PRR’s Susquehannock

A 14-year-old’s first solo long-distance train trip was an adventure to remember
The mighty Pennsylvania Railroad in Nos. 570 and 571 were the parlor- and eyed on the westbound platform watch-
the late 1940s put forth a major effort to diner-equipped New York/Philadelphia/ ing the parade of GG1s passing with PRR
rebuild its passenger business after the Washington–Buffalo Washington & Phil- Tuscan red equipment as well as shiny
beating it withstood in the World War II adelphia Express and Buffalo Day Express. stainless-steel cars from such faraway
traffic crunch. My favorite, though was 526/527, the railroads as the Atlantic Coast Line, Sea-
The busy semi-rural branch on which Susquehannock, between Philadelphia board Air Line, and Southern.
I lived featured four pairs of named, Pull- and my hometown of Williamsport. It My train eased to a stop at precisely
man-equipped trains, two of which were provided my first solo long-distance train 4 o’clock and was under way again seem-
overnighters with sleepers, and two in trip, when I was 14. ingly seconds later. After crossing the
daylight with parlor cars. These traveled My parents had enrolled me in a small Delaware River, we raced smoothly west-
over the Susquehanna Division, running boarding school New Jersey in 1949, and ward, and soon came to our first stop,
from Harrisburg north to Renovo along the approach in mid-October of the first North Philadelphia, then a few minutes
its namesake river, on the southern por- “free weekend” brought an envelope from later paused at the upper level of 30th
tion of a busy, freight-intensive line con- home containing two train tickets and a Street Station before finally arriving un-
necting Buffalo with Philadelphia, New bit of cash. My point of embarkation der Broad Street’s stub-ended umbrella
York, and Washington. would be PRR’s Trenton station, to which sheds at 4:40.
The overnight trains were Nos. 580 and I traveled by local bus. The first ticket was Since my outbound ticket showed a
581, the Washington/Philadelphia/New good for passage to Philadelphia’s venera- departure time of 5:03, I had time to buy
York–Erie Northern Express and Southern ble Broad Street Station, departing Tren- a snack and comic book to read while
Express and 574/575, the Washington/ ton at 4 p.m. on a train from New York. awaiting the gateman. He soon appeared,
Philadelphia–Buffalo Dominion Express. Waiting for my train, I stood wide- rolling aside the heavy wrought-iron gate

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PASSENGER T RAINS GENERATION
- Volume
Volume Four -
Copper Country Limited, Chippewa, Chippewa-Hiawatha,
Morning and Afternoon Hiawatha, Sioux, Marquette, and Varsity
Varsity
Author DiCenso’s 1949 ride to Williamsport, Pa., behind PRR GG1 and K4s power began at
Trenton, N.J., where examples of both types are side by side in 1954 (left). At Harrisburg, a B1
electric switched his train, as in this 1955 view (above). Left, John Dziobko; right, Gary Sunday
for track 8, then reached overhead with a were three coaches and several head-end
hooked pole to pull down a gold-on-Tus- cars carrying express, mail, and baggage.
John F. Strauss, Jr.
can-red metal sign proclaiming the im- At 3 minutes past 5 o’clock, we eased Milwaukee Road Pass. Trains - Volumes 3 or 4 ea 144 pages 5995
by DEAN FREIMUND
pending departure of train 527, the forward under the power of yet another SOO LINE GENERATION - A Colorful New Title - 144 pages 5995
Susquehannock to Williamsport and in- GG1; I watched in fascination as we = Titles Now Available - see our Website for more =
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termediate points, which passed the Suburban Station Burlington Route Color Pictorial - Volume 1 . . . . 4995
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The Way It Was
brief stops at Downingtown and Coates-
ville, I went forward to the dining section
of the car, where the porter-turned-chef
took my order for a hamburger steak —
medium rare, please — baked potato,
peas, and a glass of milk, followed by a
bowl of ice cream, all for less than $5.
Approaching Harrisburg, we passed
the huge Bethlehem Steel complex with
its blazing furnaces and glowing ingots
lighting up the night sky. We then eased
under the station’s trainshed, bustling with
the activity of PRR’s westbound “Blue
Ribbon” fleet. Cars were being added and
removed from consists, and power was
changed from electric to steam or diesel.
As soon as we stopped, a B1 electric
switcher coupled to the rear of our train,
pulled us backward through the east-end
interlocking plant, then shoved ahead to
track 9, where the Washington portion of
our train waited behind a K4s Pacific.
At 7:40 p.m. we moved out of the sta-
Pennsy K4 Pacific 3746 whisks a train up the Susquhanna Division at Dauphin, 8 miles out of tion, proceeded past the Maclay Street
Harrisburg, on May 11, 1941, 71/2 years before DiCenso’s trip. Donald W. Furler engine terminal, where dozens of steam,
Cajon standoff
Amtrak’s Desert Wind gets caught in a jam on a key California artery
Passengers watch the Desert Wind pull into San Bernardino in fall 1986. The lone F40 will take No. 36’s five cars up Cajon Pass. Elrond Lawrence
Back in the 1980s, when the railroads motive was assigned, and the Santa Fe in- ing only 16 mph, the minimum continu-
still supplied operating crews for the sisted that it be able to go up the 3-percent ous speed for our locomotive. In fact, on
Amtrak trains on their lines, I was a Santa south main track between Cajon and some occasions when our speed dropped
Fe Railway engineer running the Desert Summit, normally used by westward below 16 mph, I would call my conduc-
Wind between Los Angeles and Barstow, trains descending the grade. tor, Jim Levin, and request permission to
Calif. Amtrak had recently converted A test was performed with me as engi- cut out the head-end power in order to
Nos. 35 and 36 to a five-car consist of neer and with two officials, one from gain more tractive power. He would con-
ex-Santa Fe Hi-Level cars and Superlin- Santa Fe and one from Amtrak, in the tact the cooks in the diner and get their
ers. To save money, a single F40PH loco- cab. We passed the test, just barely, mak- permission to shut down the ovens while

