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Classic Railroad Quiz (at least 50 years old).

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, August 12, 2019 1:57 AM

The Silver Star, like all ACL and SAL streamliners, retained its stainless steel appearance, and there was not much difference between ACL and SAL passenger equipment in apperance.  Heavyweights, yes, with purple on any ACL modernized equipment.  Near-Pullman green for Seaboard.  Not much was done for SCL identification on the passenger equipment, other than the lettering itself. 

Once, riding the West Coast Champion from Orlando or Lakeland to New York, before the merger, the AC on a sleeper wasn't working.  The car was cut out at Jacksonville, and the replacement sleeper was lettered Seaboard.

Seaboard had all stainless steel with black lettering.  ACL had a purple letterboard with silver or white lettering.

GN's trains met the description regarding paint, the Empire Builder and the Western Star.  But the Empire Builder lasted with Amtrak, and the Western Star did not.  The GN Sky Blue and white replaced the orange and green.  Then BN repainted to green-and-white.  But I don't think that job was completed before Amtrak.

Railroads involved were the GN, CB&Q, and SP&S.

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Posted by SD70Dude on Sunday, August 11, 2019 11:25 PM

Seaboard Air Line's Silver Star?  The 1967 SCL merger would have resulted in a new livery, with locomotives receiving Atlantic Coast Line's basic black and yellow scheme.

Greetings from Alberta

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, August 11, 2019 5:57 PM

One of the first postwar trains inaugurated, this train carried sections, duplex roomettes, bedrooms and a drawing room.  In its first revamp four years later, both standard roomettes and compartments were added.  A long time good performer, the train was one of the last to receive a completely new paint scheme in the 1960s.

Name the train and railroad(s) involved.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Saturday, August 10, 2019 3:33 PM

rcdrye

The Miamian, trains 7 and 8, which ran about twice a week, carried a large number of Pullmans, most cars having bedrooms, compartments and drawing rooms, with only three cars listed in the January 1960 OG as having roomettes.  Several sleeper-lounges, a full lounge and a diner made up the rest of the train.

The 1961-1962 winter season seems to have been the train's last.

 

The Miamian was it. The train was operated by ACL as a secondary seasonal in various formats as traffic conditions demanded. In the 1930's and postwar 40s it was operated as an all-Pullman train, being blessed with "The Train of Society" subtitle in ACL advertisements around 1940. Eventually, The Miamian became the only additional seasonal winter train ACL operated besides the Florida Special. Coaches were sometimes added and by the mid-50's it was running in less-than-daily service. I believe there were time periods where the train operated year-round as well. (One year in the 1950's ACL wanted to run the train in the summer months but was rebuffed by FEC, refusing to handle the train due to cost concerns) As you mentioned, the 1961-62 season was the trains last.

Rcdrye, you're next.

 

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Posted by rcdrye on Saturday, August 10, 2019 2:31 PM

The Miamian, trains 7 and 8, which ran about twice a week, carried a large number of Pullmans, most cars having bedrooms, compartments and drawing rooms, with only three cars listed in the January 1960 OG as having roomettes.  Several sleeper-lounges, a full lounge and a diner made up the rest of the train.

The 1961-1962 winter season seems to have been the train's last.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Saturday, August 10, 2019 10:34 AM

Deggesty

Was it the Vacationer? It left New York City in the morning, and Miami in the afternoon, giving passengers a choice as to the time of day for travel.

 

No it wasn't. The Vacationer was gone for a number of years already.

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Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, August 10, 2019 9:48 AM

Was it the Vacationer? It left New York City in the morning, and Miami in the afternoon, giving passengers a choice as to the time of day for travel.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Saturday, August 10, 2019 7:49 AM

For the 1962-63 winter season, ACL introduced an upgraded Florida Special for its 75th anniversary season, with added amenities and upgraded equipment. Unfortunately, corporate focus on this train resulted in the disappearance of another train, one that at one time was touted as "The Train of Society". What was that train?  

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 8:02 PM

Give me a few days to develop a new question.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 7:45 PM

The Chicago-Toledo-Richmond car was back by May 1957, a 10-6 running in both directions in the New England States and Sportsman.

The Clifton Forge car could also have been used to Newport News (Phoebus) and retruned to Richmond with a shorter deadhead.

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 10:23 AM

Zephyr Overland has the route and trains.

The car apparently came east to Clifton Forge. using the Carolina Special to Cincinnati and then the Sportsman to Clifton Forge; did Pullman dedhead the car to Richmond?

The C&O had many Pullman lines which were not return trips like the above line. In the same month, the Southern had a car which apparently ran New York to Charlotte on the Piedmont Limited, Charlotte to Atlanta on the Washington-Atlanta-New Orleans Express, and back to New York on the Peach Queen; all were essentially overnight trips.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 6:46 AM

C&O and NYC swapped cars in Toledo for other purposes as well, especially after 1946 when they shared Toledo Union.  In various years the cars from various West Virginia resorts went via Toledo in one direction or another.

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Posted by ZephyrOverland on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 10:11 PM

Deggesty

Here is what seems an oddity to me: in 1953, there was a Richmond to Chicago Pullman that did not take a direct routing. What was the routing, what roads, and what name trains handled it?

