A Classic REAL Trains 'n Traction FOTO site!

[siberianmo]

ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!

PASSENGER RR FALLEN FLAG #21

Here’s another Fallen Flag for the gang from Classic American Railroads:

Soo Line

Headquarters: Minneapolis, MN

Mileage:

1954: 3,159
1961 (before 1985 acquisition of Milwaukee Road): 4,719

Locomotives in 1954:

Steam: 47
Diesel: 76

Rolling stock in 1954:

Freight cars: 8,035
Passenger cars: 128

Principal routes (w/Wisconsin Central) in 1954:

Chicago-Minneapolis/St. Paul
Minneapolis-Portal, ND
Minneapolis-Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Dresser, WI-Duluth, MN
Owen, WI-Duluth, MN
Glenwood-Noyes, MN

Passenger trains of note:

Atlantic Limited (Minneapolis-Boston, with CP and B&M east of Sault Ste. Marie)
Copper Country Limited (Chicago-Calumet, MI with CMStP&P Chicago-Champion, MI, thence DSS&A/Soo to Calumet)
Duluth-Superior Limited (Minneapolis-Duluth)
Laker (Chicago-Duluth & Minneapolis &Ashland, WI; rerouted to Superior, WI from Duluth in 1961)
Mountaineer (St. Paul-Vancouver, BC, with CP from Portal to Vancouver)
Soo Dominion (St. Paul-Vancouver with CP from Portal to Vancouver)
Winnipeger (St. Paul-Winnipeg, MB, with CP from Noyes to Winnipeg)


Enjoy! [tup]

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]


ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!

[passengerfan]

Good Morning Tom, Can't help with todays theme as the Soo never owned any Streamlined Passenger cars. But will see what else I might be able to find.

[LoveDomes]

G'day Cap'n Tom and [bday] to YOU!

Just have a couple of minutes and noticed that "your other Thread' is as quiet as a Church Mouse - even Al didn't notice it is your "day!"

See ya over at the bar for tonight's "Bash"! [tup] Have a good one!!

Until the next time! [tup]

Lars

[pwolfe]

Hi Folks

[bday] TOM

A couple of pics of British Electric Multiple Units taken at the National Railway Museum In York.



An ex LMS "Oerliken" 3rd rail motor car. these were used on the line from London Euston to Watford.



A Southern Railway 3rd rail driving car. these units were used on the London Waterloo to Portsmouth line following that lines electrification in the 1930s.
Click to enlarge.
Pete.

[LoveDomes]

Hi Cap'n Tom

I see Pete's been in with some Brit trains . . . check this out . . .



British: 6998 GWR modified Hall Class "Burton Agnes Hall"
(GNU Free Documentation)


[bday] See ya at the bar at 7 PM Central Time!!

Until the next time! [tup]


Lars

[trolleyboy]

Gday gents. first off a [bday] greeting for you Tom. I will "see" you at the bar tonight as well, might even be able to Heather to pop in. Neat museum shots Pete, looks as though the cars could run right back out onto the line and earn their keep !Nice to see those Streamlined observation cars, they looked better in the MILW paint job than the later CN black and grey [sigh] I thinkj several of them are still in or around Buffalo, thye were the last time I was there at any rate. Not looking quite so pristine though [sigh]

Art Thanks for the added info. At least they though to consult with someone who sounds as though understands the how and the why of streetcar operations. One wonders if they talked to officials from Boston, Toronto or San Fran, on the whole operational end of things.You never jnow they still mught see the light ( don't hold your breath but maybe )

Rob

[passengerfan]

Sorry Tom I did overlook your birthday on the earlier post. It was 5:30 AM my time and that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Congats Tom Happy Birthday and may you have many more/

Sorry I have to miss the Bday bash on the other forum today but Civic duty calls. I will be out all evening fighting with city politicians and other civic nimcompoops at a special meeting.

Anyway i promised something for this forum today and it follows.

STREAMLINED OBSERVATIONS
OF THE
UNITED STATES
&
CANADA

By Al


Introduction

With the dawn of the streamline era in North America came the birth of the streamlined observation, a car type that was to grace the rear of most of the finest streamliners in the land. With few exceptions every major named streamlined train in North America featured a streamlined observation bringing up the markers.
The streamlined Observations were those cars that were designed for end of train operation giving a streamlined appearance in most cases to the end of the streamliner. They came in Blind end with no windows to view to the rear. Blunt or squared off end that came with windows and a center door with window as well, and also those with only a small emergency door in the rear with window such as Southern Pacific postwar. Many of the blunt end Observations were fitted with a diaphragm to enable them to be used mid-train if necessary. Many of the Observations had swallow-tailed or rounded ends; these were the most pleasing to the eye.
And in the case of the Milwaukee Road who built the majority of their streamlined Observations they were unique to that road the prewar Beavertails and postwar Skytop Observations.
Prior to the streamline era heavyweight observations came in three basic types Open Platform, Solarium end Observations and Western railroads such as the CNR, CPR, CMSTP&P, D&RGW, NP and SP offered the Mountain Observation.
This latter type the Mountain Observation resembled nothing more than a conventional heavyweight car with the area from the windows up cut away, an awning like covering supported by lightweight stanchions. Other Mountain Observations resembled a coach in the center section complete with windows and extended length Open Platforms at either end of this center section. In the case of the Canadian Pacific they installed panes of glass in the roof of the enclosed center section. Most of these Mountain Observations were older cars cut down for this purpose. The Mountain Observations as the name implies were used in the mountainous regions of these roads for daylight operation in the summer months only. Passengers were able to enjoy the magnificent mountain scenery that these cars provided up close and personal. The Milwaukee Road was still operating Mountain Observations through their Electrified territories in daylight hours as recently as the summer of 1952 in the secondary COLUMBIAN trains that operated between Seattle - Tacoma and Chicago. The two major Canadian Roads the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific were both operating Mountain Observations as late as 1954 on their transcontinental trains in the mountains of Alberta and British Columbia.
The heavyweight Solarium Observations were popular with railroads operating in colder climates and were assigned to trains on a year round basis. The rear quarter of the Solarium Observations was known as the sunroom. The two most popular types had either two large windows or three large windows down each side at the sunroom end. Those Solariums with six seats in the sunrooms were those cars with two large windows on each side at the rear of the car. While those with three large windows on each side at the rear denoted those cars with seating for eight in the sunroom or solarium end. Most Solarium Observations were fitted with a diaphragm at the sunroom end as well. The rear of these cars resembled a regular passenger car except for the fact they had a door in the center with a large glass pane and a large window on either side of this door for passengers in the sunroom to see to the rear.
The heavyweight Open Platform Observation as the name implies provided an Open Platform for passengers to enjoy the passing scenery from. Some of these platforms were not meant for passengers to enjoy in the case of one railroad whose Open Platforms measured but 14 inches. Many of the Open Platforms were five or six feet and several extended for eight or even ten feet being recessed into the car sides. Some heavyweight Open Platform Observations featured an upright post in each outside corner attached to the corners of the open platforms to help support the car roof overhang. These types of Open Platform Observations quickly earned the nickname Four Posters for their resemblance to Canopy beds.
Heavyweight Open Platform Observations generally featured a lighted round tail sign with the train's name centered on the brass railing that surrounded the open platform. The open Platforms were equipped with brass gates in the railing to permit one to descend to the ground or a center gate in the rear that permitted access to a trailing car. It was on this center gate that the lighted tail sign was most often mounted.
The CB&Q carried two lighted square tail signs on either side of the Open Platforms center gate hung from the Brass railing. New York Central preferred square tail signs hung from the brass railing of many of their finest trains, in the case of their SOUTHWEST LIMITED they hung oval tail signs from the brass railing.
Rival PRR preferred tail-signs in the shape of their Keystone herald.
While heavyweight Solarium Observations generally featured two lighted tail signs one under each rear facing window one proclaiming the operating Railroad the other the train name (CB&Q). Of course there would be exceptions to those placements, for instance the DL&W LACKAWANNA LIMITED carried the trains lighted drumhead sign hanging from the Solarium Observations safety gate.
Two cars built with minuscule Open Platforms later had diaphragms installed with the brass railing remaining intact on either side of this addition, these two cars were the COMMANDER - IN - CHIEF and AMERICAN REVOLUTION bringing up the markers of the C&O GEORGE WASHINGTONS.
Another feature found on many of the heavyweight Open Platform Observations was the overhanging awning or sunshade attached to the Open Platform overhanging roof. This was generally made of Canvas and painted; the reason for painting the canvas was to stiffen it to prevent flapping in the wind and painted the canvas was much easier to keep clean. Even when painted they were generally replaced about twice a year. Awnings of the longer varieties were usually given wooden stiffeners on the pull up type and steel stiffeners on the fixed type to hold them in place against the wind.
In the case of Canadian Pacific, Missouri Pacific, Northern Pacific, Union Pacific and Wabash some of there large heavyweight Open Platform Observations featured an enormous round dome light for the enjoyment of passengers on warm summer evenings.
Milwaukee Road heavyweight Open Platform Observations assigned to that roads OLYMPIAN featured a roof-mounted spotlight that was operated from the open platform, as did those heavyweight Observations operated on the Northern Pacific NORTH COAST LIMITED at one time. Great Northern featured similar spotlights on the roofs of their heavyweight Solarium Observations operated on the rear of the EMPIRE BUILDER.
Most railroads heavyweight Open Platform Observations had a center door permitting passenger to go from the inside of the car to the Open Platform with windows of equal size on either side of this center door. The Great Northern, Louisiana & Arkansas, Maine Central, Northern Pacific and Southern Pacific had an access door mounted on the right side when viewed from the cars interior and a very large picture window occupied the left side next to the door.
At least one railroad the Missouri Pacific experimented with a dust catcher to prevent passengers enjoying the Open Platform from being covered by dust. The MP attached a square frame the width of the platform with the opening covered with canvas mounted to either side of the coupler poling pockets. Two poles were attached to the top of the brass railing and extended out from the rear to the far side of this frame covered in canvas approximately six feet. The devise took two men less than five minutes to install or remove. No record exists as to whether it was successful or not. Dust and cinders were things one had to contend with when riding the open platforms. When operating at slower speeds in the mountains or terminal trackage riding the open platforms was a pleasant experience, but few passengers except young railfan braved the open platforms at most other times. I know of only one young railfan foolish enough to brave riding the open platform between Seattle and Spokane in February 1958 on the CASCADIAN when a heavyweight Open Platform was substituting for the train's regular car. After completion of that eastward trip he wondered if warmth and feelings would ever return to his numbed body.
Interiors of heavyweight Observations came in a wide variety ranging from Coach, Dining, Parlor, Lounge and Sleeper, also combinations of the previously mentioned types. Some of these cars also were equipped with Barber Shops, Buffets, Showers, Card Rooms, Libraries, Soda Fountains and Valet facilities.
The heavyweight Observations featured Clerestory, Rounded, flat, and even the Harriman style roofs.
Heavyweight Observations were carried on the rear of not only railroads premier passenger trains, but also most secondary trains and even many local trains. Many of these latter trains carried a Dining - Coach Observation or Coach Dining Lounge Observation.
Many of the heavyweight Solarium Observations were equipped with Diaphragms on the rear as were a few of the Open Platform Observations. The latter with diaphragms looked quite ghastly. With few exceptions the railroads during the heavyweight era realized that Observations belonged on the rear with no cars after them. Besides the railroad needed someplace to hang there lighted drumhead signs from so the world would know what train was passing and what railroad owned that train.
With the coming of the streamliners came an infinite variety of lightweight streamlined Observations. Lightweight Streamlined Observations came in Blind end, Square end or blunt end, round end, Swallow Tail or Taper end, Sloping or Beavertail end and Open Platform ends.
Interiors of lightweight streamlined Observations were configured in Coach, Coach Lounge, Coach Parlor Lounge, Coach Buffet Lounge, Sleeper, Sleeper Lounge, Sleeper Buffet Lounge, Parlor Lounge, Tavern Bar Lounge, Tavern Bar Buffet Lounge, Dining Lounge, Dining Parlor Lounge, Dormitory Sleeper Buffet Lounge, Dome Sleeper Buffet Lounge, Dome Sleeper, Dome Parlor Lounge, Dome Coach Lounge, and yes even one conversion to a Coach - Baggage configuration.
The four major North American Car manufacturers and one foreign Car manufacturer constructed lightweight Streamlined Observations. The Pullman Standard Company constructed the greatest number of lightweight streamlined Observations over 170 between the 1930’s and mid 1950’s. The Budd Company of Philadelphia came in second with over 140 including the final two built in 1956 for the CB&Q DENVER ZEPHYRS. American Car & Foundry produced 44 for U.S. Railroads. St. Louis Car Company built 7 in total for two different Electric Interurban Railroads. Swiss Manufacturer Schindler constructed three for the National De Mexico for the AZTEC EAGLE train sets.
Even though Pullman Standard may have constructed the greatest number of lightweight streamlined Observations rival Budd produced the greatest variety.
Twelve Railroads either built there own lightweight streamlined Observations or rebuilt and streamlined heavyweight cars to streamlined Observations. Those railroads were the following:

Baltimore & Ohio

Canadian National

Canadian Pacific

Chicago Indianapolis & Louisville

Chicago Great Western

Great Northern

Gulf Mobile & Ohio

Illinois Central

Milwaukee Road

Missouri - Kansas - Texas

New York Central

Pennsylvania

Some of the those roads did the streamlining themselves while others like the B&O in some instances and the GM&O had Pullman streamline heavyweight cars to streamlined Observations.
Pullman converted many lightweight streamlined Observations to straight coaches as their usefulness as Observations waned due to the increased costs of switching etc.
Before the ru***oward streamlining occurred in the mid-1930s there were two notable early examples that are worth mentioning.
The first of these occurred on the B&O in 1900 when the experimental Adam's Windsplitter was rebuilt from conventional cars of the day into a true streamlined six-car train. Mr. Frederick Upham Adams design for the train included streamlining a locomotive as well something the B&O refused to do. The tender did receive streamlining to match the cars. After about a year of testing in the Baltimore - Washington area the cars were stripped of they're streamlining and returned to regular service. Most streamlined trains that followed thirty and forty years later recognized the contributions to streamlining the Adam's Windsplitter ushered in. This train introduced flush mounted windows with the car sides, full width diaphragms, and flat sheet metal sides. The cars also featured skirting that enclosed the trucks; this last item quickly lost favor with the railroads in the 1930's due to the need for truck maintenance and daily inspections. The last car in the Adam's Windsplitter was an Observation that the rear of tapered to almost a point. There was a narrow door at the very end for emergency exit otherwise it would have come to a point. The Observation of the Adam's Windsplitter was numbered 435.
The second of these early streamlined Observations is credited to the Chicago Great Western for the conversion work done to three McKeen motorcars in 1928 at that roads Oelwein, Iowa shops. Two of the motorcars lost their engines and power trucks in the conversion becoming trailers. The third unit became Electro-Motives first motorcar conversion to a Gasoline Electric complete with 30' Railway Post Office Compartment and Baggage Compartment. The Power unit was assigned the number 1000 and the two trailing cars were 1001 and 1002. The 1002 is the car we are concerned with here. The 1002 emerged from rebuilding with a nicely rounded rear with an emergency door in the center. All of the former round windows the car had been built with were removed, replaced by square windows. Except for the detracting roof mounted ventilators and lack of skirting the car was otherwise quite streamlined.
When one entered car 1002 from car 1001 one would find a small kitchen on your left and Pantry with car heater on the right. Next was a small dining area with one table and four chairs on either side of the center aisle. To the rear of this dining area was a twenty-seat Coach section ten seats either side of the center aisle in five pairs. The first pair of seats on either side of the aisle faced rearward all others faced forward. These seats were not as spartan as those found in car 1001 so by today's airline standards they would be considered business class. Next was a pair of restrooms followed by the cars center entrance doors. Behind the cars center entrance doors was four Pullman sections two on either side of the center aisle. The BLUE BIRD was a day schedule the Pullman sections were for passengers going to and from the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester. In the rounded Observation end was located thirteen Wicker chairs for the Parlor car patrons of the BLUE BIRD. The entire train was painted in Royal Blue with gold leaf lettering and trim. The BLUE BIRD was inaugurated on a daily round trip between Minneapolis and Rochester beginning January 13, 1929. This early forerunner of streamlined trains that followed fell on hard times with the coming of the great depression. The train was discontinued in 1931.
Texas & Pacific should receive the recognition they are due for the first streamlined stainless steel Observation delivered by Budd in 1933 numbered 150. The train was named the SILVER SLIPPER and the car 150 was the only racially divided Observation ever built in the United States. There were two compartments with seating for 32 each having separate restrooms. The white section was located in the observation end and also provided a twelve seat smoking section. The two-car train was a miserable failure and was soon returned to Budd where it was eventually scrapped. Observation 150 was delivered in 1933 placing it ahead of both the UP M-10000 and CB&Q ZEPHYR 9900 both delivered in 1934. But unlike either of the 1934 trains the 150 was not articulated to the rest of it’s consist.
The next two streamlined Observations to appear brought up the markers of two trains that are generally recognized as America's first truly successful streamlined trains. Both the UP M-10000 later named the CITY OF SALINA and the CB&Q 9900 ZEPHYR later named the PIONEER ZEPHYR were each three car articulated train sets. The last of the three cars in the UP train ended in a Bullet shape with no windows for viewing to the rear so it was referred to as a blind end observation. The Burlington's 9900 ZEPHYRS third car was numbered 570 and featured a swallowtail or tapered end. This car featured windows for viewing to the rear. From these two early streamlined trains would come a building boom, in streamlined passenger trains by railroads from one end of North America to the other and nearly any streamlined train that rated a name required a streamlined Observation for the markers end.
The Tapered or Swallow tailed streamlined Observation soon became the most popular type followed closely by the rounded end Observation. American Car & Foundry, Budd Company, Pullman Standard and St. Louis Car Company offered both the swallowtail and round end Observations.
The seven streamlined Observations built by St. Louis car were for two different Electric Interurban roads The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee and the Illinois Terminal. Those for the North Shore as it was more popularly known were for two double ended four car articulated trains named the ELECTROLINERS built to operate between Chicago and Milwaukee. They used both third rail and overhead trolley pick-up for power on their daily dashes between Chicago's famed Loop and downtown Milwaukee. The North Shore ELECTROLINERS were bi-directional so turning was unnecessary at terminals. The cab end served as an observation when going in the opposite direction.
Those built for the Illinois Terminal were non-articulated and picked up power from trolley poles. The three Observations built for the Illinois Terminal were Parlor Observations.
The railroads that owned the greatest numbers of streamlined Observations were the Pennsylvania, New York Central, Milwaukee Road, Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, Santa Fe and Burlington.
Those with but a single example of streamlined Observations were the Central Of Georgia, Texas & Pacific and Western Railway of Alabama although some would argue the single example for the latter road was for use in the Southern Railways CRESCENT.
Several railroads owned no lightweight streamlined Observations at all they included Central Railroad of New Jersey, Clinchfield, Delaware & Hudson, Erie, Minneapolis & St. Louis, New York Ontario & Western, Nickel Plate Road, Northern Alberta, Ontario Northland, Pacific Great Eastern, Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac, Rutland, Soo Line, and Spokane Portland & Seattle. All of the above had owned heavyweight Observations.
The railroad with the greatest number of railroad built or remodeled Observations was the Pennsylvania with sixteen all remodeled or built by the roads famous Altoona, Penn. Shops.
Without a doubt honors for the most interesting streamlined Observations would go to the Milwaukee Road for their Beavertail and Skytop Lounge Observations.
Canadian Nationals only lightweight streamlined Observations purchased new were the only Open Platform cars of this type purchased that were not for Business car use. These two cars BURRARD and BEDFORD featured 7 Compartments Kitchen Lounge and the Open Platform. The cars were assigned to Bankers Specials and other charter work for most of their CN service. The only regular assignment for the cars was in the AFTERNOON RAPIDOS where they served as Executive Club Cars between Montreal and Toronto.
The Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, Chicago Burlington & Quincy, National De Mexico, New York Central, Pennsylvania, Southern Pacific and Union Pacific both owned Stainless Steel and Painted Observations.
The Southern Pacific must hold the record for streamlined Observations in different paint schemes. They had DAYLIGHT Red & Orange, two tone Gray scheme of the CASCADE - LARK - SAN FRANCISCO OVERLAND, Red & Silver of the GOLDEN STATE, Yellow and Gray of the CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO, and the Stainless steel with red band above the windows of the SUNSET LIMITED. The Union Pacific's lone corrugated stainless steel Observation was from the GM TRAIN OF TOMORROW. They simply painted the car streamliner colors before assigning it to their Portland - Seattle pool train.
Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe owned only stainless steel Observations they purchased from American Car & Foundry, Budd Company and Pullman Standard.
Budd Company favorite customer Burlington owned Observations from American Car & Foundry and Pullman Standard for service in the GN EMPIRE BUILDER, WESTERN STAR and NP NORTH COAST LIMITED.
By far the honor for the strangest Observation conversion must go to the Rock Island who converted Coach Parlor Lounge Observation 455 MISSOURI into a Coach Baggage car with the Observation end serving as the Baggage end. This car was assigned to the remnant of the former CHOCTAW ROCKET. A Baggage Door was installed in each side just head of the rounded Observation end. The windows around the Observation end remained in place. But only if you were a Baggage Man or pet traveling in a cage would you enjoy the view from the rear of this Observation.
As beautiful as the lightweight streamlined Observations were gracing the rear of the finest passenger trains in the land, the truth was they required extra switching to always keep them in their place on the rear of the trains. This was true for those trains that picked up and set out cars enroute. The lightweight streamlined Observations with the blunt end could be used in mid-train operation if necessary. This was the case with ACL and SAL in their Florida Streamliners that carried two Observations in each consist one mid-train the other on the rear. The Great Northern WESTERN STAR is the only train that carried a beautiful high windowed swallow tailed Observation mid-train. This was after the GN combined the FAST MAIL and WESTERN STAR between St. Paul and Seattle. Working Mail cars were trainlined behind the power followed by the trains Baggage Car, Coaches, Diner, Sleeping Cars and MOUNTAIN suffix Lounge Observation. To the rear of the Observation storage mail cars were trainlined. The reason for this odd arrangement was quite simply the length of the train. If any other order of cars would have been tried it would have required time consuming double station stops. Some of the storage mail cars were set out in route and not having to disconnect the power made for a shorter delay in getting underway again.
Many streamlined Observations lost their distinguishing features altogether and were rebuilt to straight coaches etc. such as some of those for the Great Northern, Santa Fe and Southern Pacific. The Southern Pacific rebuilt at least two lightweight streamlined Observations into their famous 3/4 length Dome Lounge Cars losing the observation ends in the rebuilding.
Many other roads simply chose to sell off their lightweight streamlined Observations, as they were no longer needed. The NdeM was the largest buyer of used lightweight streamlined Observations.
The New York Central second largest purchaser of lightweight streamlined Observations owned none by the time of the merger with the PRR and NYNH&H in 1968 that created the Penn Central.
It was quite surprising to railroad historians when Amtrak purchased a total of 47 of these Observations.
For the scope of this book we will not cover the lightweight experimental Talgo, Aerotrain, Turbo etc. as they deserve to be covered on there own.
The following listing is of major lightweight passenger trains that were never assigned streamlined Observations.

