Trains.com

Classic Railroad Quiz (at least 50 years old).

741834 views
7952 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    May 2012
  • 5,017 posts
Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, September 6, 2012 6:50 AM

How about the through PRR/CB&Q/D&RGW/WP California Zephyr car:

Trenton NJ, Harrisburg PA, Lincoln NE,  Denver CO,  Salt Lake City UT, Sacramento CA

I know it ran on the General in at least one direction on the PRR.  Since I don't think it ran in the Broadway, maybe the Pennsylvania Limited in the other?

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Thursday, September 6, 2012 7:03 AM

rcdrye

How about the through PRR/CB&Q/D&RGW/WP General/CZ car:

Trenton NJ, Harrisburg PA, Lincoln NE,  Denver CO,  Salt Lake City UT, Sacramento CA

Bingo - Another correct answer so the next question is yours. I know this NY-Oakland sleeper was carried by the Pennsylvania Ltd. for some years and didn't realize it was ever handled in the consist of the General.

Mark 

  • Member since
    May 2012
  • 5,017 posts
Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, September 6, 2012 7:36 AM

We'll try one more Pullmn line question:

This car ran from an eastern city to a mid-size city on the west side of the Mississipi, on three different RRs, one of which handled it twice.  The car lasted at least to the late 1950s.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Thursday, September 6, 2012 12:02 PM

I believe that would be the Washington - Shreveport sleeper which ran over the Southern (twice) the Norfolk & Western and the Illinois Central. It was carried in the SR's Pelican between Washington and Meridian and in the IC's Southwestern/Northeastern Ltd. between Meridian and Shreveport. The N&W portion of the Pelican's route was between Lynchburg and Bristol.

Mark

  • Member since
    May 2012
  • 5,017 posts
Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, September 6, 2012 3:55 PM

I guess I need to dig deeper next time.  The question is yours.

I looked up the PRR/CZ car in the August 1957 OG.  It ran Broadway Limited WB, General EB.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Thursday, September 6, 2012 4:16 PM

Since I've had so many chances to ask questions recently I'm going to pass this time. Had my friend Johnny (Deggesty) been on line and seen this question he could have answered it in a heart beat so I'll defer to him.The next question is yours Johnny so take it away.

Re the PRR/CZ car, I was going from a 1954 OG which shows it running both east and westbound in  No's. 1&2, the Pennsy Ltd.

Mark

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, September 6, 2012 8:00 PM

Mark, thank you. Yes, if I had logged on this morning, I would have known it. I know of no other arrangement in which one road handled a  train twice but that of the SOU-N&W-SOU.. Incidentally, if your ticket read sou all the way and you wanted to go through Bristol, your ticket did not have to be reissued; you would be given an N&W coupon reading from Lynchburg to Bristol. The time that I made such a change, I regret not asking if the train crew changed in Monroe (as the engine crew did) and not in Lynchburg.

The Pelican carried several different cars that were switched at various places. I am working strictly from memory as I ask this question since I have NO timetables with me in the care facility which has done wonders for me since the middle of July. As I recall, in 1950 there were four (not counting any that started on the Pelican and ended on the Pelican; I am counting the PRR trains that handled the New York cars as being the Pelican)  of these. Name the end points, the roads that handled these cars, and the switching points.

Johnny

  • Member since
    July 2009
  • 574 posts
Posted by FlyingCrow on Thursday, September 6, 2012 8:43 PM

You want to model an interesting train, the PELICAN is it.    If I understood Johnny correctly, he's looking for the various cars that were switched off enroute for other destinations.

But, 4 cars that are not handled within the route itself...hmm - and we haven't discussed already.   The only two I know of are:




A Washington, D.C. to Williamson, West Virginia 10-roomette-6-double-bedroom car.  This was handled by Norfolk and Western Railway's Cavalier between Roanoke, Virginia and Williamson.

A Petersburg, Virginia to Bristol 10-section-1-compartment-2-double-br heavyweight car also handled by Norfolk and Western Railway's Cavalier between Petersburg and Roanoke


Hopefully somebody can complete this poser.  I think it's a pretty good question.   Stick out tongue

AB Dean Jacksonville,FL
  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, September 6, 2012 9:10 PM

AB, you have one terminal for each of the two lines you named, but you missed the other terminals for the 1950 operation.

