Who has a tale, or tales, of drag races between passenger trains here in the states? (I have a story of two drag races - on the same trip! - while riding the Santa Fe more than 45 years ago, if anyone's interested.)
To limit discussion to the more exotic, the following obvious categories should be excluded: 1) the Northeast Corridor, where traffic density, past and present, make drag races almost a foregone conclusion; 2) the long gone, time-honored races between NYC and PRR out of Englewood IL; 3) commuter operations in large cities with multiple-track mainlines, such as METRA in Chicago.
Don't be afraid to be verbose; minutia is useful for those of us who weren't with you.
Look forward to your replies.
Golly gee whiz, how did the railroads ever do it in the age before computers or government "help"? (Then: they did it. Today: forget it!)
Not really a drag race, but more of a road race:
I was on a mainline steam excursion in 1968 run by the High Iron Company, using NKP Berkshire #759. It was a two day trip from New York City to Niagra Falls and back. On the way back, I believe on the Water Level Route past Albany, a short (about 6 cars and two F units) passenger train was slowly overtaking us on a parallel track. When we got even with the last car, which probably put the diesels even with the 759, we noticed the other train was no longer passing us. Shortly, we noticed it falling behind. This ran like this for several miles until our train slowed and the diesel passed us. Rumor has it that the PC pilot engineer "put the arm" on the steam engineer and made him slow down. The Berk was pulling about a 20 car train.
In 1964 I was riding a railfan trip south of Sydney, Australia, with a 4-4-2 tank locomotive 1301 converted from an 1877 4-4-0 early in the 1900s. The 4-4-2T was being driven by the Assistant Chief Mechanical Engineer, a man well known in locomotive design and someone that was so high in the organisation that he could get away with a lot.
We had come up the old main line via Granville, and as we approached Strathfield on the four track main, No 14 passenger hauled by the newest Pacific, 3830, whose four car train weighed more than twice as much as our old wooden cars, swept past at line speed.
No 14 stopped at Strathfield and we didn't so we were just ahead as we left the station with the Pacific clearly in full throttle as it drew alongside. We ran neck and neck until we were stopped to cross over and follow the passenger by a signalman with no sense of humour.
M636C
Here is a little horseplay that turned into a race, which then turned into a disaster. From the Railroad Gazette 117 years ago. My emphasis added in red:
June 1890
30th, on Southern Pacific, South Pacific Coast Division, at Oakland, Cal., a passenger train consisting of engine and one passenger car of a train of three ran into San Antonio Creek, the drawbridge at that point having been opened and only partially closed. Thirteen passengers were drowned. The engineer (Dunn) and fireman jumped off and saved themselves. The danger signal in use at this place consisted of a small red flag upon a stick which was fixed upright in a sleeper between the rails on the end of the fixed span next to the draw. The train approached the bridge on a curve turning to the left, and this flag is not plainly visible to the engineer until he gets within about 150 ft. of it; but in clear weather the bridge is in full view from the left-hand side of the engine for nearly a mile, and there was no excuse for the engineer not seeing that the bridge was open in this case. A witness states that this train ran side by side with another one on an adjoining track for some distance, and that the two engineers were engaged in sport, the men on the other train turning a small hose on Dunn, and the latter increased his speed to get away from the other train. The draw had been revolved to within 15 ft. of its closed position when the train struck it, and prevented the last two cars from going over. The train was running about 15 miles an hour when the engineer saw the situation and reversed his engine, which was within less than 200 feet of the draw. This accident was reported in the Railroad Gazette of June 6, page 400.
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