 

It would be Richmond to Chicago via Toledo.  C&O's Sportsman handled the car to Toledo, where it was switched to NYC's Lake Shore Limited for the run to Chicago.  Looking at the February 1953 OG, no Chicago-Richmond sleeper was available.

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 11:19 AM

No, Dave, the car did not go through Washington. Overmod has the right roads, but the car did not go through Cincinnati westbound--even though it did eastbound.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 10:53 AM

The C&O already had its direct sleepers to Chicago on two of its three through trains.  (Sprotsman, George Washingnton, and Fast Flying Viginian.  I think it was the first two that carried the through Chicago sleepers and also made good coach connections with the Central (Big Four) at Cincinati to Chicago.

The C&O had its own frieght tracks to Chicaago, but in my memory only had a day local that went as far as Hammond, with  passengers asked to use the South Shore the rest of the way.  For a while it was pwered by an Atlantic.  Through passesngers were routed via the Central between Cincinnati and Chicago.

Possibliy RF&P to Washington and then PRR General or Admiral (Washigton Sections) to Chicago.  If not PRR, then the B&O.

The N&W did serve Richmond with a sleeper, however!  The regular New York - Norfolkl sleeper.  Rivals the Montrealer-Washingtonian in number of railroad.  PRR, RF&P, ACL, N&W.   Rode it.   ACL to and from N&W at Petersburg.

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 10:37 AM

Hmmm... 1953.  Wouldn't that involve C&O, a R.R.Young road, and then at some point New York Central, promising to be a R.R.Young road?  If I were going to look for that it would probably involve Cincinnati, then perhaps up as far east as Cleveland?

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 10:04 AM

No, Dave, the N&W did not enter into this route at the time specified. It did have a Norfolk to Chicago 10-6 that was carried by the Pocohontas and the PRR's Red Bird  from Cincinnati.

The car in the question went east in a seemingly more sensible routing.

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 8:47 AM

Suprise!   Able to log in at the Yeshiva!    1st time in a long time!

The direct and usual sleeper service between Richmond, VA, in Chicago, IL., was the C&O in Newport News - Chicago sleepers via C&O to Cincinnati and then NYC to Chicago.

I think the N&W did try to compete with Richmond - Petersburg on the ACL, probably the Everglades or the Havana Special, then the Pocohuntis or Cavelier on the N&W, and the PRR Cincinnati - Chicago, possibly also passing though Richmond, Indiana.

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 8:28 AM

The original plan for adding coaches to the Century was to combine it with the Commodore Vanderbilt, which already carried coaches.  Once NYC pulled out of Pullman in 1958, I think they stopped caring.  The red carpet remained (even for coach passengers!) until the end of Century service.

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, July 29, 2019 7:28 PM

NP Eddie

A side question to the Panama/Magnolia Star:  Was there a seperate name for the coaches added to the 20th Century?

Ed Burns

 

No; looking in the November, 1967, Guide, I found only sleeping cars sleepercoaches, and coaches, along with the non-revenue cars listed under the name 

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Posted by NP Eddie on Monday, July 29, 2019 5:56 PM

A side question to the Panama/Magnolia Star:  Was there a seperate name for the coaches added to the 20th Century?

Ed Burns

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, July 29, 2019 1:51 PM

Here is what seems an oddity to me: in 1953, there was a Richmond to Chicago Pullman that did not take a direct routing. What was the routing, what roads, and what name trains handled it?

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, July 29, 2019 8:16 AM

Johnny has the correct answer (as he usually does!).  Thought I'd toss a soft lob to keep the quiz going.  Yours, Johnny!

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Posted by Deggesty on Sunday, July 28, 2019 7:36 PM

The Magnolia Star was the all-coach overnight train between Chicago and New Orleans in the late sixties. In the Guide, its equipment was listed immediately below that of the Panama Limited, which was #5 and #6--but no numbers were shown for the coach train.The equipment listing showed a cafe-coach, and a St. Louis-New Orleans coach.

Until Amtrak decided to rename the overnight train, the City of New Orleans left its origins in the morning, and arrived at its destinations by midnight (if it ran close to being on time); the last time I rode it, it arrived in New Orleans about six hours late, and I detrained at Carrollton Avenue to make sure I caught the Southern's only train out of New Orleans--the City had engine trouble all the way from at least Carbondale south--all three E's died at Dyersburg, amd two Geeps were pressed into service)..

 

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Posted by Erik_Mag on Sunday, July 28, 2019 5:39 PM

City of New Orleans?

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, July 28, 2019 5:23 PM

One of the last trains listed in the OG as "All-Pullman", the Panama Limited carried coaches for several years listed under another train name.  What was the "train"?

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, July 22, 2019 8:48 AM

Bumping this to open it up.  I don't have anything interesting enough for a good-enough general question.

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Posted by SD70Dude on Sunday, June 30, 2019 12:15 PM

Still waiting on you Mod Man!

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

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Posted by SD70Dude on Monday, June 24, 2019 12:06 PM

That's the answer.

I helped get one running the other day, which inspired the question.  Ours is one of the last four built (ex-CN 4), and has CAT D342 engines instead of the far more common D17000.

Greetings from Alberta

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, June 24, 2019 7:49 AM

Everything seems to fit the GE 44-tonner

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