Brand New Steam DVD’s
gregschollvideo.com
electric, and diesel locomotives were be- bank, and briefly ran alongside the Read-
ing serviced. Leaving the Harrisburg ur- ing through Montgomery. A small nearby
ban area, we soon slipped past Rockville “shack” served the town of Muncy, on the
Tower, which controlled the junction of opposite side of the river.
the main line over the famous stone-arch We departed from the “freight bypass”
bridge to the west, and the connection to at Allens Tower, and proceeded across
the Susquehanna Division to the Susquehanna once
the north. Now I was on A B1 electric again, then over the Read-
“home” rails! ing’s main line from Wil-
Closely paralleling the east shoved our cars liamsport to Philadelphia. %LJ%R\:HVW)LUVWWRXURIWKLVPDVVLYH
bank of the Susquehanna Riv- up to the Wash- The Pennsy bisected the LQ0D\6FHQHVRIWKHEUHDNLQUXQ
DQGFDPHUDFRYHUDJH&KH\HQQHWR2JGHQZLWK
er, we passed through or ington portion busy city of Williamsport, SOXVPRUH0LQ%OX5D\
stopped at a procession of of the train, so we passed over many :LQWHU6WHDP)HEUXDU\FKDUWHULQ
small towns: Dauphin, Hali- street crossings on the way ZLWKIUHLJKWFRQVLVWDQGVQRZ)HEFKDUWHU
fax, Millersburg, Dalmatia,
headed by a K4. toward the station. We ZLWKSDVVHQJHUWUDLQ3HUH0DUTXHWWH
Herndon, and Sunbury. After eased to our final stop at SXWVRQDVKRZ0LQ%OX5D\
crossing the North Branch of the Susque- “Park Station,” where my family was wait- WR6XPPHUYLOOH6RXWKHUQQXPEHU
hanna into Northumberland, we passed ing for me, right on time at 10:10. IURP&KDWWDQRRJDWR6XPPHUYLOOH*$RQ
D ZHHNHQG RI WULSV LQ FDPHUDV SDFLQJ
the large PRR freight yard on the west Although I rode on the Pennsy’s DQGJRRGJUDGHV0LQ%OX5D\
side of the tracks. Susquehannock many more times over
We were now running parallel to the the next three years, that first trip will al-
West Branch of the river, making stops at ways be the most memorable. To a young
picture-postcard towns of Montandon, kid fascinated with trains, it was like a
Milton, Watsontown, and Dewart. Short- fairyland adventure!
ly thereafter we crossed to the opposite — Al DiCenso
we struggled to Summit. At 16 mph, it light of a westward freight train opposing