Johnny

  • Member since
    September 2012
  • 1 posts
Posted by scmerriam844 on Thursday, September 6, 2012 10:59 PM

My Guess would be B&O

  • Member since
    June 2002
  • 20,096 posts
Posted by daveklepper on Friday, September 7, 2012 4:30 AM

WHICH B&O TRAINS?

  • Member since
    June 2002
  • 20,096 posts
Posted by daveklepper on Friday, September 7, 2012 4:35 AM

I meant Wilmington Delaware, not North Carolina, which isn't on a direct Florida route anyway.   I did remember Talahassee, and apologize for the mistake.   But the Seabord did also have a Boston -  Miami car at one time, which ran Boston, Providence, Trenton, Wilmington Delaware, Richmond, Raleight, and Columbia.   So, is Columbia the SC Capitol, or is it Charleston?

  • Member since
    May 2012
  • 5,017 posts
Posted by rcdrye on Friday, September 7, 2012 6:43 AM

Since I got bit here, too... Dover is the capital of Delaware, And Columbia is the capital of SC. Still that ties the winner at six.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Friday, September 7, 2012 1:50 PM

daveklepper
I meant Wilmington Delaware, not North Carolina, which isn't on a direct Florida route anyway.   I did remember Talahassee, and apologize for the mistake.   But the Seabord did also have a Boston -  Miami car at one time, which ran Boston, Providence, Trenton, Wilmington Delaware, Richmond, Raleight, and Columbia.   So, is Columbia the SC Capitol, or is it Charleston?

Dave, the pre-WW2 Orange Blossom Special did carry a through Boston - St. Petersburg sleeper but I cna't find a Boston - Miami car lsited. This car would have run through six state capitals, Boston, Povidence,Trenton, Richmond , Raleigh and Columbia. However, neither Raleigh or Columbia were station stops for this train. Except for crew and engine changes it ran non-stop betweeen Petersburg and West Savannah. The Orange Blossom Special did not run between 1942 and the end of the war. I don't have ready access to my OG's for 1946-'54 so I don't know if the Boston - Florida sleeper service was ever resumed after the war.

Mark     

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Friday, September 7, 2012 1:56 PM

The Washington - Shreveport sleeper (the subject of the prior question) of course would be another. The Pelican also carried an Atlanta - Shreveport sleeper at one time but I don't know if this car was ran until 1950 or was discontinued at an earlier time. Meridian was the point at which the SR handed off these cars to the IC.

Mark 

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Friday, September 7, 2012 2:14 PM

Mark, as I recall, there was no Washington-Shreveport car in 1950. You did get the Atlanta-Shreveport car right.

That leaves us with three lines that have one endpoint each correct. Now, who will get the other endpoint for each?

Johnny

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Friday, September 7, 2012 2:22 PM

As an aside, going back to a previous question, it is a quite common error to think that the largest city in a state would be the capital city. Perhaps great things were hoped for when a place was designated the capital

A trick question: How do you pronounce the name of the capital of Kentucky?: Lewisville or Louieville? The answer is, of course, "Frankfort," which did have NYC and Washington-Louisville service.

 

Johnny

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Friday, September 7, 2012 3:16 PM

I believe the sleeper to Williamson actually was a through car from NY carried by the Pelican to Lynchburg Or possibly Roanoke) where it was handed off to the N&W. There was also a Richmond - Bristol sleeper that ran over the ACL between Richmond and Petersburg where it was switched into the N&W's Cavalier for the run to Roanoke and then the Pelican to Bristol.

Mark 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Friday, September 7, 2012 3:23 PM

Deggesty

Mark, as I recall, there was no Washington-Shreveport car in 1950. You did get the Atlanta-Shreveport car right.

Johnny, my June 1954 OG lists a 10 Sec, I DR, 2 Comp sleeper running between Shreveport and Washington which was carried on the Pelican east of Meridian. I have a gap of several years in my OG's so I don't know whether or not this car operated in 1950.

Mark

 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Friday, September 7, 2012 3:46 PM

Deggesty

Mark, as I recall, there was no Washington-Shreveport car in 1950. You did get the Atlanta-Shreveport car right.