AT&SF

HI-LEVEL EL CAPITANS

KANSAS CITY CHIEF

SAN FRANCISCO CHIEFS

TEXAS CHIEFS

CNR

SUPER CONTINENTALS

PANORAMAS

CAVALIERS

TEMPOS

CPR

ATLANTIC LIMITED

VIPER

C of G

NANCY HANKS II

C&EI

MEADOWLARK

CB&Q

AMERICAN ROYAL ZEPHYR

BLACKHAWK

CMSTP&P

CHIPPEWA HIAWATHA

PIONEER

D&RGW

PROSPECTOR
(Postwar)


GN

WINNIPEG LIMITED

L&N

GEORGIAN

GULF WIND

HUMMINGBIRD

MP

COLORADO EAGLE

LOUISIANA EAGLE

TEXAS EAGLE 1-2

TEXAS EAGLE 21 - 22

VALLEY EAGLE

NYC

DETROITER

WOLVERINE


NP

MAINSTREETER

PRR

KEYSTONE

UP

BUTTE SPECIAL

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

The following list covers named streamlined trains that operated with streamlined Observations but were never heavyweight trains prior to the streamline era.

ALTON

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

ANN RUTLEDGE

AT&SF

CHICAGOAN

EL CAPITAN

GOLDEN GATE

KANSAS CITYAN

SAN DIEGAN

TULSAN

ACL

EAST COAST CHAMPION

WEST COAST CHAMPION

B&O

CINCINNATIAN

COLUMBIAN

ROYAL BLUE

CofG

MAN O' WAR

CNR

AFTERNOON RAPIDO

CHAMPLAIN

CPR

CANADIAN

C&O

PERE MARQUETTES

C&EI

WHIPPOORWILL

CB&Q

AK-SAR-BEN ZEPHYR

CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR

DENVER ZEPHYR

GENERAL PERSHING ZEPHYR

KANSAS CITY ZEPHYR

MARK TWAIN ZEPHYR

NEBRASKA ZEPHYR

PIONEER ZEPHYR

SAM HOUSTON ZEPHYR

SILVER STREAK ZEPHYR

TWIN ZEPHYR

ZEPHYR-ROCKET

CMSTP&P

AFTERNOON HIAWATHA

MIDWEST HIAWATHA

MORNING HIAWATHA

CRI&P

CHOCTAW ROCKET

DENVER ROCKET

DES MOINES ROCKET

KANSAS CITY -
MINNEAPOLIS
ROCKET

PEORIA ROCKET

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ROCKET

TEXAS ROCKET

TWIN STAR ROCKET


C&S/FW&D

TEXAS ZEPHYR

GN

RED RIVER

GM&O/GM&N

GULF COAST REBEL

REBEL

IC

CITY OF MIAMI

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

GREEN DIAMOND

KCS

SOUTHERN BELLE

NC&STL

CITY OF MEMPHIS

NdeM

AZTEC EAGLE

NYC

EMPIRE STATE EXPRESS

JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

MERCURY


PRR

SOUTHWIND

READING

CRUSADER

SAL

SILVER COMET

SILVER METEOR

SILVER STAR

SOU

SOUTHERNER

TENNESSEAN

SP

MORNING DAYLIGHT

NOON DAYLIGHT

SAN JOAQUIN DAYLIGHT

SHASTA DAYLIGHT

T&NO

HUSTLER

SUNBEAM

UP

CHALLENGER

CITY OF DENVER

CITY OF LOS ANGELES

CITY OF PORTLAND

CITY OF SALINA

CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO

There are probably many trains in the above listing I have overlooked or been unable to find.
Many of the streamlined trains mentioned above originally pulled by steam so either oil smoke or cinders dusted the tops of many of the streamlined trains including the following:

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

ARIZONA LIMITED

BROADWAY LIMITED

CHIEF

CITY OF MEMPHIS

COMMODORE VANDERBILT

CRUSADER

DAYLIGHT

FIREFLY

GENERAL

JEFFERSONIAN

LARK

LIBERTY LIMITED

OVERLAND LIMITED

RED BIRD

SAN JOAQUIN DAYLIGHT

SOUTH WIND

SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS

TEXAS SPECIAL

TRAILBLAZER

TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED

TTFN Al

[siberianmo]

posted First at the bar
Significant events in Canadian RR History during the month of April.


Caveat: Much of the information appearing was gathered from internet sources, with credit to “Colin Churcher’s Railway Pages” at http://www.railways.incanada.net/


*April 26th, 1875: The first scheduled train makes its inaugural run from Charlottetown to Georgetown on the Prince Edward Island Railway.