took 27 minutes to make the 6.9-mile trek. me on the south track. 0DLQOLQH6WHDP6SHFWDFXODU6RXWKHUQ
The reason we had to be able to use There was already an eastward Union 6RXWKHUQ DQG 1 :
the south track was that Santa Fe’s hot 885 Pacific train out of San Bernardino fol- RQYDULRXVPDLQOLQHWULSVIURP*UHDW
“Land Bridge” train was usually on Cajon lowing the 885 train. The decision was DFWLRQDQGUDUHVLQFHWKHUHDUHQRGLHVHOKHOSHUV
8QLTXHDFWLRQ0LQ%OX5D\
Pass at the same time as us. That train made to have the UP train couple into the
carried containers routed from China to 885 train and help it to Summit. Some- 6RXWKHUQ 'RXEOHKHDGHUV 8QLTXH YLGHR
VKRZLQJ GLIIHUHQW H[FXUVLRQV ZLWK DQG
Europe, and did it faster and cheaper one called attention to the fact that the SOXVGD\VRISKRWRIUHLJKWGRXEOHKHDGHUV
than an all-sea route via the Suez or Pan- 885 train had a 40-foot, four-axle piggy- 'RXEOH\RXUSOHDVXUH0LQ%5
ama canals. Santa Fe provided the “land back car toward its rear end. Train-han- 6RXWKHUQ 6WHDP 9DULHW\ 6RXWKHUQ VWHDP
bridge” between the seaports of Los An- dling interactions forbade trains with HQJLQHV RQ SKRWR VSHFLDOV DQG H[FXUVLRQV LQ
geles and Houston. A few piggyback cars those cars to be helped from the rear for FOXGHV·VDQG
of trailers would also be in the consist. fear that excessive buff forces would lift 1LFHDFWLRQKHUHPLQXWHV%5
On the day in question I started the the car off the rail. The dispatcher re- *HUPDQ6WHDP5HJXODUVHUYLFHLQ:HVW
whole fiasco by passing to the dispatcher sponded to that bad news by asking, *HUPDQ\ZLWKSDFLÀFV·VDQG·VDQG
PRUH0XVLFDQGYRLFH0LQ6'RQO\
information I had received from my con- “Does anyone have a better idea?”
*HUPDQ 6WHDP LQ
ductor that we would be late out of San No one did, so it was decided to have : *HUPDQ\ ·V ·V DQG ·V DQG
Bernardino. The dispatcher had planned the UP train assist the 885 train — very PRUH0XVLFDQGYRLFH0LQ6'RQO\
on holding the 885 train at the crossovers carefully — up the hill. The engineer on 6WHDP,Q&RXQWULHV5HJXODUVHUYLFHLQ,WD
at Verdemont, 7.5 miles east, to put us that UP train, a black woman, did an ex- O\$XVWULDDQG6SDLQ5DUHVLGHVWDFNHUVLQ,WDO\
ahead of him up the hill and on the north cellent job of coupling onto the ailing 885 0XVLFDQGYRLFH0LQ6'RQO\
track all the way to Barstow, thus leaving train and shoving it with just enough 6LQJOH (QJLQH :DUELUGV ::,,HUD SODQHV
the south track open to westward traffic. power to keep the now-over-12,000-foot VWLOOÁ\LQJLQFOXGHV+HOO'LYHU6WHDUPDQ3
$7·V3·V7%00LQ%5
The information I’d received turned train from stalling, but not enough to
out to be way too pessimistic, as the produce excessive buff forces on the )LQG2YHU7LWOHV2QOLQH
problem was soon solved and we left San 2.2-percent grade. As soon as there was 6HQGIRUFDWDORJ)UHHZLWK'9'RUGHUV
Bernardino only a few minutes late. But room, the crossover at Verdemont was *UHJ6FKROO9LGHR3URGXFWLRQV
the dispatcher had already cleared the lined for me to flag up behind the com- P.O. Box 123-CTW
885 train at Verdemont and the die was bined train. Then, after the westward %DWDYLD2+
cast. Soon afterwards, the 885 train, a train had passed on the south track, I was
7,000-foot long behemoth that rated at flagged west behind it, then cleared to 6KLSSLQJ86DOORUGHUV
least six SD45s, began losing units. The proceed east to Barstow on the south &DQDGDIRUIRU
train came to a halt still fouling the cross- track. As on the day of the test, it was slow 2YHUVHDVIRUIRU
overs at Verdemont. When I arrived there going up to Summit, but we made it. 2+UHVLGHQWVDGGWD[3D\E\9LVD
I was staring at a red signal and the head- — Don Richardson 0&'LVFRYHU$P([&KHFN0RQH\RUGHU
2UGHURQOLQHZZZ*UHJ6FKROO9LGHRFRP
The Way It Was
How a Chicago boy fell in love

