Hi anyone have a favorite passenger train? Any particular reason for it being your favorite? Also what do you think is the most unique piece of passenger equipment? I look forward to your replies!
(NOTE: answers may refer to past or present trains and equipment)
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
The favorite passenger train I have been a passenger on? That would have to be a tie between B&O's Capitol Limited and Santa Fe's Super Chief.
Two friends and I made reservations for the Turquoise Room on the westbound Super Chief just weeks before Amtrak assumed operations and the Santa Fe dining car staff treated us like we were Hollywood Royalty! An experience I'll never forget.
No, these people certainly were not my dining companions that night...
I was also fortunate to ride the Capitol Limited from Akron, Ohio, to Washington. Great dining car, too, and the B&O people were the nicest I have ever encountered in train service.
Favorite train I, sadly, did not have a chance to ride was the Century. Rode quite a few "lesser" NYC trains but the Century didn't stop in Cleveland so I never had a chance to partake in "Century Service".
Most unique piece of passenger equipment to me, The Ferdinand Magellan. The Pullman that was modified for the exclusive use of POTUS or the President of the United States, U.S. Car 1, the "Air Force One" of its day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Magellan_(railcar)
I occasionally run a POTUS train on my layout.
That's Clementine and Mr. Churchill, the Porter, Eleanor and Mr. Roosevelt enjoying some fresh air.
The car had 5/8" steel plate on all sides, top and floor and 3" thick window glazing. She weighed in at 285,000 lbs. almost double what the usual heavyweight Pullman weighed.
What are your favorites??
Ed
My favourite passenger train is the Canadian Pacific 'Canadian' from the 50s and 60s. I had the opportunity to ride it from Toronto To Vancouver and from Calgary back to Toronto. On the trip west I met up with a young man who had gotten to know the conductor. The conductor had invited the young man to ride in the cab through part of Northern Ontario and the invitation ended up being extended to me too! It happened to be in the middle of the night and we were cautioned to not let the Station Master see us getting into the locomotive! I was 11 years old. I still remember the noise and the cool air, and seeing a couple of deer jumping out of the way of the train. I also recall the light pattern from the MARS lights on the roof. It made me a bit dizzy. I can't imagine running for hours with that contraption flashing in your face. However, what I failed to do was tell my mother where I was going to be so she woke up in the middle of the night to find my berth empty. Fortunately the train stopped shortly after she woke up and I was back on board the sleeper before too much alarm was raised. Needless to say she had a few choice words for me. Ah, the ignorance of youth! As anyone with young kids knows, thinking things through is not one of their strengths.
I have many other memories from that trip. Some of the most memorable were the elegant service in the dining car (I felt quite out of place), seeing St. Elmo's fire in the Rockies, and watching the antelope race along side the train at full speed. The endless fields in the Prairies were mezmerizing. I think I lived in the dome car for most of the trip.
I missed out on the part of the return trip from Vancouver to Calgary for a very good reason. Instead of riding the train I got to drive through the Canadian Rockies with my uncle Johnnie in a 1965 MGB, with the top down of course. My job on the trip was to flash the headlights for oncoming fellow sports cars as was the fashion at the time (much like bikers raise their hands to each other today). I got heck for flashing a Volkswagen Carmenghia! For some strange reason I still don't like Volkswagens!
A very memorable vacation to say the least!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
20th Century Limited. The very reason we have the phrase "red carpet treatment".
Most unique would have to be the Milwaukee Road's beavertail observation cars. A face only a mother could love!
Mike
My favorite passenger train will always be Amtrak. I fell in love with the equal stripes of the red, white, and blue because it resembles the American flag.
Phase IV wasn't too bad on the coaches. I did like the old Phase V with the blue and gray stripe underneath the red. Before they got rein of it.
Does anyone think that Phase I and Phase V looks similar?
Old time passenger train would be the NYC 20th Century Limited because they had the J3a Hudsons. It wasn't about the train it was about the locomotive.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
I've had excellent experiences on B&O, Erie Lackawanna, New York Central, Pennsylvania, Chicago & North Western, Rock Island, Milwaukee, Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Burlington, C&EI, GM&O, Southern, Seaboard, ACL, and Amtrak. Some better than others. Maybe I've missed mentioning one or two. My favorite has always been the B&O for its historic tradition, fascinating historic route, excellent service, on time performance, varied equipment, and attractive livery.