*April 1885: Second Northwest (Riel) Rebellion. Van Horne moves troops to the west through northern Ontario entirely over Canadian soil. This efficient military movement demonstrated the advantages to Canada of a completed transcontinental railway and prompted the government to grant temporary aid to the CP to enable completion of the line.


*April 7th, 1914: Grand Trunk Pacific Railway main line is completed between Winnipeg, Melville, Edmonton, Jasper and Prince Rupert. The last spike was driven at a location 93 miles west of Prince George, BC.


*April 2nd, 1933: CN & CP pool certain passenger services as a result of the Canadian National Canadian Pacific Act, 1933.


*April 21st, 1933: London, Midland and Scottish Railway (UK) 4-6-0 steam locomotive Royal Scot arrives in Montreal with eight passenger cars en route to the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago.


*April 1st, 1949: Newfoundland becomes the tenth province of Canada and the Newfoundland Railway becomes part of the Canadian National system. This narrow gauge system had been operated by the island government since 1923.


*April 1953: Canadian National inaugurates its Museum Train with three steam locomotives and six cars.


*April 25th, 1955: Canadian Pacific inaugurates its new stainless steel, scenic-domed transcontinental passenger train "The Canadian" between Montreal/Toronto and Vancouver.


* April 25th, 1960: Locomotive number 6043 makes the last scheduled run of a steam locomotive on Canadian National on train 76 between The Pas and Winnipeg.


* April 21st, 1970: Canadian Pacific unveils Canada's first double-deck passenger train comprising nine air-conditioned cars built by Canadian Vickers Limited at a cost of $2.8 million. The cars went into operation April 27 on the Montreal Lakeshore suburban service.


* April 30th, 1970: The first CP coal unit train, with 88 cars and carrying more than 9,000 tons of coking coal destined to Japan, arrives at Roberts Bank superport after a 700-mile run from Sparwood, B.C.


* April 1st, 1972: Pacific Great Eastern Railway makes a name change to British Columbia Railway.


* April 22nd, 1976: The turbo train achieves the Canadian rail speed record of 140.6 mph.


* April 18th, 1977: The Hall Commission Report on Grain Handling and Transportation is published. This recommends limited branch line abandonment on the prairies.


* April 30th, 1985: CN and CP take over the Canada Southern (Michigan Central/New York Central/Penn Central/Conrail) line through southern Ontario.


* April 13th, 1992: The Goderich Exeter Railway begins operations over the former CN line between Stratford Junction and Goderich and from Clinton Junction to Centralia in Ontario.


* April 1st, 1996: Last train travels the full distance of the former Canada Southern route between Detroit and Buffalo.


Enjoy! [tup]

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

Did you miss the previous three “Significant events in Canadian RR History”[?] Click the URL:

(1) January, page 215:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=215&TOPIC_ID=35270

(2) February, page 243:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=243&TOPIC_ID=35270

(3) March, page 271:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=271&TOPIC_ID=35270



waving flags credit to:www.3DFlags.com

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Not much going on 'round here, so I'll be dropping off some VIA RaIl Pix throughout the day . . . .


Courtesy: www.viarail.ca


Later! [tup]

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

VIA Rail is my favorite passenger experience in modern times. Have traveled across Canada four times (two round trips) and dozens of trips to and from the Maritimes (Halifax) from Montreal. Corridor trains too from Toronto & Montreal to hither 'n yon . . . just love it!

Check this out . . . .

Courtesy: www.viarail.ca


Later! [tup]


Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[artpeterson]

Hi Rob -

Going back to your post of 1640 yesterday, some TTC folks were brought in late in the game to look things over on the Circulator.

There were a couple of strange things that happened related to the yard and shop facility for the Circulator. In looking at one design submittal, they had included drawings for a sanding facility. Darned if they didn't have sanding towers and all the appurtenances, just like a mainline railroad would have used! My review comment on that drawing was "Just how much sand do you think a streetcar uses? We are not servicing SD40-2s that just came off of Kicking Horse Pass!"

As I mentioned the other day, the shop was to go on the site of the Soo Freight Terminal in Chicago. As big a facility as that was, it was still constrained when you tried to fit in all the shop facilities, storage tracks, offices/central control, MOW, etc. One casualty was that they couldn't fit a test track on the site. The proposal was to designate one of the non-revenue lead tracks north along Clinton Street as the test track. However, it had cross-streets, driveways, etc. to contend with. Not exactly the place you want to road-test a car that's been reported for bad brakes, eh??

Changing gears completely, I wanted to ask you about PGE's use of ex-IPS and ex-OE sleepers. From other sources, I know that PGE bought these cars in 1937 and 1925, respectively. Do you happen to know when they quit using them in passenger service? I know that the ex-IPS 167 (PGE name "Clinton") is preserved in Squamish, and that is was sold by PGE in 1965, but I don't know if that's the year the car was taken out of service, or if that had been done earlier. In the case of the ex-OE sleepers, I have no idea as to when they were withdrawn. I have one undated slide of PGE "Quesnel" (ex-OE "Santiam") in service, but that's it. Appreciate whatever you may know about these cars.

[siberianmo]

G'day!

I normally shy away from "one way conversations" - over at the bar, we're an inclusive bunch - so let me continue with the VIA Rail Pix!

VIA Rail's Kootenay Park -
Courtesy: www. trainweb.org


Later! [tup]

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Okay - one more time! [swg]

Courtesy: www.viarail.ca



Later! [tup]

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[trolleyboy]

Hello Guys,

First off Tom good to see the VIA shots again loved em ! And Al what can I say wow [bow] kinda knocks our socks off all that passenger car and train info [tup]

Art, I can't say that I have a whole lot of info on those cars. The early 60's as discontinuance of their use seems to be about right. I have a few books on the PGE / BCR so I'll take a peak and see if they have maybe a more concrete date for you.

Not having a proper test area would not have been a good thing for any sort of streetcar system.Too bad though in essence the circulater sounded like a good idea ( at least on paper ) Nice to hear that they brought in a few industry types for the consultation phase.

Have you heard if the new (old) refurbished lines in Philly got up and running. last I heard they were set to reinstate service on two linmes they had closed down in the early 90's. Service with refurbished PCC's to boot.

Rob

[siberianmo]

ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!

PASSENGER RR FALLEN FLAG #22

Here’s another Passenger RR Fallen Flag from Classic American Railroads:

Norfolk & Western (N&W)

Headquarters: Roanoke, VA

Mileage: 1950: 2,129

Locomotives in 1963:

Diesel: 610

Rolling stock in 1963:

Freight cars: 75,621
Passenger cars: 251

Principal routes in 1950:

Lambert’s Point (Norfolk), VA-Columbus, OH
Portsmouth-Cincinnati, OH
Lynchburg, VA-Durham, NC
Roanoke-Hagerstown, MD
Roanoke-Winston-Salem, NC
Walton-Bristol, VA
Bluefield, WV-Norton, VA

Passenger trains of note:

Pocahontas (Norfolk-Cincinnati & Columbus)
Birmingham Special (New York-Birmingham, AL; joint with PRR and SR; operated by N&W Lynchburg-Bristol)
Cavalier (Norfolk-Cincinnati)
Pelican (New York-New Orleans, LA; joint with PRR and SR; operated by N&W Lynchburg-Bristol)
Powhatan Arrow (Norfolk-Cincinnati)
Tennessean (New York-Memphis, TN; joint with PRR and SR; operated by N&W Lynchburg-Bristol)
Cannon Ball (Norfolk-New York; joint with ACL; RF&P; and PRR; operated by N&W Norfolk-Petersburg)

Of Note: In 1964, the N&W added the Wabash and Nickel Plate road to its system along with the Columbus-Sandusky line of the PRR, which the PRRR sold to the N&W. In 1981, the N&W added selected lines of the Illinois Terminal RR to its system. This Fallen Flag focuses on the pre-1964 N&W.


Enjoy! [tup]

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]


ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!

[passengerfan]

Good Morning Tom here is my contribution to the N&W theme.

NORFOLK
&
WESTERN
Streamlined Coaches

The N&W would own a surprising number of streamlined coaches both newly acquired and those that became N&W cars through merger.
The first streamlined Coaches purchased by the N&W were fifteen 60 seat Coaches numbered 1720 –1734 delivered from Pullman Standard in October 1941. The new streamlined cars were assigned to the overnight POCAHONTAS between Cincinnati and Norfolk. Three of these 60 seat coaches 1720-1722 were remodeled by N&W shops to Tavern Lounge cars in June, 1947 with a Bar and Lounge seating for 52 the cars retained the same numbers after the conversion. The cars remained assigned to daylight service between Cincinnati and Norfolk and the train was renamed the POWHATTAN ARROW.
The same three cars were shopped again in March, 1952 and emerged with a twelve crew Dormitory space with bar and lounge seating for 26, the three cars with no change of number were assigned to the CAVALIER an overnight train at that time.
And finally the N&W shops remodeled the cars to their original 60 revenue seat Coach configuration and assigned them to general service in August 1963.

60 REVENUE SEAT COACHES Pullman Standard October 1941 (Built for and assigned to POCAHONTAS)

1720 – 1734

The N&W fully streamlined the POWHATTAN ARROW their daytime train between Cincinnati and Norfolk on December 18,1949. On that date new streamlined N&W J class 4-8-4 Northern locomotives and tenders were assigned to pull the new Pullman Standard built trains consisting of nine cars each. The N&W carried no checked baggage on these trains or mail so no head end cars were assigned. Each train was assigned a 36 seat Dining Car and a Tavern Lounge Observation that featured a forward lounge for 12 a Tavern Lounge seating 24 with a Bar Hostess Room and the Lounge Observation seating 16. One a 40 seat Coach with Crew Day room a 68 seat Divided Coach and the remaining coaches was 58 revenue seat Coaches.