with the New Haven Railroad
A toy train set sparked a fascination that was nurtured by an enthusiastic public-relations executive
New Haven FL9s power eastward through New Rochelle, N.Y., in July 1965, the year after author McKinney’s ride on one of them. William Harry
It seemed almost inevitable that I So, surrounded by all that, how did it who lived down the street from us was
would become a rail enthusiast. I become to be that starting at the age of 10, Rosamond “Rosy” Jenkins, who worked
lieve riding the City of Miami with my the New York, New Haven & Hartford for the IC at its headquarters building.
mother and grandmother before the age became my favorite railroad? My parents Catching the same train every day, they
of 3 helped set the stage. The real catalyst, knew of my growing passion for trains, developed a casual acquaintance on the
as I reached school age, was growing up and special interest in American Flyer, the two-block walk to IC’s Bryn Mawr station.
just two blocks from the South Chicago toy-train line of the New Haven, Conn.- My interest in trains was apparently a
branch of the Illinois Central, then the based A. C. Gilbert Co. I spent a lot of topic of conversation, and as a result, Mr.
busiest segment of IC’s electric suburban time at the house of my friend John Hil- Jenkins one day kindly presented my fa-
operation. The trains operated frequently, bron, who had a set of Flyer trains. So for ther with a recently out-of-date copy of
nearly around the clock, and you could Christmas 1958, a boxed set of S gauge The Official Guide of the Railways. Once I
almost always hear them, if not see them. American Flyer trains appeared under had that in hand, I disappeared from
Our apartment was also within earshot, our tree. My parents had picked the set at sight. To think that such a marvelous
depending on the wind direction, of the random, and it just so happened that the book even existed! I devoured as much
IC main line a mile to the west, and the locomotive was a New Haven EP-5 elec- information as I could absorb, with par-
parallel main lines of the New York Cen- tric. I don’t think I had ever heard of the ticular attention to the extensive New
tral and Pennsylvania about a mile and a New Haven, or if I did, I knew nothing Haven entry toward the front of the book.
half to the south. about it. That was about to change.
I liked all the local railroads, including My father worked in the financial de- Seeing the NH in person
the Baltimore & Ohio, where a freight partment of Standard Oil of Indiana, at Now that I knew all about the com-
operated at walking speed most weekdays its headquarters on Michigan Avenue muter and intercity schedules of the New
on the Brookdale branch, formerly the near Chicago’s Loop, and was a daily Haven, and had memorized its route map,
B&O’s main line into Chicago. commuter on the IC. Another commuter the next step was seeing this interesting

Santa Fe Steam from Monte Vista Publishing
railroad in person. It was not to be in
Santa Fe v17
1959, as the birth of my brother was California
rightfully the family focal point. But as Division
luck would have it, Mom’s sister and her Los Angeles
family lived in Bronxville, a Westchester to
Daggett, Ca.
County suburb 15 miles north of New Expected
York City. Since it had been a few years mid-Nov ‘19
since we last visited, another visit was mvp at zirkel.us
due, and was scheduled for the following From LA via Highland Park, Pasadena, Monrovia
summer. Although the Bronxville station Cajon Pass. Steam, early diesel, frt.& psgr.+index
was on New York Central’s Harlem Divi- 2-6-2, 2-8-0, 4-6-2, 4-8-24-8-4s, 2-10-2s Es++
sion, my aunt, uncle, and cousins lived
closer to the Pelham stop on the New Ha-
Phone (970) 761-9389
www.montevistapublishing.com $27.50
Please include
1625 Mid Valley Dr. #1-160
ven’s main line. Steamboat Springs CO. 80487 $15. s&h per order
So summer 1960 found Mom and me most credit cards accepted Co res. please call for info
en route to New York on the 20th Century
Limited, riding the rails of the New York
Central as we passed the south end of our An Outstanding New Title!
neighborhood, 10 miles or so into the
960-mile journey. I already knew the

