America's Train?

[Anonymous]

America’s Cup—the crown jewel of sailing
America’s Team—Dallas Cowboys slogan
America’s Train—?

Many people in this country can relate to the first two items noted above, without there being a personal preference. What train would you include in the final item? What train would have a general nation-wide appeal?

[eolafan]

Passenger: Amtrak's Southwest Chief

Freight: The BNSF "Z" trains or the old CNW Falcon service.

[Anonymous]

How about the 1975 "American Freedom Train"?
For that matter, all the various Bi-Centennial paint jobs that were around in the mid '70's.
Boy, those were some good times.
Todd C.

[Anonymous]

..humm..I think the U.S.A. train rather than the "American".

[Anonymous]

To date talley (as promised):
Super Chief 29%
20th Century Limited 24%
American Freedom Train 13%
City of New Orleans 5%
American Orient Express 3%
Empire Builder 3%
Broadway 3%
California Zephyr 3%
Laurentian 3%
Montrealer 3%
Adirondack 3%
Sunset Limited 3%
Amtrak Southwest Chief 3%
Texas Chief 3%
The Eagle 3%
Hank

[Anonymous]

Would it not be better to divide the passenger train lists into:

'all-time'
and
'currently operating'?

Jason

[edblysard]

If your looking for a symbolic image to evoke patriotism, get Mcormick to dust off the 4449, and repaint her back into the red white and blue she wore as the "Freedom Train" in 1976. I am sure there is about a zillion steam freaks who will argue tractive effort, weight over drivers, and all the technical data to death, but fact it, thats one beautiful engine. Contemporary power, mu a Dash 9 back to back with a SD90Mac, Paint em both red wite and blue.
If you mean what train would most people remember or reconize as "the" train of their youth? As a young man, I remember the EMD "F" unit as the train you always saw in movies, advertisements, cartoons and in magazine stories.
Its still a very popular image in advertising.
But if you mean which train would people like best?
Thats gonna make this as much fun as th GM vs EMD battle....

[Anonymous]

Chicago Northwestern with a CABOOSE!! It would not be American with out a CABOOSE! The engine would be the diesel with the hi nose in front with the long nose in the back. Passenger train would be the City of New Orleans. (The one that guy wrote a song about.)

[Anonymous]

4449 did return to her AFT colors! She is a beautiful locomotive!

[Anonymous]

How about the "Tra***rain"? Containers full of reeking, nasty, rubbish. That might best symbolize the way that the American economy has been going lately. Hang some bunting and flags on it, and it could pass for the POTUS special!

[edblysard]

Great, anybody gonna run her thru Texas?

[cabforward]

**i believe the writer is asking for trains in regularly scheduled passenger/freight service..
the vote summary for the atsf's and nyc's trains are predictable as they are the most well-known trains from the past..

in the present, i can't think of any trains which are as well-known as those in the past, in the u.s. ..in europe, the oriental express still runs across europe and this is probably the most well-known train, world-wide, not just from the train, but from films and novels that use it for background..

freight trains, by their nature, are not well-known to the public, and their reputation could only be gauged among r.r. workers and railfans, and they can spin off details like sports buffs.. they know freight train reps because they have a special interest in that area of transportation, and it's because they have a special interest that they know the train's reps..

[dknelson]

How about the tour by The General (of great locomotive chase fame) of the country during the Civil War Centennial? Or the steaming up of the John Bull?
Dave Nelson

[BurlingtonJohn]

Without any shadow of a doubt it would have to be the 1975-1976 version of the American Freedom Train.

If my memory serves correctly (and it usually doesn't), the AFT (with the exception of the 1947-1949 Freedom Train) is probably the only train that has toured every single one of the 48 continental states...it was steam powered nearly 20 years after the demise of regular main line steam operation.

Simply unbeatable!

Regards,
Burlington John

[ironhorseman]

Well, here I am again, digging around some old posts. Let's dust off the cobwebs of this one.

The origional question is trying to compare sporting events to railroads (???), I guess,
but I would think the symbol of America in train form would be more comparable to the Statue of Liberty or the Bald Eagle.

With that in mind, what train would be most comparable to the Flying Scotsman or the (origional) Orient Express?

I would vote first for the SP Daylight 4449 a) because it was the freedom train of 1976 and b) it's been called the most beautiful train in the world.

Runner's up in my book (in no particular order) would be the NYC's The 20th Century Limited, IC's The City of New Orleans, and then the Santa Fe's Super Chief (not the Southwest Chief, I'll explain in a minute). Somewhere in there should be the Wabash Cannonball and the Orange Blossum Special. Those songs are probably more well known than the real trains, even the Daylight.

Did You Know: The Wabash Cannonball was adopted by the Kansas State University pep band after a fire destroyed all their music sheets except that one?

The Orange Blossum Special has been put back in the spotlight since Johnny Cash's passing. It seems like every tribute show about him includes another vesion of this song. I like all his versions of this song and I can't speak for him but it probably was one of his favorite train songs.

Now, as for the difference between the Super Chief and the Southwest Chief, I was told that after Amtrak took over the Chief service Santa Fe denied Amtrak use of the name Super Chief because they weren't keeping up with high standards that Santa Fe set and had the name relegated down to Southwest Chief, a description of it's geographical service rather than it's quality of service.