40 REVENUE SEAT COACHES WITH CREW DAYROOM Pullman Standard October – December 1949 (Built for and assigned to POWHATTAN ARROW)

501, 502

68 REVENUE SEAT DIVIDED COACHES Pullman Standard October – December 1949 (Built for and assigned to POWHATTAN ARROW)

511, 512

58 REVENUE SEAT COACHES Pullman Standard October – December 1949 (Built for and assigned to POWHATTAN ARROW)

531 – 540

The two Crew Day-room 40 revenue seat Coaches 501 and 502 were rebuilt into straight 68 revenue seat coaches by N&W shops in October, 1958 with no change of numbers.
In 1964 the N&W merged the Nickel Plate and Wabash roads into their system and with these two roads came a number of passenger cars. Between 1965 and 1970 the N&W would renumber a number of these cars into the N&W system and still other cars belonging to the former roads were sold to other roads without ever receiving N&W assigned numbers. The following is a list of the former coaches only assigned N&W numbers by the dates these numbers appeared on the cars.

December 1964

1833 originally Wabash 1426 58 Revenue seat Coach built originally for assignment to the CITY OF KANSAS CITY

February 1965

1836 originally Wabash 1429 48 Revenue seat Coach built originally for assignment to CITY OF ST. LOUIS

April 1965

1705 originally NKP 105 52 Revenue seat Coach built originally for assignment to NICKEL PLATE LIMITED

August 1965

1707 originally NKP 107 52 Revenue seat Coach originally built for assignment to the NICKEL PLATE LIMITED

December 1965

1704 originally NKP 104 52 Revenue seat Coach originally built for assignment to NICKEL PLATE LIMITED

1706 originally NKP 106 52 Revenue seat Coach originally built for assignment to NICKEL PLATE LIMITED

March 1966

1613 originally Wabash 203 36- revenue seat Dome Coach with 24 seats in the dome originally built for assignment to the CITY OF ST. LOUIS

April 1966

1827 ex Wabash 1420 originally B&M 4803 BLACK BIRD 56-revenue seat Coach originally built for assignment to FLYING YANKEE – KENNEBEC – PINE TREE

July 1966

1611 originally Wabash 201 56 revenue seat Dome Coach with 24 non-revenue seats in Dome originally built for assignment to BLUE BIRD

August 1966

1610 originally Wabash 200 56-revenue seat Dome coach with 24 non-revenue seats in Dome originally built for assignment to BLUE BIRD

September 1966

1612 originally Wabash 202 56-revenue seat Dome coach with 24 non-revenue seats in Dome originally built for assignment to BLUE BIRD

August 1968

1829 ex Wabash 1422 originally B&M 4803 BLUE BIRD 56-revenue seat Coach originally built for assignment to the FLYING YANKEE – KENNEBEC – PINE TREE

August 1968

1708 originally NKP 108 52-revenue seat Coach originally built for and assigned to NICKEL PLATE LIMITED

1709 originally NKP 109 52-revenue seat Coach originally built for and assigned to NICKEL PLATE LIMITED

1830 ex Wabash 1423 originally B&M 4806 52-revenue seat Coach originally built for and assigned to FLYING YANKEE – KENNEBEC – PINE TREE

November 1967

1832 originally Wabash 1425 58 revenue seat Coach originally built for and assigned to CITY OF KANSAS CITY

June 1967

1835 originally Wabash 1428 48-revenue seat Coach originally built for assignment to CITY OF ST. LOUIS

1837 originally Wabash 1430 48-revenue seat Coach originally built for assignment to CITY OF ST. LOUIS

July 1970

1834 originally Wabash 1427 48-revenue seat Coach originally built for assignment to CITY OF ST. LOUIS

The N&W added the name POCAHONTAS to the sides of 19 cars repainted in the new Blue and Gold scheme between April and July 1969. The POCAHONTAS became the day train between Cincinnati and Norfolk replacing the POWHATTAN ARROW.

36 SEAT DINING CARS

492 – 493 – 494

68 REVENUE SEAT COACHES

501 – 511 – 512

58 REVENUE SEAT COACHES

531-534, 536-539

60 REVENUE SEAT COACHES

1725-1727, 1731, 1733

The N&W reconfigured eight of the prewar 60-revenue seat Coaches into 82-revenue seat Coaches for Chicago area commuter service between the Windy City and Orland Park replacing heavyweight cars in this service. After conversion the cars were renumbered into a new series 1001 – 1008 all work was completed between November 1969 and April 1970.

82 REVENUE SEAT COMMUTER COACHES

1001 originally 1720

1002 originally 1721

1003 originally 1722

1004 originally 1723

1005 originally 1724

1006 originally 1730

1007 originally 1732

1008 originally 1734

TTFN Al

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Time for a foto . . . .


N&W Class J 4-8-4 #611 (public domain)



Later! [tup]

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Another 'steamer' - this time C&O . . .


C&O 2-6-6-2 #1285 (from: www.yesteryeardepot.com)


Later! [tup]

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Why change? Here's a B&O . . . .

B&O Light Mikado 2-8-2 #4500 (public domain)


Later! [tup]

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

One more for the road . . .

CN #6071 4-8-2 (from: www.yesteryeardepot.com


Later! [tup]

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[trolleyboy]

Lions and tigers and steamers oh my ! [swg] nice pictures Tom !here's one near and dear to Toms heart ( railroadwise anyway )



and another shot



Rob

[trolleyboy]

Here's a couple more for your perusal as well.A photo essay of Montreal and Southern Counties car # 107



1939 shot of combine 107



1947 shot of 107



At the musuem today ( 2005 shot )

Rob

[trolleyboy]

One more VIA shot for today, this in itself a classic. The VIA international moving the Amtrak Superfleet cars to Toronto. Thios shot taken at Komoka Ontario ( just outside of London )




Rob

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Here's something first Posted over at the bar . . .

Now arriving on track #1 …..
Railroads from Yesteryear! Number Eight


Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements. Some heralds from other sources.


Northern Pacific Railway

Locale: Ashland, Wisconsin and St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington, Tacoma, Washington and Portland, Oregon

Reporting marks: NP

Dates of operation: 1864 – 1970

Track gauge: 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)

Headquarters: Minnesota

(copied from public domain)
A Northern Pacific train travels over Bozeman Pass, June 1939.

The Northern Pacific Railway (AAR reporting mark NP) was a railway that operated in the north-central region of the United States. The railroad served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. The company was headquartered first in Brainerd, Minnesota, then in St. Paul, Minnesota.

History

The Northern Pacific was chartered on July 2, 1864 as the first northern transcontinental railroad. It was granted some 47,000,000 acres (190,000 km²) of land in exchange for building rail transportation to an undeveloped territory. Josiah Perham (for whom Perham, Minnesota is named) was elected its first president on December 7, 1864.

For the next six years, backers of the road struggled to find financing. Though John Gregory Smith succeeded Perham as president on January 5, 1866, groundbreaking did not take place until February 15, 1870, at Thompson Junction, Minnesota, 25 miles (40 km) west of Duluth, Minnesota. The backing and promotions of famed Civil War financier Jay Cooke in the summer of 1870 brought the first real momentum to the company.

Over the course of 1870, the Northern Pacific pushed westward from Minnesota into present-day North Dakota. It also began reaching from Kalama, Washington Territory, on the Columbia River outside of Portland, Oregon, towards Puget Sound. Four small construction engines were purchased, the Minnetonka, Itaska, Ottertail and St. Cloud, the first of which was shipped to Kalama by ship around Cape Horn. In Minnesota, the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad completed construction of its 155 mile (250 km) line stretching from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Lake Superior at Duluth in 1870. It was leased to the Northern Pacific the following year, and was eventually absorbed by the Northern Pacific.

In 1871, Northern Pacific completed some 230 miles (370 km) of railroad on the east end of its system, reaching out to Moorhead, Minnesota, on the North Dakota border. In the west, the track extended 25 miles north from Kalama. Surveys were carried out in North Dakota protected by 600 troops from General Winfield Scott Hancock. Headquarters and shops were established in Brainerd, Minnesota, a town named for the President John Gregory Smith's wife Anna Elizabeth Brainerd.

In 1872, the company put down 164 miles (264 km) of main line across North Dakota, with an additional 45 miles (72 km) in Washington. On November 1, General George Washington Cass became the third president of the company. Cass had been a vice-president and director of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and would lead the Northern Pacific through some of its most difficult times. Attacks on survey parties and construction crews building into Native American homelands in North Dakota became so prevalent the company appealed for Army protection from President Ulysses S. Grant. In 1872 the Northern Pacific also opened colonization offices in Europe, seeking to attract settlers to the sparsely populated and undeveloped region it served. Survey parties accompanied by Federal troops, railroad construction, permanent settlement and development, along with the discovery of gold in nearby South Dakota, all served as a backdrop leading up to the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the defeat of General George Armstrong Custer in 1876.