highlight of the trip, at least in my mind,

would occur in the morning at Pough- E\'DQLHO3+ROEURRN
keepsie, as we passed under the New $GHWDLOHGDQGFRPSOHWHKLVWRU\RIWKHIUHLJKWDQGSDVVHQJHUFDUV
Haven’s grand bridge 212 feet over the RIWKH'0 ,5ZLWKURVWHUVVHUYLFHKLVWRU\DQGWKRURXJKSKRWR
Hudson River. It did not disappoint. Sev- FRYHUDJHSDJHVRYHUSKRWRVDQGGUDZLQJV
enty-two miles later we were at Grand Price: $80
Central Terminal, the official start of the California residents add 7.75% sales tax.
holy pilgrimage. )UHHVKLSSLQJGRPHVWLFLQGLYLGXDORUGHUVIRUHLJQ&DQDGD
I roamed Grand Central as if it were Order direct: 11508 Green Rd., Wilton, CA 95693
mine, marveling at the majesty of the SIGNATURE PRESS 9LVD 0DVWHUFDUGRUGHUV
building, checking out the gate departure www.signaturepress.com DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED
boards, and grabbing whatever timetables
I could find, including one for the New
Haven system. Soon the moment had ar-
rived: It was time to board a commuter
train for Pelham. It was my first and last
ride on New Haven’s old non-air-condi-
tioned multiple-unit cars. And I loved it.
With many windows open, the noise in
the Park Avenue tunnel was almost deaf-
ening, and Mom was a bit alarmed as we
lurched through switches.
The next trip, a couple of days later,
was to New Haven, the epicenter of the
railroad. The plan was to scope it out and
also visit the headquarters building at 54
Meadow Street, just to see it. We walked
from the station to the office building,
and Mom explained to the receptionist
that her son was just crazy about the New
Haven Railroad and did they have any
handouts or items of interest?
There was a call upstairs, and a few
minutes later Robert S. McKernan, the
company’s public relations-executive, ap-
peared in the lobby and took us back up
the elevator to his office. We chatted for a Fourteen (14) historic FULL-COLOR MKT (“Katy”) Railroad photos,
while, and then he said, “How would you plus system map. A great way to keep track of your 2020 schedule.
Steam and diesel era photos by Leon H. Sapp, Earl Holloway, John
like to see Cedar Hill Yard?” Moments B. Charles and others.
later we were in his car en route to the $13.95, postage paid. Order your 2020 Katy Lines Calendar SPECIAL OFFER: New 2019 or 2020
massive yard north of the city. We toured today from the Katy Railroad Historical Society, Inc. KRHS members will be sent a FREE
the facility and spent some time by the Make check payable to “KRHS” and mail to: NVSK ÄUPZO 2H[` :HU(U[VUPV;L_HZ
KRHS, 1364 Timothyridge Dr., St. Charles, MO 63304 KLWV[VYUHTLU[VYZ\UJH[JOLY
hump, watching the parade of freight cars
WEST OF CUMBERLAND
by Terry E. Arbogast roll by to the destination tracks.
Introducing the third of a new series of books on the When we left the headquarters,
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in West Virginia. This
book is called the FAIRMONT TERMINAL and is
more than two hours after we
about the most important coal marshalling yard on the arrived, I was armed with an-
entire thirteen state Baltimore & Ohio system for over nual reports, a freight timetable,
seven decades. The book is hardbound with a
laminated cover, consists of 472 pages on 100 pound and numerous promotional
coated paper (40 pages in color) with over 700 photos documents.
and contains a history of the Fairmont Terminal with Mr. McKernan and I became
information from old microfilm. Dozens of railroaders
who ran into and out of the yard were interviewed. pen pals, his personally typed
Detailed maps show the Fairmont Terminal as it was letters often two pages in
from 1903 until most of it was torn up in 1992. Order
from: Glover Gap Graphics, LLC, 425 East Park
length, and he made sure to
Avenue, Fairmont, W.V. 26554 or from better keep me up to date with the lat-
dealers. Phone 304-366-1639 evenings. Check or est timetables and financial re-
money order. $65. + $10 shipping. Dealer inquiries
are welcome!
ports which, regrettably, were
worsening. Mom and I visited
two years later, again using the
20th Century Limited to New
York. At this reunion in New
Haven, he arranged for a cab
ride, so I was able to ride one of
the relatively new FL9s on
Springfield–New York train 79
from New Haven to Bridgeport.
By that time, the New Haven
was in bankruptcy and I felt it
was my duty to come up with a
reorganization plan. Bob Mc-
Kernan had a great knack for publicity,
one reason the New Haven appeared in
numerous commercials and movies, and
he saw my proposed plan as an opportu-
nity to generate some positive spin for
the railroad. In a press release he named
me as “The Fourth Trustee” (New Haven’s Letters from a public relations executive and
bankruptcy was large enough to warrant an “Honorary Engineer” card helped a 10-
the naming of a three-trustee panel), a year-old fall in love with a distant railroad.
young man in Chicago rooting for the
railroad’s survival. years earlier. My wife Nit and I were able
My last visit to 54 Meadow Street was to visit Bob and Marilyn soon afterwards
during my high-school years. This time and enjoy a pleasant reunion and water-
Mr. McKernan took me to the paint shop, side lunch on a beautiful day.
where ex-Virginian electrics, recently ac- The following year, 2012, Bob passed
quired by the New Haven at a bargain away at the age of 89. I write this story
price, were being given a sharp new and tribute not just as a recollection of
scheme for use in freight service. my early life and love for the New Haven,
After that we kept in touch, and I which was certainly cemented thanks to
saved a nice letter wishing me well in col- meeting Bob McKernan. I think about
lege. When the New Haven was absorbed how remote railroads and the people who
by Penn Central in 1969, Bob McKernan work for them are today for most of the
remained with PC and then Conrail as a population, even enthusiasts. Back then,
regional executive before retiring in 1990. thanks to Illinois Central’s Rosy Jenkins,
To my regret, I had lost touch, busy with my world was expanded. Thanks to New
college and then working on the creation Haven’s Bob McKernan, I found a friend
of Amtrak and other endeavors. and gained an even greater knowledge
and fondness for a great railroad.
Reconnecting, deacdes later Could any of this happen in today’s
Decades later, thanks to the internet, I corporate world? Would anyone take the
was able to find Bob, retired with his wife time to do this? Even if they wanted to,
Marilyn in Florida. I called and left a could they? I doubt it. I’m glad, however,
voice-mail message. The phone rang the that there was a time when such things
next day, and a strong, radio-quality voice happened, and that I was fortunate
said, “How would you like a cab ride?” enough to experience it.
Bob still recalled that great treat nearly 50 — Kevin McKinney

