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Classic Train Questions Part Deux (50 Years or Older)

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Posted by KCSfan on Monday, October 18, 2010 8:59 PM

Johnny, a question about the Colo Spgs/Chicago service via the "Q" and Rio Grande came to mind. According to my info Pueblo had the second largest population of any Colorado cities up until 1960. Did any of the four cars run on to Pueblo which is only about 45 miles from Colo Spgs? If not, I wonder why they didn't  as it would seem logical to serve that city given its population and the  business travel that I imagine the Colo Fuel & Iron Co. generated.

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Posted by KCSfan on Monday, October 18, 2010 7:59 PM

You're right Johnny, I would never have guessed there was a sufficent passenger volume to justify running four through cars between Chicago and Colorado Springs. Now on to the next question.

Everyone is familiar with the Illinois Central, the "Mainline of Mid-America". However at one time there was also a second, much shorter, Illinois Central. What was the route of this "other" Illinois Central?

Mark

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, October 18, 2010 3:37 PM

Dave, when was it that you rode the Denver Zephyr-Royal Gorge? I have not looked at later issues of the Guide, but the May, 1958, issue shows, in the Burlington representation, four through cars as I listed them. It may well be that by the time you rode, the others were not run through because traffic had fallen off.

Originally, all of the cars that were built for the new DZ were to be operated on just that train and the Royal Gorge; in time, the Burlington saw that it was advantageous to not only exchange cars with the North Coast Limited, but also with the American Royal Zephyr.

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, October 18, 2010 5:22 AM

I rode the Denver Zephyr Chicago - Colorado Springs through slumbercoach.   It was a regular for quite a few years.  As far as I remember it was the only such through car on the DZ.  But there may have been a through coach also.  There was no through Pullman on the DZ.   May have  been on other Q trains in the heavywieght era.   The car I rode was an NP car in the regular Chicago-based pool that covered the Blackhawk, the Mainstreeter, the North Coast Limited, and the Denver Zephyr.   The NP and CB&Q both contriputed to this slumbercoach pool, and possibly the SP&S contributed one car, also, but I don't remember seeing it.  That is the reason the NP colors were never applied to the NP's slumbercoaches.

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Posted by Deggesty on Sunday, October 17, 2010 6:42 PM

KCSfan

Johnny,

I don't have an OG for any of the years 1956-1960 so I'll have to guess as to this question. As far as I know the only through cars running between Chicago and Colorado Springs in 1955 were the coaches and a sleeper carried on the Rock Island's Rocky Mountain Rocket. Any through car(s) via the Burlington at a later time were probably carried in trains no. 1&10, the Denver Zephyr between Chicago and Denver  and between Denver and Colorado Springs in Rio Grande trains no. 1&2, the Royal Gorge. The arrival and departure times of these trains at Denver would have made the connection quite feasible. While there may have been a through coach, I think it more likely the only through car in this service was a single sleeper.

Mark

Well, Mark, you have the trains right. I hope I will not strain your credulity by stating that there were four through cars: one coach, one dome lounge, one slumber coach, and one 10-6 Pullman. This service, of course, was impossible with the original Denver Zephyr equipment, but after the Burlington re-equipped the train in the fifties, it was possible.

"Overnight, Every Night"

I'll give you a pass on the equipment, and invite you to ask the next question.

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Posted by KCSfan on Sunday, October 17, 2010 6:46 AM

Johnny,

I don't have an OG for any of the years 1956-1960 so I'll have to guess as to this question. As far as I know the only through cars running between Chicago and Colorado Springs in 1955 were the coaches and a sleeper carried on the Rock Island's Rocky Mountain Rocket. Any through car(s) via the Burlington at a later time were probably carried in trains no. 1&10, the Denver Zephyr between Chicago and Denver  and between Denver and Colorado Springs in Rio Grande trains no. 1&2, the Royal Gorge. The arrival and departure times of these trains at Denver would have made the connection quite feasible. While there may have been a through coach, I think it more likely the only through car in this service was a single sleeper.

Mark

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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, October 15, 2010 9:18 PM

For several years, the RG public timetables had a picture of the California Zephyr--powered by an Alco PA-PB-PB.

New question: How did the Burlington participate in Chicago-Colorado Springs through passenger traffic in the late fifties? What cars ran between the two cities, and name the trains that carried the cars.

 

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, October 15, 2010 12:04 PM

Deggesty's first thought is correct.  He gets to ask the next question.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, October 15, 2010 12:02 PM

CSSHEGEWISCH

Rio Grande had two ABA sets of PA1/PB1's on its roster.  What was their initial assignment?

My first thought, as Mark's, was the California Zephyr, but I had a second thought that it was, perhaps, the Prospector.

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Posted by KCSfan on Friday, October 15, 2010 11:54 AM

CSSHEGEWISCH

Rio Grande had two ABA sets of PA1/PB1's on its roster.  What was their initial assignment?

Trains No. 1 & 2, The Royal Gorge. This is just a guess.

Mark

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, October 15, 2010 9:59 AM

Rio Grande had two ABA sets of PA1/PB1's on its roster.  What was their initial assignment?