In 1873, Northern Pacific made impressive strides before a terrible stumble. Rails from the east reached the Missouri River on June 4. After several years of study, Tacoma, Washington, was selected as the road's western terminus on July 14. However, for the past three years the financial house of Jay Cooke and Company had been throwing money into the construction of the Northern Pacific. Like many western transcontinentals, the staggering costs of building a railroad into a vast wilderness were drastically underestimated. For a variety of reasons, led by the costs of constructing the railroad itself, Cooke and Company closed its doors on September 18. Soon, the Panic of 1873 engulfed the United States, ushering in a severe recession which would drag on for several years. The Northern Pacific, however, survived bankruptcy that year, due to austerity measures put in place by President Cass. In fact, working with last-minute loans from Director John Commiger Ainsworth of Portland, the Northern Pacific completed the line from Kalama to Tacoma, 110 miles (177 km), before the end of the year. On December 16, the first steam train arrived in Tacoma. The year of 1874, however, found the company moribund.

Northern Pacific slipped into its first bankruptcy on June 30, 1875. Cass resigned to become receiver of the company, and Charles Barstow Wright became fourth president of the company. Frederick Billings, namesake of Billings, Montana, formulated a reorganization plan which was put into effect. This same year George Custer was assigned to Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, and charged with protecting railroad survey and construction crews.

In 1877, construction resumed in a small way. Northern Pacific pushed a branch line north from Tacoma to Puyallup, Washington, where it turned east to reach coal fields around Wilkeson, Washington. Much of the coal was destined for export through Tacoma to San Francisco, California, where it would be thrown into the fireboxes of Central Pacific Railroad steam engines. This small amount of construction was one of the largest projects the company would undertake in the years between 1874 and 1880. That same year the company built a large shop complex at South Tacoma, Washington. For many years the shops at Brainerd and South Tacoma would carry out heavy repairs and build equipment for the railroad.

On May 24, 1879, Vermont lawyer Fredrick Billings became the president of the company. Billings tenure would be short but ferocious. Reorganization, bond sales, and improvement in the U.S. economy allowed Northern Pacific to strike out across the Missouri River by letting a contract to build 100 miles (160 km) of railroad west of the river. The railroad's new-found strength, however, would be seen as a threat in certain quarters.

Ferdinand Heinrich Gustav Hilgard had been born in Bavaria in 1835, emigrating to America in 1853, at the ripe old age of 18. Settling in Illinois, the well-educated Hilgard became a journalist and editor, covering the Lincoln-Douglas debates, then the American Civil War for the larger New York papers, changing his name to Henry Villard along the way. He went back to his native Germany in 1871, where he came in contact with European financial interests speculating in American railroads. When he returned to the United States after the Panic of 1873, he was the representative of these concerns. In the few short years prior to 1880, Villard intervened on the behalf of these interests in several transportation systems in Oregon. Through Villard's work, most of these lines wound up in the hands of the European creditors holding company, the Oregon and Transcontinental. Of the lines held by the Oregon and Transcontinental, the most important was the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, a line running east from Portland along the south bank of the Columbia River to a connection with the Union Pacific Railroad's Oregon Short Line at the confluence of the Columbia River and the Snake River near Wallula, Washington. Within a decade of his return, Henry Villard became the head of a transportation empire in the Pacific Northwest that had but one real competitor, the ever-expanding Northern Pacific. Northern Pacific's completion threatened the holdings of Villard in the Northwest, and especially in Portland. Portland would become a second-class city if the Puget Sound ports at Tacoma and Seattle, Washington were connected to the East by rail. Villard, who had been building a monopoly of river and rail transportation in Oregon for several years, now launched a daring raid. Using his European connections and a reputation for having "bested" Jay Gould in a battle for control of the Kansas Pacific years before, Villard solicited — and raised — $8 million from his associates. This was his famous "Blind Pool," Villard's associates were not told what the money would be used for. In this case, the funds were used to purchase control of the Northern Pacific. Depite a tough fight, Billings and his backers were forced to capitulate; he resigned the presidency June 9. Ashabel H. Barney was brought in as an interim caretaker of the railroad from June 19 to September 15, when Villard was finally elected president by the stockholders. For the next two years, Villard and the Northern Pacific rode the whirlwind.

In 1882, 360 miles (580 km) of main line and 368 miles (592 km) of branch line were completed, bringing totals to 1,347 miles (2,168 km) and 731 miles (1,176 km), respectively. On October 10, 1882, the line from Wadena, Minnesota, to Fergus Falls, Minnesota, opened for service. The Missouri River is bridged with a million-dollar span on October 21, 1882. The Missouri was handled by a ferry service most of the year. During winters, when ice was thick enough, the rails were laid across the river itself. General Herman Haupt another veteran of the Civil War and the Pennsylvania Railroad, set up the Northern Pacific Beneficial Association on August 19. A forerunner of the modern health maintenance organization, the NPBA ultimately established a series of four hospitals across the system in St. Paul, Minnesota, Glendive, Montana, Missoula Montana, and Tacoma, Washington, to care for employees, retirees, and their families.

Events reached their climax in 1883. On January 15 the first train reached Livingston, Montana at the eastern foot of Bozeman Pass. Livingston, like Brainerd and South Tacoma before it, would grow to encompass a large backshop handling heavy repairs for the railroad. It would also mark the east-west dividing line on the Northern Pacific system. Villard pushed hard for the completion of the Northern Pacific in 1883. During Villard's presidency, crews were averaging a mile and half (2.4 km) of track laying each day. Finally, in September, the line neared completion. To celebrate, Villard chartered four trains to carry visitors from the East to Gold Creek in central Montana. No expense was spared and the list of dignitaries included Frederick Billings, Ulysses S. Grant, and Villard's in-laws, the family of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. On September 11, the Gold Spike was driven at Gold Creek.

However, Villard's fall turned out to be even swifter than his ascendancy. Like Jay Cooke, the enormous costs of contructing the railroad now consumed him. Wall Street bears attacked the stock shortly after the Gold Spike, after the realization that the Northern Pacific was a very long road with very little business. Villard himself is said to have suffered a nervous breakdown in the days following the Gold Spike, and he left the presidency of the Northern Pacific and the United States to convalesce in Germany in January, 1884. Again, the presidency of the Northern Pacific is handed to a professional railroader, Robert Harris, former head of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. For the next four years, until the return of the Villard clique, Harris worked at improving the property and breaking away from its tangled relationship with the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.

Throughout the middle 1880s, the Northern Pacific pushed to reach Puget Sound directly, rather than a roundabout route following the Columbia River. Surveys of the Cascade Mountains, carried out intermittently since the 1870s, now began anew. Virgil Gay Bogue, a veteran civil engineer, was sent to explore the Cascades again. On March 19, 1881, he discovered Stampede Pass. In 1884, after the departure of Villard, the Northern Pacific began building toward Stampede Pass from Wallula in the east and the area of Wilkeson in the west. By the end of the year, rails had reached Yakima, Washington in the east. A 77 mile (124 km) gap remained in 1886. In January of that year, Nelson Bennett was given a contract to construct a 9,850 foot (3,002 metre) tunnel under Stampede Pass. The contract specified a short amount of time for completion, and a large penalty if the deadline were missed. While crews worked on the tunnel, the railroad built a temporary switchback route across the pass. With numerous timber trestles and grades which approached six percent, the temporary line required the two largest locomotives in the world (at that time) to handle a tiny five-car train. On May 3, 1888 crews holed through the tunnel, and on May 27 the first train direct to Puget Sound passed through.

Despite this success, the Northern Pacific, like many U.S. roads, was living on borrowed time. From 1887 until 1893 Henry Villard returned to the board of directors. Though offered the presidency, he refused. However, an associate of Villard dating back to his time on the Kansas Pacific, Thomas Fletcher Oakes, assumed the presidency on September 20, 1888. In an effort to garner business, the Villard regime pursued an aggressive policy of branch line expansion. In addition, the Northern Pacific experienced the first competition in the form of James Jerome Hill and his Great Northern Railway. The Great Northern, like the Northern Pacific before it, was pushing west from the Twin Cities towards Puget Sound, and would be completed in 1893. To combat the Great Northern, in a few instances Villard built branch line mileage simply to occupy a territory, regardless of whether the territory offered the railroad any business. Mismanagement, sparse traffic, and the Panic of 1893 sounded the death knell for the Northern Pacific and Villard's interest in railroading. The company slipped into its second bankruptcy on October 20, 1893. Oakes was named receiver and Brayton C. Ives, a former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange became president. For the next three years, the Villard-Oakes interests and the Ives interest feuded for control of the Northern Pacific. Oakes was eventually forced out as receiver, but not before three separate courts were claiming jurisdiction over the Northern Pacific's bankruptcy. Things came two a head in 1896, when first Edward D. Adams was appointed president, then less than two months later, Edwin Winter. Ultimately, the task of straightening out the muddle of the Northern Pacific was John Pierpont Morgan. Morganization of the Northern Pacific, a process which befell many U.S. roads in the wake of the Panic of 1893, was handed to Morgan lieutenant Charles Henry Coster. The new president beginning September 1, 1897, was Charles Sanger Mellen. Though James J. Hill had purchased an interest in the Northern Pacific during the troubled days of 1896, Coster and Mellen will advocate, and follow, a staunchly independent line for the Northern Pacific for the next four years. Only the early death of Coster from overwork, and the promotion of Mellen to head the Morgan controlled New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1903 will bring the Northern Pacific closer to the orbit of James J. Hill.

