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Classic Train Questions Part Deux (50 Years or Older)

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Saturday, January 13, 2024 10:18 AM

That would be Norfolk & Western.  The five E8's came with Wabash in the merger on October 16, 1964.  Wabash still had three PA1's at the time of the merger but they were scrapped before they could be re-numbered.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by rcdrye on Friday, January 12, 2024 7:05 PM

This railroad, that ended up with five EMD E8s, dieselized its passenger service by borrowing E units until its own passenger units were delivered.

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Posted by daveklepper on Friday, January 12, 2024 7:02 AM

Correct.  Next question, please.

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, January 11, 2024 5:30 AM

The D&RGW's Rio Grande Zephyr, and the briefly operated BN/D&RGW "California Zephyr Service" (1970-1971) match the description.  Collapse of part of Thistle Canyon shortened the route prior to Amtrak's takeover in 1983.  Tri-weekly for both trains.

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, January 11, 2024 12:56 AM

Highest ratio of dome-to-flat-top cars of sny train anywhere.  In fact, no non-dome coaches except preriods of heavier-than-usual patronage.  Nearly all terminal-terminal riders rode for the scenery as opposed to best plain transportation.  The meals were terrific, also.

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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 1:17 AM

In its last week or so of its  operation, the rout was further shortened  due to an act of nature, leaving only one of its two major cities actually served.   But Antrak's train has almost the entire route of the predicessor.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, January 8, 2024 1:20 AM

The Amtrak replacement has the same name as the tran's predicessor.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, January 7, 2024 3:25 AM

This train was born late in the pre-Amtrak streamline era, was  definitely fully a streamliner most days, from cab-unit diesel to round-end observation, carried no sleeper (except possibly on some special occasions), nor any parlor-car defined as such, yet could not be  labeled all-coach, all equipment lightweight, less  than daily service, served top-quality food, operated between two important cities, but only a portion of the roue of its  predicessor, and was replaced  by a daily-service full former route (with minor differences) Amtrak train, still in operation.  One can travel the route on Amtrak on a train that does offer sleeping as well as coach accomodations.

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Posted by rcdrye on Saturday, January 6, 2024 1:41 PM

Saturday night was NYC's and Pullman's low night of the week, and NYC had plenty of Pullman accomodation for anyone needing a berth without running the Century.  For some reason they never took Christmas off, except when it fell on a Saturday.  It probably worked out nicely for the crews, who got to start each week from home on the same day.

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Posted by daveklepper on Saturday, January 6, 2024 11:08 AM

20th Century LImited

Didn't know it had a regular Saturday-night vacation, but it seems plausable.

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Posted by rcdrye on Friday, January 5, 2024 6:01 AM

If I say all-Pullman, does that help?

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, January 4, 2024 10:16 PM

I'd have said Empire State Express, but I didn't know that train had an 'Advance' version.

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Posted by rcdrye on Thursday, January 4, 2024 5:25 PM

Bigger city endpoints. The train often ran in many sections in the heavyweight era, with an "Advance" version as well.

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Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, January 4, 2024 1:51 PM

Two guesses are thye GM&O Rebel and the IC Green Diamond.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 12:23 PM

The one day off a week only applied in the heavyweight era, and with the first set of lightweight equipment.  When the second set was delivered after the war, the train went to daily operation, with the first lightweight set used as a second section when needed.

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Posted by rcdrye on Wednesday, December 27, 2023 12:27 PM

The train I'm looking for went a iot farther, and was more than locally famous.  The Cannonball was x67 in the timetable.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Wednesday, December 27, 2023 12:23 PM

daveklepper

Was  the "Cannin Ball" name official, shown in bthe public timetanle?

 
No, not unike the "South Bend Hotshot" on South Shore.
The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by daveklepper on Wednesday, December 27, 2023 10:58 AM

Was  the "Cannon Ball" name official, shown in the public timetable?

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Wednesday, December 27, 2023 10:36 AM

Chicagoan that I am, I would say that the train in question is CA&E's "Cannonball".

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, December 25, 2023 9:31 AM

This train that ran six days a week for most of its history was known for running in multiple sections, though it is not known to have done so when a particular date did not fall on the normal day off.

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Posted by daveklepper on Monday, December 25, 2023 7:09 AM

WAITing for RC's question here, also.

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 3:48 PM

He's got it.

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Posted by rcdrye on Monday, December 11, 2023 6:55 PM

The Atlantic Limited #8 only lists the Barclay St. Ferry in the February 1960 OG.  All of the others list motor coach connections.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, December 11, 2023 9:48 AM

Look carefully at your timetables from the late Fifties and tell me which of the name trains had a bus in only one direction...

Apparently the 'bus-off' was in April of 1966, just a few months before service on the Northern Branch was ended.

Now answer the other one.

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Posted by rcdrye on Sunday, December 10, 2023 6:14 PM

Even after the Erie moved from its own Jersey City (Pavonia) terminal to DL&W's Hoboken terminal, the Erie continued to offer Motor Coach service to Rockefeller Center and the Hotel New Yorker.  Passengers from the Lake Cites, the Erie Limited and the Atlantic/Pacific Limiteds could take advantage of this service.  I'm not sure how long it survived the E-L merger, but it was gone before 1966.

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, December 10, 2023 12:44 PM

Further north.

And by the time the name train participated in the service, the timetable noted 'trainside connection'.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, December 10, 2023 10:13 AM

But the CNJ also had name trsins, the Blue Comet to Atlantic City, and the Queen of the Valley to Harrisburg.

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, December 10, 2023 9:02 AM

The CNJ shared its terminal with trains of both the Reading  and the B&O  (I'm ceratn btrasin crews of bioth the reading and B&O and the power ran thru ti JC, uncertain iof the engine crews,)  The B&O provided motor  coaches, but the Reading and CNJ did not.  I think the answer you want is the Reading, the name trains are the  Crusader and the Wall Street, and the big change wasv moving the Reading and CNJ trains to PRR Newark Penn Station under thr Aldine plan. 1967?  The B&O stopped ended passenger service north of Baltimore much earlier, but well after WWII.

I think this is what you want, but the H&M-PATH never served the CiofNJ Terminal.  Nearly every commuter and most others used the ferry boatsm some the PSNJ buses.

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, December 8, 2023 10:11 AM

A railroad serving the New York area relied on ferry, tube, and public bus to transfer passengers from its name trains to Manhattan, despite sharing a terminal facility with a railroad offering dedicated 'motor coach' service into Manhattan.  That changed 'late in the game' for passenger service.

What is the railroad, the name train, and the year range involved?

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Posted by rcdrye on Tuesday, December 5, 2023 2:26 PM

The bi-level sets had a service rotation that usually included a couple of Chicago-Milwaukee round trips, in addition to the "400" runs.  Somtime in the early 1960s all of the long-distance bilevel cars were equipped with MU lines in addition to HEP cabling so that commuter cars could be mixed in, though the use of the cars in "push" mode does not seem to have happened very often, if at all.  Amtrak's Beech Grove shops did the cab modifications for the Valpo dummies.

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