Paul,
Light up your stogie and ask the next question, The Chicago Tunnel Company operated from 1906 to 1958 hauling primarily parcels, coal, ashes and building construction excavation material on 60 miles of 2' gauge tracks under the streets of the city. They had a fleet of about 3000 cars and 149 mine style electric locomotives that drew 250v DC current from overhead wires by means of trolley poles. The following site is most informative and full of pictures of the tunnels and rolling stock.
http://users.ameritech.net/chicagotunnel/tunnel1.html
Mark
Bridgeton and Harrison, which abandoned its Bridgeton - Harrison line early but continued operating Harrison - Saco Junction, the latter the connection with Maine Central. I think this was abandoned in 1940. The Monson Railroad may have lasted much longer, but I question if it was truly a common carrier, as my memory says it was owned by its only shipper.
Saw the abandoned roadbed, some ties still in place, between Bridgeton and Harrison when I attended summer camp at Ironwood, on Long Lake, north of Sebago Lake in the Bridgton area, summers 1948 and 1949. Campers were taken by bus from the Portland, ME, RR station. But on one return trip we road parlor on the Yankee Clipper from Boston and had an I-5 4-6-4 up front to New Haven.
Sorry , I should have checked the preceding posts. Of course the Chicago tunnel operated afterward!
I am not certain when the Monson quit. It nmay have outlasted the Chicago Tunnel, quitting at the end of WWII. .
I will say that it's the Chicago Tunnel Company, which quit in 1959.
Not the Edaville either. This railroad was a stand alone operation not a part of a larger company.
You are referring to common carriers, I presume.
Edaville lasted much longer (it wasn't started until later) but it was not a common carrier - though it was part of a commercial operation - Ocean Spray cranberries.
Bob
Sorry, Bob, but this RR remained in operation until quite a later date.
The Bridgton & Harrison Railroad, in Maine. I think it quit in 1941 or '42.
Bob Hanson,Loganville, GA
What was the last 2' gauge railroad to operate commercially in the US? Tourist and amusement park lines exclided.
Here are two more City trains not mentioned:
- City of Decatur - Illinois Terminal - St. Louis-Decatur
- City of Mexico - MP/TP/NdeM - St. Louis-Mexico City
Mark wins! The City of Las Vegas was later known as the Las Vegas Holiday Special. The Nickel Plate Ltd became the City of Cleveland eastbound and the City of Chicago westbound; it did continue to operate Chicago-Buffalo and the route was not truncated. I do not know why Cleveland was honored instead of Buffalo; may have been due to Cleveland serving as NKP's headquarters city. The name change occurred several years before the N&W takeover. The City of Kansas City name migrated to the UP after, first, the N&W discontinued its version, and later, discontinued its end of the City of St. Louis. In the last years before Amtrak N&W cut the Blue Bird back to a Chicago-Decatur run (replacing St. Louis) and called it the City of Decatur. At roughly the same time UP (and partner Milwaukee Road) consolidated all of its Cities into one train between Chicago and North Platte NE; the combined train was known informally as the "City of Everywhere".
http://railroadheritage.org/ImageStorage/Img--00002991.jpg
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/up_clv.jpg
Johnny,
The City of Las Vegas is a new one to me. I never knew the UP had a train with that name. Now that you mention it I do vaguely remember the City of Cleveland. IIRC it was a truncated version of the old Nickle Plate Ltd which formerly ran between Chicago and Buffalo.
Shame on you, Mark. I just looked them up, and you omitted two of the famous--the City of Cleveland, which the NKP ran between Chicago and Cleveland, and City of Las Vegas, which UP ran between LA and Las Vegas (I would have missed both if I had not looked through a 1958 Guide). Incidentally, it was possible to spend all night in the "City of Cleveland" (5 DB lounge car) when riding the City of Cleveland.
Johnny
City of Miami - Chicago-Miami IC/CofG/ACL/FEC
City of New Orleans - Chicago-New Orleans IC
City of Memphis - Nashville-Memphis NC&StL
City of Kansas City - St. Louis-Kansas City WAB
City of St Louis - St, Louis-Los Angeles WAB/UP
City of Los Angeles - Chicago-Los Angeles CNW/UP
City of San Francisco - Chicago-San Francisco CNW/UP/SP
City of Portland - Chiocago-Portland CNW/UP
City of Denver - Chicago-Denver CNW/UP
Addendum: City of Milwaukee 400 - Chicago-Milwaukee CNW
There were a number of passenger trains named "City of....". Name as many as you can, with railroads & routes.
Thanks Mike...I grew up along the DL&W and thus a DL&W fan and an E8 fan. But those PA's certainly had lines and power to turn heads and move trains: Erie, LV, Sante Fe, NYC that I can recall most. Even had a cab ride in the D&H PA's over Belden Hill and through the tunnel! Great machines!
RIDEWITHMEHENRY is the name for our almost monthly day of riding trains and transit in either the NYCity or Philadelphia areas including all commuter lines, Amtrak, subways, light rail and trolleys, bus and ferries when warranted. No fees, just let us know you want to join the ride and pay your fares. Ask to be on our email list or find us on FB as RIDEWITHMEHENRY (all caps) to get descriptions of each outing.
Next question please!
In the 50's my father would have to go into Easton, PA from North Jersey and in the summer my brother and I would tag along...we'd brown bag lunch and go to the LV station and eat while watching the westbound Diamond and the eastbound Leaf...
Pic you posted, Mike, is of the FA's and not the PA's....but both were impresseve and brute looking and actually did yeoman service for the LV.
Adkdivfan, yes your turn. PRR pulled the trains in from Newark after 1917. The Black Diamond was the flagship. The Star and one other train, the Major, also went to Buffalo. Asa Packer founded the railroad, his train went to Wilkes-Barre, as did the John Wilkes, who Wilkes-Barre is partly named for. The Maple Leaf was more or less a Canadian National train. I wish I had a picture of the Black Diamond on Alco power.
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/lv530a.jpg
Mike
Edit: some PA's for Henry
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/images/adaccess/T/T29/T2951/T2951-med.jpeg
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/lv/lv607as.jpg
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/lv612.jpg
http://www.lvrr.com/index.php?album=%2FB-LV%20Diesel%20Engines%2F&image=LV-608_Stripless.jpg&resize=800x800
http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/7/3/0/4730.1166025600.jpg
Asa Packer, John Wilkes, Black Diamond, Maple Leaf, Star
Name 5 trains of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Penn Station in New York.
Bob, I sure don't know if the Alabama Dept. of Archives & History page is more reliable than your source. Perhaps he could have caught the M&O at Meridian. The line from Vicksburg looks about complete (as of June 1861) on the CSA Railroads map. In any case, Davis wrote of waiting for a train in Jackson, which jibes better with northbound unless he stopped there for a purposeful visit and not just to change trains.
http://www.csa-railroads.com/images/Western%20Railroads.pdf
http://www.csa-railroads.com/images/Eastern%20Railroads.pdf
Johnny -
I concede that Mike's source is probably more accurate than mine (see my earlier post.) My source says he rode the M&O to Corinth, MS. The M&O was completed between Mobile and Columbus, KY, just prior to the outbreak of hostilities and was opened as far as Corinth some time before that, so it was an available, if not utilized, route.
Mike's question.
Mike -
My source, Railroads of the Confederacy, by John Stover, says that Davis rode the Mobile & Ohio RR from Mobile to Corinth.
If you have a more reliable source, so be it.
Your question, sir.
Months ago Mark asked, "What railroad is recognized as the first standard gauge road in the deep south and what were its end point terminals?" (West Feliciana RR from Woodville to Bayou Sara). I remember a map of that. Squinting real hard at the words on a peninsula just south of New Carthage, Louisiana, it says "Col. Joe Davis" and "Jefferson Davis" and "hurricane." That was where Brierfield was. Second link is a short biography with info about Brierfield and Beauvoir.
http://www.usgwarchives.org/maps/louisiana/statemap/msrmilbdtobatonrouge1862.jpg
http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/articles/287/jefferson-davis-1808-1889
Photo of Union soldiers at Brierfield
http://www.oldcourthouse.org/APhotographicTour_files/image045.jpg
http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b30000/3b39000/3b39000/3b39000r.jpg
Bob, even though I knew that Beauvoir came into Jefferson Davis' possession after the War, I did not think of it until Mike posted his comment. Still, it was not easy to get from Warren county, Mississippi, to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1861. Today, you just get on I-20, whiz over to Alabama, and then take US 80 into Montgomery. I'm not up on what railroads were extant then--but even in our time, there was no direct passenger service from Meridian to Montgomery, and the bridge road, Meridian and Bigbee River has come upon hard times. But, you have the right idea: what route did the only President of the Confederacy travel to get to his inauguration?
Bob, Jefferson Davis says in his book, The Rise And Fall of the Confederate Government, that his home in 1861 was Brierfield in Warren County. The location was known as Davis Bend, I guess about 20 miles south of Vicksburg. At some point around 1867, the Mississippi changed course, causing Davis Bend on the Mississippi side of the river to become Davis Island on the Louisiana side, but it remains in the state of Mississippi. The Brierfield house burned down in 1931 and the island is now wild for hunting deer.
You've got the idea - the route was highly circuituous.
Close, but no cigar.
Remember, Biloxi is on the Mississippi Gulf coast. He did travel by horse (or carriage) for the first leg of his journey.
It seems Jefferson Davis "rowed to the middle of the Mississippi River, flagged a steamboat and rode it to Vicksburg." Then his journey evidently continued something like this:
Southern RR of Mississippi, Vicksburg to Jackson
Mississippi Central RR, Jackson to Grand Junction, Tenn.
Memphis & Charleston RR, Grand Junction to Chattanooga
Western & Atlantic RR, Chattanooga to Atlanta
Atlanta & West Point RR, Atlanta to West Point
Montgomery & West Point RR, West Point to Montgomery
http://www.alabamamoments.alabama.gov/sec14det.html
How he got to the river I do not know. Probably horse power.
It was said - I suppose in jest - at the time that the Pennsy was chosen because of its red (Tuscan) cars.
In a similar vain, here's another routing question:
What route did Jefferson Davis take from his home in Biloxi, MS, to his inauguration as President of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, AL, in 1861. (Hint - it wasn't as easy as it might sound, and he did travel by train, at least 95% of the time.)
Bob Hanson, Loganville, GA
Bob, yes your turn. Washington to New York and Los Angeles to San Francisco.
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