In the late 1880s, the Villard regime, in another one of its costly missteps, attempted to stretch the Northern Pacific from the Twin Cities to the all-important rail hub of Chicago, Illinois. A costly project was begun in creating a union station and terminal facilities for a Northern Pacific which had yet to arrive. Rather than build directly down to Chicago, perhaps following the Mississippi River as the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy had done, Villard chose to lease the Wisconsin Central. Some backers of the Wisconsin Central had long associations with Villard, and an expensive lease was worked out between the two companies which was only undone by the Northern Pacific's second bankruptcy. The ultimate result was that the Northern Pacific was left without a direct connection to Chicago, the primary interchange point for most of the large U.S. railroads. Fortunately, the Northern Pacific was not alone. James J. Hill, controller of the Great Northern, which was completed between the Twin Cities and Puget Sound in 1893, also lacked a direct connection to Chicago. Hill went looking for a road with an existing route between the Twin Cities and Chicago which could be rolled into his holdings and give him a stable path to that important interchange. At the same time, Edward Henry Harriman, head of the Union Pacific Railroad, was also looking for a road which could connect his company to Chicago. The road both Harriman and Hill looked at was the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. To Harriman, the Burlington was a road which paralleled much of his own, and offered tantalizing direct access to Chicago. For Hill as well there was the possibility of a high-speed link directly with Chicago. Though the Burlington did not parallel the Great Northern or the Northern Pacific, it would give them a powerful railroad in the central West. Harriman was the first to approach the Burlington's aging chieftain, the irascible Charles Elliott Perkins. The price for control of the Burlington, as set by Perkins, was $200 a share, more than Harriman was willing to pay. Hill, however, met the price, and control of the Burlington was divided equally at about 48.5 percent each between the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific. Not to be outdone, Harriman now came up with a crafty plan. Buy a controlling interest in the Northern Pacific and use its power on the Burlington to place friendly directors upon its board. On May 3, 1901, Harriman began his stock raid which would become known as the Northern Pacific Corner. By the end of the day he was short just 40,000 shares of common stock. Harriman placed an order to cover this, but was overriden by his broker, Jacob Schiff. Hill, on the other hand, reached the vacationing Morgan in Italy and managed to place an order for 150,000 shares of common stock. Though Harriman might be able to control the preferred stock, Hill knew the company bylaws allowed for the holders of the common stock to vote to retire the preferred. In three days, however, the Harriman-Hill imbroglio managed to wreak havoc on the stock market. Northern Pacific stock was quoted at $150 a share on May 6, and is reported to have traded as much as $1,000 a share behind the scenes. Harriman and Hill now worked to settle the issue for brokers avoid panic. Hill, for his part, attempted to avoid future stock raids by placing his holdings in the Northern Securities Company, a move which would be undone by the Supreme Court in 1904 under the auspices of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Harriman not immune either; he was forced to break up his holdings in the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific Railroad a few years later.

In 1903, Hill finally got his way with the House of Morgan. Howard Elliott, another veteran of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, became president of the Northern Pacific on October 23. Elliott was a relative of the Burlington's crusty chieftain Charles Elliott Perkins, and more distantly the Burlington's great backer, John Murray Forbes. He had spent twenty years in the trenches of Midwest railroading, where rebates, pooling, expansion and rate wars had brought ruinous competition. Having seen the effects of having multiple railroads attempt to serve the same destination, he was very much in tune with James J. Hill's philosophy of "community of interest," a loose affiliation or collusion among roads in an attempt to avoid duplicating routes, rate wars, weak finances and ultimately bankruptcies and reorganizations. Elliott will be left to make peace with the the Hill controlled Great Northern, the Harriman controlled Union Pacific, and between 1907 and 1909, the last of the northern transcontinentals, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, more commonly known as the Milwaukee Road.

In later years, consolidation in American railroading brought the Northern Pacific together with the Burlington, the Great Northern, and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway on March 2, 1970 to form the Burlington Northern Railroad. Ironically, the merger was allowed despite a challenge in the Supreme Court, essentially reversing the outcome of the 1904 Northern Securities ruling.

Company officers

Presidents of Northern Pacific Railway were:

• Josiah Perham, 1864-1866.
• John Gregory Smith, 1866-1872.
• George Washington Cass, 1872-1875.
• Charles Barstow Wright, 1875-1879.
• Frederick Billings, 1879-1881.
• Henry Villard, 1881-1884.
• Robert Harris, 1884-1888.
• Thomas Fletcher Oakes, 1888-1893.
• Brayton C. Ives, 1893-1897.
• Charles Sanger Mellen, 1897-1903.
• Howard Elliott, 1903-

Notable and preserved equipment

Northern Pacific was known for many firsts in locomotive history and was a leader in the development of modern supersteam locomotives. NP was one of the first railroads to use Mikado 2-8-2 locomotives in the USA The 4-8-4 knowen as a Northern on many railroads was first built by Alco in 1926 for NP and designated class A. The 2-8-8-4 called the Yellowstone was first built for the NP by Alco in 1928 and number 5000, class Z-5, with more built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1930. Much of this and later devopment was due to NP's need to burn low grade semibituminous coal strip-mined at Rosebud Montana. The coal called rosebud had a Btu 50% lower than eastern coal which meant that the fireboxes had to be bigger than most locomotives. The Wootten firebox was used which was also used by the anthracite railroads. Northern Pacific purchased Timken 1111 called the "four aces", the first locomotive built with roller bearings, in 1933. The Northern Pacific renumbered it 2626 and classified it as the sole member of locomotive Class A-1. It was used in passenger service in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana until 1957 when it was retired from active service despite attempts to preserve the locomotive. After Timken 1111, NP bought only roller bearing locomotives.

References

• Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association
• Teriffic! It's Northern Pacific!
• The Tell Tale! Ten years of NP news!
• Armbruster, Kurt E. Orphan Road: The Railroad Comes to Seattle, 1853-1911. Pullman [Wash.]: Washington State University Press, 1999.
• Asay, Jeff. Union Pacific Northwest; The Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company. Edmonds [Wash.]: Pacific Fast Mail, 1991.
• Bryant, Keith L., Jr., Editor. Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography, Railroads in the Twentieth Century. New York: Facts on File, 1990.
• Budd, Ralph, and Howard Elliott. Great Northern and Northern Pacific Review of Operations from 1916 to 1923. New York: Wood, Struthers and Company, 1927.
• Campbell, Edward G. Reorganization of the American Railroad System, 1893-1900. New York: Columbia University Press, 1938.
• Campbell, Marius Robinson. Guidebook of the Western United States; Part A. The Northern Pacific Route, with a side trip to Yellowstone Park. Washington [D.C.]: Government Printing Office, 1915.
• Donnelly, Charles. Facts About the Northern Pacific Land Grant. Saint Paul [Minn.]: Northern Pacific Railway, 1924.
• Fredrickson, James Merlin. Railroad Shutterbug; Jim Fredrickson’s Northern Pacific. Pullman [Wash.]: Washington State University Press, 2000.
• Fredrickson, James Merlin. Washington State History Train. Tacoma [Wash.]: Washington State Historical Society, 1995.
• Frey, Robert L., Schrenk, Lorenz P. Northern Pacific Railway Supersteam Era 1925-1945. Golden West Books 1985
• Frey, Robert L., Editor. Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography, Railroads in the Nineteenth Century. New York: Facts on File, 1988.
• Hedges, James Blaine. Henry Villard and the Railways of the Northwest. New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press, 1930.
• Hidy, Ralph W., et al. The Great Northern Railway, A History. Boston [Mass.]: Harvard Business School Press, 1988.
• Lewty, Peter J. Across the Columbia Plain; Railroad Expansion in the Interior Northwest, 1885-1893. Pullman [Wash.]: Washington State University Press, 1995.
• Lewty, Peter J. To the Columbia Gateway; The Oregon Railway and the Northern Pacific, 1879-1884. Pullman [Wash.]: Washington State University Press, 1987.
• Macfarlane, Robert Stetson. Henry Villard and the Northern Pacific. New York: Newcomen Society in North America, 1954.
• Martin, Albro. James J. Hill and the Opening of the Northwest. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976.
• Oberholtzer, Ellis P. Jay Cooke. New York: Augustus M. Kelley, 1968.
• Schrenk, Lorenz P., and Robert L. Frey. Northern Pacific Classic Steam Era. Mukilteo [Wash.]: Hundman Publishing, 1997.
• Smalley, Eugene V. History of the Northern Pacific Railroad. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1883.
• Villard, Henry. Memoirs of Henry Villard. New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1904.
• Ward, James A. That Man Haupt. Baton Rouge [La.]: Louisiana Sate University Press, 1973.
• Winks, Robin W. Frederick Billings: A Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.


Used with permission from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Formatting differences made necessary due to Forums requirements. Some heralds from other sources.


***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Enjoy!

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Really quiet around here without our "regulars" - Lars - BK 'n Al . . . but, we'll keep 'er going for a bit longer . . .


NP #378 Lounge in the Sky, Savannah, GA (1969)
(Courtesy: www.trainweb.org)


Later!

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Lotsa browsers, no talkers!

One more Pix . . . .

NP /SPS #306 in Seattle (1958)
(courtesy: wwww.trainweb.org)



Later!

Tom [4:-)][oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Another NP/SPS Pix . . .


NP/SPS #559 in Montana (1972)
(courtesy: www.trainweb.org)



Later!


Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[artpeterson]

Hi Rob -

SEPTA is running the rehabbed PCCs on the Girard line. Brookvile did the rehabs on the cars (some were real basket cases), including AC propulsion and accessibility provisions. The line is a little over 8 miles long and 18 cars were rehabbed to facilitate the restoration of rail service. Industry reports indicated a total cost (cars included) of around $11 million/mile (2005 $).