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, October 15, 2010 5:10 AM

ChewG:   NEXT QUESTION PLEASE

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Posted by KCSfan on Thursday, October 14, 2010 11:33 AM

CSSHEGEWISCH

The road in question is the Piedmont & Northern, a former interurban which dieselized with an all-Alco roster and was later absorbed by SCL.  It operated two separate divisions, one in North Carolina and one in South Carolina.  A proposed connection between the two divisions was never built.  The mills in the slogan are textile mills.

That's the one. The 89 mile South Carolina Div ran between Greenwood and Spartanburg. The 23 mile North Carolina Div ran between Gastonia and Charlotte. Between Spartanburg and Gastonia there was a gap of 50+ miles between the two Divisions. Unlike most interurbans the Piedmont & Northern had a significant carload freight business and continued to operate long after its passenger service was discontinued..

Mark

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Posted by Southerngreen1401 on Thursday, October 14, 2010 11:00 AM

Piedmont & Northern equipment can be found at the North Carolina Transporation Museum, The Charlotte Trolley Museum and the South Carolina Railroad Museum.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Thursday, October 14, 2010 10:01 AM

The road in question is the Piedmont & Northern, a former interurban which dieselized with an all-Alco roster and was later absorbed by SCL.  It operated two separate divisions, one in North Carolina and one in South Carolina.  A proposed connection between the two divisions was never built.  The mills in the slogan are textile mills.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by henry6 on Thursday, October 14, 2010 9:13 AM

My mind runs wild on this having just driven through New England...but my real thoughts turn toward Pittsburgh, PA and maybe the Monongahela or the Interstate.  Unusual?  Only moved cars between mills and parts of mills with minimum interchange.  And probably owned by one of the steele companies like US Steele or Bethlehem.

OR ACY!  Almost the same reasons!

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Posted by KCSfan on Thursday, October 14, 2010 5:58 AM

"A Mill to the Mile" was an advertising slogan used by what railroad?

What was unusual about this railroad?

Mark 

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Posted by wanswheel on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 2:44 PM

Mark, yes your turn.

CSX ought to serve Xenia to justify the X in its unrailroady name.

http://trains.rockycrater.org/graphics/pfmsig/atlas48/oh-1948.jpg

 

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Posted by KCSfan on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 10:35 AM

Xenia, Youngstown and Zanesville, Ohio all three were served by both the B&O and the Pennsy.

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Posted by wanswheel on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 5:26 AM

Name 2 railroads that, in one state, served 3 cities that start with X, Y and Z.

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Posted by Texas Zepher on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 7:05 PM

wanswheel

Overland Limited on Dec. 19, 1916. GM was Bill Jeffers.

Whoo hoo, Can't get a much more complete answer than that.   My reference was The Overland Limited by Beebe, 1963.

 

So what we going to research next?

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Posted by wanswheel on Friday, October 8, 2010 6:22 AM

Overland Limited on Dec. 19, 1916. GM was Bill Jeffers.

http://npcanteen.net/ca02009.html

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 9:58 AM

daveklepper

Interesting material.

 

Were the Stillwell commuter cars used by the C&WI built new for the C&WI or second-hand or leased from the Erie?   They were identacle to the Erie's commuter cars used out of Jersey City.

CWI's Stillwell coaches were second-hand from Erie.  They lasted until 1964 when the last commuter runs to Dolton were discontinued.

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Posted by Texas Zepher on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 10:28 PM

So here we go.   It was one of the worst winters as far as amount of snow fall recorded in the US.  According to a local news paper, "during the country's worst storm" a freight train had been stopped because of the snow.    A plow was called out to help.   Unknown to the plow crew another train had gotten between them and the stalled freight.  The other train was compelled to stop for the stalled freighter.  The  snow plow train rear ended the train stopped in the blizzard.  According to the news paper story the observation car was totally demolished and ended up nearly on top of the plow.   "The other cars of the train were so tightly wedged it took some time to pull them apart".

Fortunately because of the late hour no one was in the observation car and there were no injuries.

Name that train and date and since we are on a personnel theme who was the General Manager who was in charge of the cleanup.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 8:39 AM

Interesting material.

 

Were the Stillwell commuter cars used by the C&WI built new for the C&WI or second-hand or leased from the Erie?   They were identacle to the Erie's commuter cars used out of Jersey City.

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Posted by wanswheel on Monday, October 4, 2010 10:31 PM

TZ , yes your turn.

http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=128671

http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=128673

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Posted by Texas Zepher on Monday, October 4, 2010 7:06 PM

wanswheel
Who was the conductor on the first run of the Morning Hiawatha (eastbound) on January 21, 1939?

Governor Harold E. Stassen?

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Posted by al-in-chgo on Monday, October 4, 2010 6:48 PM

wanswheel

Who was the conductor on the first run of the Morning Hiawatha (eastbound) on January 21, 1939?

http://www.minnesotajones.com/hiawatha_page.htm

 

 

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Posted by wanswheel on Monday, October 4, 2010 1:37 PM

Who was the conductor on the first run of the Morning Hiawatha (eastbound) on January 21, 1939?

http://www.minnesotajones.com/hiawatha_page.htm

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Monday, October 4, 2010 10:03 AM

We have a winner!!  BRC did purchase its line of railway in 1962.  As an aside, BRC also had trackage rights over CWI separate from this lease. 

Wanswheel, your question.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul

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