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Car Stop

Widows, orphans,
and trolleys
Oklahoma industrialist Charles Page built an electric line in
1911 to serve a widows’ and orphans’ home he had established in
Sand Springs, 8 miles west of Tulsa. Numerous industries set up
shop along the Sand Springs Railway, providing the line with a
brisk freight business and benefiting the home, which owned all
of SS’s stock. On April 29, 1953, double-truck Birney 73, one of
six acquired from Kansas’ Union Electric in 1947, passes the com-
pany’s offices in Tulsa. The line quit passenger service and diesel-
ized freight operations in 1955; today it’s part of the OmniTRAX
shortline conglomerate. R. V. Mehlenbeck, Krambles-Peterson Archive
Classics Today Where to find living railroad history
Prairie State powerhouse

Illinois Railway Museum operates steam, diesel, and electric trains at one of the nation’s
top rail-preservation sites BY ROBERT S. McGONIGAL • Photos by the author
Frisco “Russian Decapod” 1630, one of 27 steam locomotives in IRM’s collection, works on the museum’s main line in August 2014.
The 10 men who chipped in $100 each

to save Indiana Railroad interurban car
65 in 1953, thus founding the Illinois Elec-
tric Railway Museum, would hardly rec-
ognize what their creation has become: a
100-acre, 450-piece “Museum in Motion.”
The fledgling museum, located on a
foundry property beside the North Shore
Line in North Chicago, Ill., dropped “Elec-
tric” from its name in 1962. Two years
later, with the North Shore out of business
and 40 pieces of rolling stock straining
the site’s capacity, IRM moved to 26 acres
of farmland adjacent to the tiny village of
Union, 62 miles west of Chicago on Chi-
cago & North Western’s line to Rockford,
Ill. The rural site had plenty of room for
expansion, and crucially was adjacent to
the route of the long-abandoned interur-
ban Elgin & Belvidere, which IRM also
acquired for its “demonstration railroad.”
The first electric cars ran on the relaid
E&B right of way in 1966, and steam op- Father-son motorman-conductor team Randy (left) and Frank Hicks light marker lamps for
erations commenced two years later. The their Chicago Aurora & Elgin interurban train during evening operations on August 31, 2019.
C&NW station from nearby Marengo ar-
rived in 1967; today the 1851 structure is road has been extended to encompass 4½ and some of the units are the only survi-
one of the oldest depots still in railroad miles of main track. In addition to the vors of their type. Other notables include
use. In 1972 IRM erected its first rolling- 100 acres it occupies, IRM has acquired the first GP7 and first SD7, a UP gas-tur-
stock storage barn; since then a dozen additional surrounding land as a buffer bine, and several second-generation
others have gone up, covering 3.2 miles against encroaching development. units. Currently under restoration are an
of track. A mile-long streetcar loop con- Although most of it is not operational, Ingersoll-Rand 1926 box-cab and a Lou-
necting the depot with various points IRM’s vast collection includes some high- isville & Nashville Alco FA.
around the grounds opened in 1981. ly significant pieces. All five major clas- The well-rounded steam roster in-
Over the years the demonstration rail- sic-era diesel builders are represented, cludes engines of 20 wheel arrangements

Left above: Chicago “L” cars and CB&Q E5 9911A on the Nebraska Zephyr hint at the range of IRM’s fleet. Middle: Four observation cars are among
the museum’s 71 steam-road passenger cars. Right: IRM’s 48 diesels include the only extant Baldwin center-cab (MN&S 21) and a Santa Fe FP45.
from 23 operators, 18 of which were events throughout the year to bring in that serves as the museum’s entry and gift
Class I railroads. visitors, including Vintage Transport shop. In May work began on a new build-
Befitting the museum’s roots, IRM has Weekend, Bunny Trolley Hop, Pumpkin ing to house IRM’s Pullman Company li-
42 interurban cars, 27 rapid-transit cars, Train, Happy Holiday Railways, and Day brary, a model railroad display, and the
23 streetcars, and 12 electric locomotives. Out With Thomas. For the fan, though, Milwaukee Road Historical Association
Among the gems in this group are an Illi- nothing can beat Traction Weekend, Die- archives. Groundbreaking on a C&NW
nois Terminal sleeper, a North Shore sel Days, or Museum Showcase Weekend, Historical Society building is set for 2020.
Electroliner (currently the focus of a ma- events that see intensified operations with Other improvements are planned, but
jor restoration effort), an NYC S-motor, rare or fragile equipment that rarely acquisitions may be tapering off, as even
and a South Shore 800-class 2-D+D-2. leaves the storage/display barns. with 100 acres to work with, IRM is facing
Railfans appreciate IRM’s impressive To provide a more immersive visitor a space crunch.
array of rolling stock, but only the gener- experience, IRM is developing a Main Unlike some major rail museums, IRM
al public can visit in the volume required Street on its campus. A restaurant that in- receives no state or federal funding. That
to sustain such a large operation. The cludes a 1930s diner opened in 2003, is has achieved so much is a tribute to the
museum programs numerous special joined in 2017 by a historic general store dedication of its volunteers.
Farewell
No. 40!
A salute to Nevada Northern
Ten-Wheeler No. 40
March 7/8, 2020
Nevada Northern Railway Museum,
East Ely, Nev.
Sponsored by TRAINS Magazine
• Mixed train
• Passenger train Steve Crise photo
• 2-8-0 No. 93
• Meet Dirt the roundhouse cat
• Executive Director’s briefing
• Last chance before
15-year inspection!
Tickets:
http://trn.trains.com/magazine/trips
800-424-2473
RAILROAD ATTRACTION DIRECTORY
STEP BACK IN TIME to experience the golden age of railroading. North America’s
railroad museums and tourist lines provide affordable fun for the whole family!
Plan your complete vacation with visits to these leading attractions. For information
NextIssue
on advertising in this section, call Mike Yuhas toll-free at 888-558-1544, Ext 625.
RAILROAD ATTRACTION DIRECTORY
COLORADO Golden PENNSYLVANIA Marysville

COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM BRIDGEVIEW BED & BREAKFAST
17155 W. 44th Avenue 810 S. Main St.
Lately, train watching
around The Bridgeview
B&B has been extremely
exciting with motive
power from BNSF, UP,
KCS, CP, CN, CSX and
Ferromex often leading, plus add NS heritage units into the
mix and you have some amazing lashup possibilities! Trains
entering or exiting Enola Yard pass right by our front porch.
From the spacious decks and sitting room, you can watch
the Susquehanna River, Blue Mountains and train action on
Rockville Bridge! Plus, visit Hershey, Gettysburg, and PA Dutch
Country! Comfortable rooms all with private baths, A/C, Wifi,
and a tasty breakfast are included with your stay. Take a virtual
tour on our website and check us out on Facebook for daily
updates, pictures and guest comments.
www.bridgeviewbnb.com 717-957-2438
PENNSYLVANIA New Freedom
There’s something amazing about trains. The familiar whistle
has always promised adventure. Experience it again with a vis- NORTHERN CENTRAL RAILWAY-STEAM INTO HISTORY
it to the Colorado Railroad Museum, one of the top 10 railroad 2 West Main Street
museums in the United States with one of the largest collec-
tions of narrow-gauge equipment. The 15-acre rail yard also
features a roundhouse restoration facility and renowned library.
SPECIAL EXPANDED ISSUE!
Train rides throughout the year. Group rates and programs
available. 20/20 Hindsight:
ColoradoRailroadMuseum.org 800-365-6263
20 Things that Shaped
INDIANA Connersville
WHITEWATER VALLEY RAILROAD 20th-century Railroading
5th and Grand For CLASSIC TRAINS’ 20th anniversary,
we look back at 20 trends, technolo-
gies, and breakthroughs, including:
Ride along the same route that carried President Lincoln Dieselization
from Washington, DC to Gettysburg, PA, where he delivered
one of the greatest speeches in American History! Northern
The most profound change of the
Central Railway–Steam Into History is an excursion railroad century was about more than hard-
Travel through time on Indiana’s most scenic railroad. that makes time travel possible! It’s an authentic experience
33-mile round trip to Metamora, May through Oct. where you can meet presidents and generals, experience ware, by Michael E. Iden.
Special events Feb through Dec. Vintage diesels: the Wild West, enjoy the spirit of the season any time of year,
1951 Lima-Ham 750HP SW, 1954 EMD/Milw. SD10,
1948 Alco S1. Gift Shop.
and literally ride along the very rails that helped build and
save our nation.
Mergers
www.whitewatervalleyrr.org 765-825-2054 www.steamintohistory.com (717) 942-2370
Famous flags fell as the quest for effi-
ciency led to waves of corporate con-
Ad Index solidations, by H. Roger Grant.
Making All Stops Bridgeview Bed & Breakfast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Sunset for Passenger Service
Color NYC subway photo books. C&NW Historical Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Railroads lost their place in the na-
Catenary Video Productions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7PM Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society . . . . . . . . . . 10 tional spotlight when people stopped
Order at: Colorado Railroad Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 riding their trains, by Joe Welsh.
Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
www.makingallstops.com Four Ways West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Rebuilding the Railroads
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Great Train Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Great projects transformed the plant
Greg Scholl Video Productions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 of the 19th century to meet the needs
Herron Rail Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
of the 20th, by Jerry Pinkepank.
VIDEO STARTING AT $4.99 Katy Railroad Historical Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Lockridge Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
DVDs Northeast, Colorado, Midwest, Monte Vista Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
ALCO/MLW, fallen flags, more. Nevada Northern Photo Charter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 PLUS: Fred Frailey on intermodal
and LSASE for brochure to: TTP, Nevada Northern Railway Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 and CTC, Don Hofsommer on line
DOWNLOADS Box 808, Colchester, VT 05446 Northern Pacific Railway Hist. Assoc. . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Only the Best Books LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 abandonments, Kevin Keefe on
www.vermontmadevideos.com Pennsylvania RR Tech. & Hist. Soc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 super-power steam, Bob Johnston
Railroad Maps II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
railroadbooks.biz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 on train travel’s surprising renais-
Railway & Locomotive Historical Society . . . . . . . . . 9 sance, Scott Lothes on the rise of
Ron’s Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
railfan culture, and much more!
Subscribe to
Shore Line Interurban Hist. Soc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Signature Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Classic Trains magazine!

Steam Into History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Tell-Tale Productions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 SPRING ISSUE
Trainsshipsplanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
ON SALE
Call 1-800-533-6644 or visit Union Pacific Historical Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Whitewater Valley Railroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84, 90 FEBRUARY 25, 2020
ClassicTrainsMag.com today! The Advertiser Index is provided as a service to Classic
Trains magazine readers. The magazine is not responsible for
90 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019 omissions or for typographical errors in names or page numbers.
Bumping Post
Cincinnati’s Art Deco gem Great TRAIN

STATIONS
New York, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, and more!
HOLIDAY 2019
Passenger
Opened in 1933, Cincinnati Union Terminal was one of the last major stations constructed in terminals in
the golden
America, and, thanks to its size and exuberant Art Deco styling, one of its most striking. The half- age of rail
travel
domed head building was CUT’s most distinctive element, but that was just the tip of an iceberg that
included 16 platform tracks, terminals for mail and express, a 26-track coachyard, and a 20-stall
roundhouse. Seven railroads used the terminal: Baltimore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio, Louisville &
Nashville, New York Central, Norfolk & Western, Pennsylvania, and Southern. After CUT closed in 20 GREAT TRAIN STATIONS 2019
1972, most of its facilities were swept away, including the 410-foot-long concourse, whose murals
depicting Cincinnati industries were relocated. But the rotunda, recently restored, survives today as a Cincinnati Union Terminal
is one of the stations fea-
museum and civic center, with a small space set aside for Amtrak. In September 1952, when CUT was tured in our latest special
less than two decades old, passengers wait in the concourse beside gates 4 and 5, through which edition, GREAT TRAIN STATIONS.
NYC’s Ohio State Limited and PRR’s Union will load. Wallace W. Abbey photo

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This Christmas,

End of the trail

J. Parker Lamb’s Railway Seeking ONLINE

FP45s bring Santa Fe’s

Capitan into Albuquerque

Online Content Code: CTR1912

28 Itinerant Agent 54 Seeking Streamliners

86 Car Stop Sand Springs Railway

88 Classics Today Illinois Railway Museum

91 Bumping Post Cincinnati Union Terminal

Classic Trains is published quarterly in January (Spring), April (Summer),

46 WI 53187-1612. Periodicals postage paid at Waukesha, Wis., and at additional

50 years since the ’60s Editor Robert S. McGonigal

Single copy: $7.99 (U.S.). Subscription rates: U.S.:

4 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

LIGHTS, CAMERA, 4-8-4!

Boss of the Grips: The Life

STREAMLINERS IN Comparing Burlington obs cars

from the 1920s fill this illustrated, 192-page volume.

The Streamliners in Chicago puzzle and

6 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

Today we’re used to seeing

Cows that got away

8 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

I worked on the Erie Lackawanna’s

CNW Wall Clock - On seeing Jim Ehernberger’s photo of

The C&NWHS is pleased

Don’t Miss a Single Issue!

• Remarkable • Personal Déjà vu: Photos of UP 4024 by Art Stensvad

10 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

The premier magazine in its field

12 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

Conventional wisdom tells us steam

14 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

WEST VIRGINIA. BY RAIL.

Six Trains. Three Depots. Elkins, Cass, Durbin.

16 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

18 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

CB&Q agent Rupert L. “Roy” Sharick stands

20 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

CB&Q Mikado 4960 crosses the Rock River as

all the way East Troy

MO. MILW Davis Jct. Union

Trinidad Mt. Morris

© 2019, Kalmbach Media Co., CLASSIC TRAINS, Rick Johnson

N.MEX. N Not all lines shown

22 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

the cab and deck of the diesel or an empty

24 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

friend, I ventured to his home in the

26 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

WILLIAM P. DIVEN is a veteran print and

A sixth-grade dropout at the

28 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

Facing page: Author Smith’s

went to work as a clerk for the Portland

30 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

would come home for the weekend.

32 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

34 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

36 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019

this, express companies charged a premi-

38 CLASSIC TRAINS WINTER 2019