[passengerfan]

First posting for the day on NP.

Northern
Pacific
(NP)
Streamlined Dome Cars
by Al

The Northern Pacific added domes to the NORTH COAST LIMITED in 1954 becoming the second train between Chicago and Seattle to operate domes. When the Milwaukee Road added a Super Dome to each OLYMPIAN HIAWATHA train set in December 1952 there was an immediate increase in passenger business. The Milwaukee Road line paralleled the Northern Pacific across much of Montana and Washington State, not only that but the OLYMPIAN HIAWATHA operated on a faster schedule between Chicago and Seattle – Tacoma.
The Northern Pacific decided it was time to speed up the NORTH COAST LIMITED to make it competitive with the GN EMPIRE BUILDER and Milwaukee Road OLYMPIAN HIAWATHA. Both of these trains were operating on a 45-hour schedule at the time while the NORTH COAST LIMITED was operating on a 56-hour schedule between Chicago and Seattle. Rival GN had introduced a secondary streamlined train between Chicago and Seattle named the WESTERN STAR operating on a 56-hour schedule on June 3, 1951. The WESTERN STAR equipment was actually the five train sets of the 1947 EMPIRE BUILDER and one new set to give the train six complete trains necessary for the slower schedule. The GN introduced all new fifteen car EMPIRE BUILDERS on June 3, 1951.
The NP had completed many miles of track improvement in Montana and Washington in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s and by 1954 was ready to speed up the NORTH COAST LIMITED. At the same time the NP contracted with famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy to upgrade and modernize the interiors of the NORTH COAST LIMITED streamlined cars and design a more modern paint scheme for the exterior of the NP passenger cars. At the same time the NP ordered 10-Vista Dome 46-seat leg rest coaches and 10-Vista Dome 4-Roomette 4- Duplex Single Room 4-Double Bedroom Sleeping cars from Budd. The NP ordered six flat top sleeping cars from Pullman Standard at the same time with 6 Roomettes 8 Duplex Roomettes and 4 Double Bedrooms. All of the older NORTH COAST LIMITED streamlined cars were repainted beginning in November 1953 into the new two-tone green paint scheme with white separation stripe and lettering.
The ten new Budd built Vista Dome 46-seat Leg Rest Coaches NP 550-556 CB&Q 557,558 and SP&S 559 arrived in July and August and were added two per train set to the VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED operating on a new 45-hour schedule between Chicago and Seattle. The NP replaced two of the 56-seat Leg-Rest Coaches in the NORTH COAST LIMITED consists with domes separated by a 56-seat leg rest Coach. One Vista Dome coach was a Chicago – Seattle car the other a Chicago – Portland car operated between Pasco and Portland by the SP&S. The lettering on the sides of the new domes on either side of the monad emblem in the center of the car below the windows proclaimed the train the VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED. All reference to the train in advertising after this time referred to the train as the VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED.
These new stainless steel Vista-Domes were the first delivered by Budd with flat sides instead of the fluted panels and they were fully painted in the new NP color scheme matching the rest of the consist.

24-SEAT VISTA DOME 46-REVENUE SEAT LEG-REST COACHES Budd Company July – August 1954 (Built for and assigned to VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED)

NP

550-556

CB&Q

557, 558

SP&S

559

Between September and November 1954 Budd delivered the ten Vista-Dome sleeping cars CB&Q 304,305 SP&S 306 and NP 307-313. Pullman Standard delivered their new sleeping cars at the same time and they were train-lined between each VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITEDS pair of Dome sleeping cars. Like the Vista-Dome coaches one of the Vista-Dome sleeping cars operated between Chicago – Seattle the other between Chicago – Portland during peak travel periods. At other times the Portland Vista-dome sleeping cars were leased to other roads during the winter season to the Illinois Central for assignment to the CITY OF MIAMI and PANAMA LIMITED. For IC service the cars were repainted to match those trains. The PRR also leased NP Vista-dome sleepers for winter operation in the SOUTH WIND between Chicago and Miami, for this service they remained painted in NP colors.

24-SEAT VISTA-DOME 4-ROOMETTE 4-DOUBLE BEDROOM 4-DUPLEX SINGLE ROOM SLEEPING CARS Budd Company Plan: 9535 Lot: 9669-141 September – November 1954 (Built for and assigned to VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED)

CB&Q

304,305

SP&S

306

NP

307-313

In December 1957 the NP received a single Vista-Dome 46-seat Leg Rest Coach 549 and a single Vista-Dome sleeping car 314 identical to the earlier cars for use as spares when cars needed shopping for other than routine maintenance.

24-SEAT VISTA-DOME 46-REVENUE SEAT LEG-REST COACH Budd Company December 1957 (Built for and assigned to VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED)

NP

549

24-SEAT VISTA-DOME 4-ROOMETTE 4-DOUBLE BEDROOM 4 DUPLEX SINGLE ROOM SLEEPING CARS Budd Company December 1957 Plan: 9535 Lot: 9669-210 (Built for and assigned to VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED)

NP

314

Beginning in the winter season of 1959 the NP leased Vista-Dome sleeping cars to the Illinois Central and Pennsylvania railroads. The first season the NP leased 307,308, and 310; the IC assigned the cars to the every other day CITY OF MIAMI between Chicago and Miami. The IC repainted the cars in the Chocolate, Orange and Yellow scheme for the winter months this trains busy season. The extra car was assigned to one of the PANAMA LIMITED train sets, the only season this train would be assigned a dome. The IC felt that due to the nocturnal nature of the PANAMA LIMITED it was not necessary to operate a dome in this train. In the spring all three of the Vista-Dome sleeping cars were repainted into NP colors and returned to their owner for summer season in VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED. The IC leased three of the NP Vista-Dome Sleeping cars again in 1963 operating them in the CITY OF MIAMI and the extra car was assigned to the PANAMA LIMITED once again. This was the last season the IC leased NP Vista-Dome Sleeping cars operated in the PANAMA LIMITED. In the 1963 season the IC leased NP 308, 309, and 310. The IC would repaint these cars and all subsequent NP Vista-Domes leased in the
following years into IC colors and returned them each spring repainted for the NP. The 1964 season found four of the Vista-Dome sleeping cars leased to the IC they were CB&Q 304 and NP 308-310. That year the IC operated two Vista-Dome Sleeping cars in each CITY OF MIAMI. In 1965 the IC leased only three of the Vista-Dome Sleeping cars for the winter NP 310, 312, and 313. In 1966 the IC leased only a pair of the Vista-Dome sleeping cars assigning one to each CITY OF MIAMI train set. The 1966 cars were CB&Q 304 and NP 311. For the final season the IC leased Vista-Dome sleeping cars it was a pair NP 305 and 313.
The story for the Pennsylvania was similar to the IC except the PRR operated the leased NP Vista-Dome Sleeping cars in full NP colors, they never repainted any of the leased cars into PRR Tuscan red, they were assigned to the SOUTH WIND operating every other day between Chicago and Miami.
The first winter the PRR leased a pair of the Vista-Dome sleeping cars SP&S 306 and NP 309. In 1963 they leased SP&S 306 and NP 307, the same two cars returned for the winter of 1964. In 1965 it was CB&Q 304 and NP 307. In 1966 SP&S 306 returned along with NP 307. For the final year of leasing Vista-Domes for the winter 1967 SP&S 306 and NP 310 were the selected pair.
The NP retired their sleeper lounge Observations in late 1966 and sleeping car passengers immediately began writing letters to NP management complaining about sharing lounge space with the coach crowd. The NP responded to the complaints by converting six of the Vista-Dome Sleeping cars by installing a cocktail lounge in the dome and converting the space two of the Duplex Single Rooms beneath the dome occupied into a bar. The seating in the “Lounge in the Sky” as the NP referred to the cars seated 24 but seating faced each other and six tables were installed giving three tables for four on either side of the domes center aisle. Cars converted were NP 307, 309, 311, 312, and 314, and CB&Q 34. The conversion work on the Vista Dome Sleeping cars was completed by NP in their St. Paul, Minnesota Como shops between March and May 1967 pulling one car out of service at a time to complete before pulling another out of the VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED. These cars were operated as through Chicago – Seattle cars and operated on the rear of the VISTA-DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED. After rebuilding the cars were returned to service with new numbers NP 375-379 and CB&Q 380 respectively.
All NP Vista-Dome Coaches and sleeping cars were transferred to BN ownership in the merger of 1970.

TTFN Al

[siberianmo]

G'day Al

Figured with two days worth of Northern Pacific you'd pick up on it sooner or later, eh[?]

QUOTE: The North Coast Limited was a famous passenger train operated by the Northern Pacific Railway between Chicago and Seattle via Bismarck, North Dakota. It commenced service on April 29, 1900, served briefly as a Burlington Northern train after the merger on March 2, 1970 and ceased operation the day before Amtrak began service (April 30, 1971). The Chicago Union Station to Minneapolis leg of the trains route was operated by the Chicago Burlington and Quincy railroad along its Mississippi River mainline through Wisconsin.

In the mid 1970s, the North Coast Limited service was restarted by Amtrak as the North Coast Hiawatha operating via Milwaukee Road mainline between Chicago and Minneapolis. The train continued running until it was again discontinued in 1979.

The North Coast Limited was the Northern Pacific's flagship train and the Northern Pacific itself was built along the trail first blazed by Lewis and Clark.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Coast_Limited"

Later! [tup]

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]