One of the posters on a Yahoo group I follow (arksmook) posted this You Tube video of the initial run of the joint KCS/L&A Passenger Train "Southern Belle" .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oOxObqdGIbg
The video is from 1940 and is not really good quality but offers an insight into a time when named passenger trains were the way to travel in style. The film shows some of the big names of the times (Chester Lauck ( LUM ) of the comedy team Lum and Abner ( stars of screen and radio) and of Bill Doremus, President of KCS.
An interesting look back 70 years to brand new passenger equipment, times and fashions. They did things differently then.
Sam, thanks. I sent the address of the thread to my wife, and she really liked it; one part that she appreciated was that which showed interior views.
I remember, quite vividly, my first sight of the Southern Belle. I spent two months in Baton Rouge during the summer of 1953, and one morning I went into town and was walking back to my brother's house just the right time to see the train in the station; of course, I watched it leave for New Orleans. In later years, I rode it overnight from New Orleans to Shreveport and from New Orleans to Kansas City.
Johnny
Got to see it on my trip to New Orleans as a kid...If I recall correctly, one of the Observation cars ended up with a broken center sill and had to be scrapped.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Loved the video! I rode the Southern Belle in the 50's to and from college. I rode to and from KC to Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Just part of the trip to and from California, she was truly a GREAT Streamliner..............
I was hoping the reaction would be as you have all described. It was born in a time when it was a travel experience to ride the train. The railroads operated a national fleet of name trains that were all pretty much class acts.
But travel then was an experience to be savored, and folks dressed for it. Same for air travel, as it developed. Travel,now days is truly an experience similar to being shot out of a canon. Some of my fondedt memories are dinner on the IC's Trains racing across Mississippi, and breakfast wile riding along side the Spring River in Arkansas on the Frisco.
In the 1960's when ao many railroads were doing their best to discourage train travel the KCS remained passemger friendly and took pride in its trains right to the end of passenger operations in 1969. Up until at least 1967 the KCS ran frequent ads in the Shreveport Times promoting travel on the Southern Belle and Flying Crow. To encourage sleeping car ridership they dropped the first class fare so for the price of just a coach ticket plus the space charge one could travel in a roomette or bedroom on both the Belle and the Crow. Right to the end the trains were immaculetly clean both inside and out, all the amenities of first class dining car and lounge service were retained and crews were friendly and courteous. For its diners, the KCS always bought the champion steers and hogs that were auctioned off at the end of the annual Louisiana State Fair and I suspect they did the same at the fairs in other states they served.
South of Shreveport the Flying Crow was split into two little coach streamliners - one running to New Orleans and the other to Port Arthur. The typical consist of these trains was a single E unit, a baggage/express/RPO car, one or occasionally two coaches and a round end coach/tavern lounge/ observation car serving libations, sandwiches and snacks. The routes of these two were mostly dark territory and they made a number of scheduled and flag stops so their schedules were on the leisurely side. Nonetheless, the daily passage of these little pocket streamliners was a beautiful sight to behold.
Mark
Although it was a well-run operation, KCS passenger schedules were basically two trains daily in each direction on a railroad that ran its freight trains on Deramus principles (a handful of very long trains) so there wasn't a lot of freight-passenger interference. Also note that KCS moved to discontinue its passenger service after the RPO's were cancelled, suggesting that the passenger trains were largely subsidized by their mail contracts.
I always enjoyed riding the KCS when it fit in with my plans to visit with my brother and his family in Baton Rouge. I rode 9 & 10 many times, mostly between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and once from Shreveport to Baton Rouge. I rode the Southern Belle twice--once from New Orleans to Shreveport and once from New Orleans to Kansas City (Pullman both times). On the way up to Kansas City, after waking as we were leaving Texarkana, I greatly enjoyed the scenery as we wove back and forth into Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. Except with for one instance, the crewmen were friendly--and the exception was the Pullman porter for whom I covered at a stop (I do not remember just where) on the way to Kansas City; he expressed no appreciation for my having covered for him when he came back to the sleeper from the diner. I wonder if he thought I was a Pullman Inspector even though I had a Pullman ticket.
Going into New Orleans, I often would assist the flagman/porter with getting the hand baggage off the train (once, there was no red cap at the train when we stopped, and I handed the baggage down to the trainman, who got off to take the baggage, and then opened the trap).
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.