I can't be objective about my Amtrak experiences because 26+ years as an Amtrak onboard service employee has probably affected my judgment.
Tom
My favorite has to be the N&W Powhatan Arrow with a J class up front. I first saw this beautiful train at Roanoke station in 1956 and it was striking. Unfortunately I never got to ride in it.
Growing up in Baltimore and spending somewhat equal time between Camden Station and Union Station (Pennsylvania Sta) I have a huge affection for their trains too. I loved seeing the smooth side B&O Dome cars and always wanted to ride one through the Harpers Ferry area. I remember seeing the Congreesional coming through and enjoyed their shiny stainless appearance compared to the Tuscan Red.
Riding the RDCs out of Baltimore to various places was always great too.
Roger Huber
Deer Creek Locomotive Works
My favorite passenger train is either the Super Chief / Southwest Chief or the Coast Starlight. Good memories from riding both as a kid. The Chief goes from Chicago to Los Angeles, The Starlight Seattle to Los Angeles. I model both on my layout but the Starlight only runs on it if it gets rerouted. I think the most unique piece of passenger equipment currently might be the new crash resistant control cab cars for commuter trains which will replace the suicide cab soon but only Metrolink has them right now (as far as I know). It's not a locomotive, it's just a passenger car with remote ccontrols.
Compared to the old suicide cab where the engineer doesn't stand a chance in a collision.
Very interesting! My personal favorite is the Olympian Hiawatha.
Tough choice, but I guess I'd go with the 1938 streamlined NYC Twentieth Century Limited.
BTW, New York Central actually didn't create the 'red carpet' idea, using a red carpet for dignitaries / royalty etc. had been around for quite a while before they adopted it for the Century.
Lone Wolf and Santa FeI think the most unique piece of passenger equipment currently might be the new crash resistant control cab cars for commuter trains which will replace the suicide cab soon but only Metrolink has them right now (as far as I know). It's not a locomotive, it's just a passenger car with remote controls.
Tri-Rail has some in their unique paint scheme.
As for mine, I'd have to pick the GN's International in its streamlined version.
The most unique passenger equipment in my opinion would be the Hiawatha Skytop Observation Cars! Second would be the Daylight Articulated Cars, third is the El Capitan Hi-Level Cars.
I'm going to go with the MP/T&P Eagles, pulled by steam, because I like that train.
I also love the 1940-41 yellow, silver, and brunswick green East Wind!
John
My favorite passenger trains in order of favor are:
1. 1894-1904 SP Sunset Limited (New Orleans-San Francisco) -> Love just everything about this train, the route and the era.
2. 1911-1917 SF De Luxe (Chicago-Los Angeles) -> Probably the most luxurious train ever. Who else had 7 Drawing Room Sleepers with brass beds?
3. 1937-1940 MP/T&P/NdeM City of Mexico (St. Louis-Mexico City) -> Love international trains and love the route of this train and the fact it was a luxurious weekly All-Pullman/Sleeper train.
4. 1951-1954 SF Super Chief (Chicago-Los Angeles) -> The only All-Private-Room-Sleeper train out in the west.
5. 1950-1958 SP Sunset Limited (New Orleans-Los Angeles) -> Love the route and the design.
6. 1950-1953 RI/SP Golden State (Chicago-Los Angeles) -> Love the paint scheme and design.
7. 1947-1955 MKT/SLSF Texas Special (St. Louis-San Antonio) -> Love the paint scheme and design and the fact it was partially pulled by Katy Pacifics in the 1st 2 years of existance.
8. 1952-1960 MP/T&P Texas Eagle (St. Louis-El Paso) -> Love the design and route.
9. 1948-1951 MP/T&P Sunshine Special (St. Louis-El Paso/San Antonio) -> Love the heavyweight cars painted into the Eagle scheme during that era.
10. 1952-1955 MILW Olympian Hiawatha (Chicago-Tacoma) -> In my opinion the most unique streamliner who has the most beautiful and original outer and inner design and looks from all of them.
11. 1954-1957 NP North Coast Limited (Chicago-Seattle) -> In my opinion the most beautiful paint scheme of any train in history! Green is my favorite color and therefore I adore this two-tone green paint.
12. 1946-1949 SPdeM El Costeno (Tucson-Guadalajara) -> Love the route and the train itself is quite interesting.
13. 1968-1972 NdeM/FUS El Méridano (Mexico City-Mérida) -> Love the route and the history of the area crossed by this train.
I see, interesting!
gmpullmanTwo friends and I made reservations for the Turquoise Room on the westbound Super Chief just weeks before Amtrak assumed operations and the Santa Fe dining car staff treated us like we were Hollywood Royalty! An experience I'll never forget.
As a New York Central fan...it's gotta be the '40 20th Century Limited - Dreyfuss-style.
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Nobody has mentioned the down-home country charm of a local passenger train with a baggage/RPO and coach, such as B&O's Addison, NY tp Galesburg, PA train, pulled by a classic ex-B&S class A-9 4-4-2. unfortunately, I never had the chance to ride it. A 4-4-0, 4-6-0, or light 4-6-2 would be equally at home on such trains on other railroads from Coast to Coast. Eminently modelable.
What about a business train? I think that observation cars similar to streamlined business cars would have been nice for passenger service.
My favorite train wasn't any extra-fare overnight 'name' train. It didn't even have a single number. It was any one of a half-dozen DMU schedules that meandered along the JNR Hachiko-sen from Hachioji to Takasaki (or vice versa) on a three-hour run. Scenery was mosty rural, but there were several interchanges with other JNR routes and private railways. When I was railfanning the route I could stand just behind the driver's compartment bulkhead and get a full forward view, including meets with other DMU sets and the occasional steam powered freight and good looks at a couple of busy yards. Since the fare was peanuts it was a good way to burn up a day off.
As for the most interesting piece of passenger equipment, my vote goes to the JNR KuHa151 class EMU cab cars built for the original (pre-Shinkansen) Tokyo-Osaka Kodama. Imagine Aerotrain grown up and slimmed down in all the right places.
I'll admit that my biases are showing...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Very interesting!
Well I don't think it is a surprise to anyone here that mine is the California Zephyr, ( The Siver Lady).
1st the WP portion of it
2nd the D&RGW portion
3rd the CB&Q portion
Long live the "Feather River Route"
My 4th choice would be the NP. "North Coast Limited", very classy and loved the route too.
Johnboy out..............
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
The Feather River Route very nice! And the logistics required to run a train over three roads wow! Very nice choice!
The Wabash Cannonball, St Louis to Detroit, especially when pulled by the lovely Wabash P-1 class Hudsons (700 series - 5 built in 1943 from old 3 cylinder Mikados, a couple added after the war from other old Mikes) - the entire train in Wabash blue. Sarting at the age of 7 I was placed into care of the conductor and rode alone from Decatur,Illinois (where the P-1s were buit) to Peru, Indana to see my grandmother, widow of Wabash engineer.
I have been to Peru IN via the interstate passing through I stopped at the aircraft museum there which of course I did not plan on but when I saw the tail of a C-119 Flying Boxcar I had to turn around and go back!
New York Central's 20th Century Limited, 1940 version.
Believe it or not, the RPO is my favorite car. There is somthing about a railway post office car that always intrigues me. I love the action of catching a mail bag on the fly! The hussel-bussel of the workers inside the RPO. Perhaps because I collected stamps as a boy? My next favorite car, NYC's converted troop / express boxcar.
I see a lot of eastern fans and midwest fans!
Either the previously mentioned 1939/1940 Twentieth Century Limited, 1941 Empire State Express (both NYC) or the Powhattan Arrow (N&W).
For more cool passenger trains, check out Great Trains West and Great Trains East, both published by our local forum hosts (well, Kalmbach, not MR). Found under the Classic Trains Magazine.
I see, very interesting!