As for the American Orient Express: I've seen picture and video of it and it does indeed look very elegant, but it's very expensive and I don't think it has been around long enough to earn it's place yet. It took years for the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, and the Indianapolis 500 to reach the prestige they have now and in time maybe the American Orient Express can achive this status.

[JoeKoh]

put the B&O gp 38-2 back in B&O chessie colors and let her run.after all she was trains all american diesel.the 4449 would be good too.
stay safe
Joe

[northwesterner]

I definitely agree that the freedom train (which derailed at Navy Pier in Chicago - those curves you know) is excellent, and the City of New Orleans (that "guy" was Steve Goodman) as well. How about asking the Chicago Historical Society to crank up The Pioneer for one last run?

[Train Guy 3]

Well I really did love the paint job on the 4449 for the Freedom Train, I even have a picture of it on my HALL OF TRAINS. Unfotonaly I never really enjoyed oil-burning steam locomotives, so im not sure I'd want it as " America's Train ". But if we're gonna have " America's Train " we need to add a red caboose in there somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Right now my ambition is to ride America's Orient Express. If it has any of the luxury of the one from Paris to Instanbul, I'll be a devotee. Ironhorseman, I have to tell you, the train pulled by the 'Flying Scotsman" engine was nothing special. The L.N.E.R. were not really noted for luxury, [London and North Eastern Railroad]. L.M.S. on the other side of the country was far better. [London, Midland and Scottish Railway]

[Granny74]

Ed: I agree with you-the 4449. I was priviledged to be escorted into the round house in Portland when she was being overhauled to become the Freedom Train. She had her new colors on. I saw her in Tucson as the Freedom Train. Years later when she as an excursion train was going from Portland or Seattle to New Orleans(I think that was the route), she had to stop in Tucson for refrigeration repairs on the coaches. I was talking to the fireman and he told me that he would lay me some smoke as he was pulling out of Tucson going towards New Orleans the following morning. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing her pulling the grade and flying.
Bob from AZ

[ironhorseman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Scottydog

Right now my ambition is to ride America's Orient Express. If it has any of the luxury of the one from Paris to Instanbul, I'll be a devotee. Ironhorseman, I have to tell you, the train pulled by the 'Flying Scotsman" engine was nothing special. The L.N.E.R. were not really noted for luxury, [London and North Eastern Railroad]. L.M.S. on the other side of the country was far better. [London, Midland and Scottish Railway]

Well, the Flying Scotsman is an exceptional steam locomotive, but I can't think of any other train more famous than that other than the Orient Express. Sitting here in the United States trying to think of famous trains in other countries is not easy for me. I wasn't considering luxery. The Orient Express may be the most famous because of that book it was in about a murder where someone was killed and they died, what was the name of it?... I think it was called the Train That Killed People. No wait, that wasn't it. It was "Murder On The Orient Express." Which later became an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Anyway, the Flying Scotsman even made a tour of America, or so they want us to think. It was actually her sister engine is what I've heard. But the name is still famous. For all other trains I'd have to consult a book.

I have no idea what other countries have in mind when they think of America's or the United States's train. I would like the Daylight to represent us but that's just my opinon. I wonder if we can get people from other countries to give some input on what train they think best represents America.

Oh, just so we're clear: my definition is anything that rolls on rails is a train.

[Anonymous]

I vote for Amtrak's SUNSET LIMITED, because it travels from coast to coast, making many stops in between.

[Anonymous]

The 4449 is a beautiful engine in any color scheme. I ran across this website and it has 3 different paint jobs for the 4449. Some of the pics are more of the train and nature than the engine itself but they are still nice pics.


http://www.photosbystevenjbrown.com/steam/4449/bnsfeas/nitelite.html

Enjoy the site. [:)]

[dharmon]

I'm sure I will offend some or all of you......but there really is in my little mind no all american train any longer.....railroads are largely invisible to the vast majority of the public. Visible only at crossings or as a means to get to work.

If I had to say what personifies the amercican railroad, it would be .... the Super Chief......ATSF warbonnet F units leading a streamlined train was the symbol of american post war prosperity. No other train (well the F units in particular) has been modelled (lionel, ho whatever) as much. That was the engine that powered the train sets of the 50s-70s and sticks in the publics mind both in the US and overseas.

runners up would be the 4-4-0 of the expansion westward, cowboys and indians and train robbers and the wild west.....

...And the freindly waving traincrew from a bright red caboose, particular train not important.

If you ask me what america's train is, it would have to be one of those.....

[Anonymous]

I think it should be Any train with an E or F series lovomotive, like they have on most of the old CP rail posters.

This comment will probobly get me shot, but what the heck, the Train i would least vote for is the SUNSET LIMITED because up here, When i first learnt about trains, I was Taught Sunset limited = Derailment. I myself know that as a Bad luck Train...

Thats one i would not vote for..

[zardoz]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BOBBISHNA

How about the "Tra***rain"? Containers full of reeking, nasty, rubbish. That might best symbolize the way that the American economy has been going lately. Hang some bunting and flags on it, and it could pass for the POTUS special!

I LOVE IT !

[Train Guy 3]

Why don't we assemble a train compossed of every single train that we feel expresses America to be " America's Train ". Because there are just to many trains that a I feel can represent America. Besides when was the last time you saw a convoy of trains? haha

[Anonymous]

20TH CENTURY LIMITED HANDS DOWN