Johnny, I believe there was a Shreveport -NY sleeper which may have operated in 1950 and whose route was shortened to end in Washington sometime between 1950 and 1954.

Mark

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Friday, September 7, 2012 4:11 PM

Mark, you have found the missing endpoints--so you are the winner. The ball is now in your court.

The lines were: NYC-Shreveport, NYC-Williamson (interchanged in Roanoke as the Richmond-Bristol car was; for no decent interchange was possible between the N&W and Southern stations in Lynchburg), New York-Shreveport and Atlanta-Shreveport. In later years, the NYC-Shreveport car was shortened to Washington-Shreveport (I also do not remember just what year it was), and the Richmond-Bristol care was shortened to Petersburg-Bristol--and did not last long thereafter. As I recall, it still ran to and from Bristol until after I finished college (in January of 1959). So far as Iknow, the Williamson car ran to and from NYC until it was dropped completely.

There was also an Atlanta-Memphis car (carried by the SLSF west of Birmingham) on the same train (the Sunnyland) between Atlanta and Birmingham as the Atlanta-Shreveport car was carried..

Johnny

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Friday, September 7, 2012 5:16 PM

The name of a certain train was the same as that of a type of agricultural equipment though that was not the origin of the train's name. What was the train, the railroad that operated it, the end points of its route and two of the intermediate cities that it served?

Mark

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Sunday, September 9, 2012 8:40 AM

If you were travelling between the endpoint cities served by this train you more than likely would have taken one of the other trains that ran via a different route rather than this one.

Mark

 

  • Member since
    June 2002
  • 20,096 posts
Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, September 9, 2012 10:26 AM

If I remember correctly, during the time I used them with some frequency, there was an SAL thru Boston Miami car on either the Star or the Meteor.   I didn't use it, because I usually stopped off in New York or Philadelphia on these Florida trips.   You might wish to check on this.  It was only an occasional winter-season car.

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Sunday, September 9, 2012 3:24 PM

Here again, I am relying on my memory, but I think there was a Boston-Miami sleeper on the Orange Blossom Special at least one winter. That does give six capital cities, but this question was answered correctly sevral days ago.

Johnny

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Sunday, September 9, 2012 3:29 PM

Mark, I do not remember the name of the CGW's overningt train between Minneapolis and Omaha--and the North Western's train certainly would have carried far more passengers than the CGW's train. The only wayside station I can recall at the moment is Oelwein (sp?).

Johnny

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Sunday, September 9, 2012 3:56 PM

Johnny, the one I'm looking for was not a CGW train. Actually tickets on this train between its endpoints would be honored on other trains that  also ran between them via a different route.

Mark

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: FEC MP334
  • 961 posts
Posted by ZephyrOverland on Monday, September 10, 2012 3:19 PM

KCSfan

The name of a certain train was the same as that of a type of agricultural equipment though that was not the origin of the train's name. What was the train, the railroad that operated it, the end points of its route and two of the intermediate cities that it served?

Mark

Would this be the IC Planter, running from Memphis to New Orleans via Vicksburg and Baton Rouge?

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • 2,535 posts
Posted by KCSfan on Monday, September 10, 2012 7:27 PM

Bingo we have a winner. Either IC or the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley RR would be acceptable answers for the road that ran the Planter.

The next question is yours ZO.

Mark

  • Member since
    July 2009
  • 574 posts
Posted by FlyingCrow on Monday, September 10, 2012 7:37 PM

Mark...a PLANTER is a Gentleman "Farmer" who employs ...you know.    George Washington was a "Planter".     Even after the War Between the States the term carried on for awhile, slaves no longer in the picture. My Gr Grandfather, an Arkansas Lumberman (and others I know ancestors) were listed as "Planters" in census records from the 1880's on.

Having lived, for awhile, in Tunica, MS right on the "long mile" division of the IC (Y&MV) - route of the Planter -  several of the well to do landholders were STILL called Planters there in the early 1990's.

With that editorial, let's proceed onward.  Confused  Confused

AB Dean Jacksonville,FL

SUBSCRIBER & MEMBER LOGIN

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

FREE NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter