A Classic REAL Trains 'n Traction FOTO site!

[trolleyboy]

Gday' guys. Great info on the Northwest flying around the last couple o days now [tup] Always good to see. Lars 'l love the dome shots Tom, once he's back into the flow as they say.Al good to see that all 20 fingers are still a flying [:D][tup] good infop as always from the streamlinermeister[:P]Art thanks for the update on the SEPTA. I had heard that they had gone to the newer chopper motors during the refurbishment. I remember reading a post from another forum member that lives in Philly that they have had some parking issues with people still thinking that they can park whereever the wish along the route.Should sort out eventually, they diid have better than 10 years with out the cars on those lines. I'm still looking fo some info on those OE cars, I know I have it just have to find out ( re remember where ) some of my books are still in storage boxes from our last move ( new bookshelves not built yet )


Rob

[siberianmo]

G'day!

This may be my last for the SP&S - not much out there to draw from . . . .

Spokane, Portland & Seattle (SP&S) Railway at Snoqualmie, Washington
(GNU Free Documentation)


Later! [tup]

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Thanx for the continuing support , Al . . . . [tup]

Here's something for you, Art . . . . [tup]

QUOTE: Oregon Electric Railway was an interurban railroad line that linked Portland, Oregon to Eugene, Oregon. Service from Portland to Salem, Oregon began in 1907. Jim Hill's Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway purchased the system in 1910, and extended service to Eugene in 1912. Regular passenger service along the Willamette Valley ended in June 30, 1933, though freight operations continued and the railway survived into the 1990s (ultimately as a Burlington Northern feeder). (Operation as an electric railroad ended July 10, 1945.)

BN operated the last freight train on this mainline on December 31, 1994, in preparation for the construction of Westside MAX, part of the TriMet light rail system.

Remnants

Long stretches of track from Tigard to Salem are now owned by the Portland and Western Railroad.
The former station in Eugene has been reused and is now the Oregon Electric Station (OES) restaurant.
The Albany station is now a pizza parlor.
The Corvallis station is now a restaurant.
The Multnomah depot is now John's Market, a grocery and liquor store.
The two buildings of the North Bank Depot in Portland were the northern terminal for the OER. They were preserved and converted into condominumums in the 1990s.

from Wikipedia.com

Later!

Tom[4:-)][oX)]

[artpeterson]

Hi Tom -

Thanks for the mention of OE in the SP&S reports. I had commented on the OE section sleepers last week in the context of their later use on PGE. PGE picked up quite a few of the OE cars, cutting a few of the coaches down to open-air sightseeing cars, etc. OE also had those two wonderful wood open platform observations, one of which was destroyed on the OE, the other being among the cars that went to the PGE.

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Something on the SP&S . . .

QUOTE: The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway (AAR reporting mark SPS) was a United States-based railroad incorporated in 1905. It was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank of the Columbia River.

In 1910 it purchased the Oregon Electric Railway.

In 1970, it merged with the Great Northern Railway, the Northern Pacific Railway, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad to form the Burlington Northern Railroad.

from Wikipedia.com

Later! [tup]

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[passengerfan]

Good Morning I see SP&S the Northwests Railroad is featured today. So without further ado here is my contribution.

SPOKANE
PORTLAND
&
SEATTLE
Streamlined Sleeping Cars
by Al

The SP&S owned a total of seven lightweight stream-lined sleeping cars. Two operated between Spokane and Portland only and when first delivered in February 1950 were painted Great Northern Empire Builder colors and lettered for that train. The cars never operated east of Spokane. They ran with the EMPIRE BUILDER connections between Spokane and Portland. These two Sleeper Buffet lounge cars were named for the two mountains closest to the SP&S mainline tracks along the North Bank of the Columbia River. The one in Oregon was 600 MOUNT HOOD the other was on the Washington side 601 MOUNT ST. HELENS. Both mountains were located in the Cascade Mountain range.

6 ROOMETTE 3 DOUBLE BEDROOM BUFFET 25 SEAT LOUNGE CARS Pullman Standard February 1950 Plan: 4163 Lot: 6829 (Built for and assigned to Portland - Spokane Section of EMPIRE BUILDER - WESTERN STAR later Portland - Pasco Section of NORTH COAST LIMITED as well)

600 MOUNT HOOD

601 MOUNT ST. HELENS

Later these cars were repainted in the SP&S colors of Pullman Green with yellow stripes and lettering. Both cars became BN property after the merger and continued operating between Spokane - Pasco- Portland.
The following two SP&S owned sleeping cars were built for through car service in the NORTH COAST LIMITED of the Northern Pacific between Portland and Chicago. One car was delivered in 1948 in the first postwar paint scheme of the Northern Pacific and later received the Raymond Loewy Paint scheme of two-tone Green with white separation stripe and lettering. The second SP&S owned sleeping car for the NORTH COAST LIMITED was a Vista-Dome Sleeping car delivered by Budd in 1954.

6 ROOMETTE 8 DUPLEX ROOMETTE 3 DOUBLE BEDROOM 1 COMPARTMENT Pullman Standard July - September 1948 Plan: 4119 Lot: 6781 (Built for and assigned to NORTH COAST LIMITED)

PORTLAND numbered 366 in March 1954 name deleted at that time

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

306

The other three lightweight streamlined sleeping cars owned by the SP&S wore the Great Northern colors for service in the EMPIRE BUILDER and later WESTERN STAR as well. All three cars were delivered in 1950 by Pullman Standard and were the through cars between Portland and Chicago.

4 SECTION 8 DUPLEX ROOMETTE 4 DOUBLE BEDROOM SLEEPING CAR January 1950 Plan: 4107 Lot: 6828 (Built for and assigned to WESTERN STAR)

700 INDIAN PASS

6 ROOMETTE 5 DOUBLE BEDROOM 2 COMPARTMENT SLEEPING CAR Pullman Standard October - November 1950 Plan: 4180 Lot: 6877 (Built for and assigned to EMPIRE BUILDER)

701 WAPINITIA PASS

4 SECTION 1 COMPARTMENT 7 DUPLEX ROOMETTE 3 DOUBLE BEDROOM SLEEPING CAR Pullman Standard Plan: 4181 Lot: 6889 (Built for and assigned to EMPIRE BUILDER)

702 SNAKE RIVER

TTFN Al

[siberianmo]

ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!

PASSENGER RR FALLEN FLAG #23


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

Spokane, Portland & Seattle (SP&S)

Headquarters: Portland, OR

Mileage in 1950: 968

Locomotives in 1963:

Diesel: 93

Rolling stock in 1963:

Freight cars: 3,547
Passenger cars: 48

Principal routes in 1950:

Portland-Spokane, WA
Portland-Seaside, WA
Portland-Eugene, OR (subsidiary Oregon Electric Railway)
Wishram, WA-Bend, OR subsidiary Oregon Trunk Railway)

Passenger trains of note:

Columbia River Express [Portland-Spokane)
Empire Builder (Portland-Chicago)
Oriental Limited (Portland-Chicago)
Western Star (Portland-Chicago)
North Coast Limited (Portland-Chicago)
Mainstreeter (Portland-Chicago)

Of note: SP&S handled GN’s Empire Builder, Oriental Limited and Western Star between Portland and Spokane; SP&S handled NP’s North Coast Limited and Mainstreeter between Portland and Pasco, WA


Enjoy! [tup]

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]


ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!

[siberianmo]

ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!


G’day All!

PASSENGER TRAIN NOSTALGIA #47

Here’s something to enjoy regarding the Northern Pacific (NP) from a 1949 advertisement in my personal collection.



See Nature’s greatest show at

YELLOWSTONE

SEETHING GEYSERS and growling mudpots . . .

. . . . . steaming hot springs and lacy waterfalls . . .

. . . . . . . . . . begging bears and aloof antelope . . .

no wonder visitors never tire of talking about their Yellowstone trip on the streamlined North Coast Limited.

Make this your year to tour America’s biggest, strangest national park . . .

. . . . . but make your reservations soon! North Pacific – “the Yellowstone Park line” – will send literature about Yellowstone and other places you want to visit out West.

Write G. W. Rodine, Dept. 339, Northern Pacific Railway, St. Paul 1, Minn.

NORTHERN PACIFIC
YELLOWSTONE PARK LINE


Enjoy! [tup]

Tom [4:-)][oX)]


ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!

[passengerfan]

Here's a little more on the NP.

NORTHERN
PACIFIC
Streamlined Coaches
by Al

The Northern Pacific Railway would acquire their first streamlined or semi-streamlined coaches from Pullman Standard in October 1935. These six 1300 series coaches with 56 revenue seats and 8 seat smoking lounge would have a major influence on postwar coach purchases of the NP. The 1300 series cars rode on 4 wheel trucks were fully air-conditioned and featured large thermo-pane@ windows. The roofs of these cars were flat and tapered down at the ends. The car sides were of riveted construction and a full vestibule could be found at each end of the cars. Most passenger car historians class these cars as semi-streamlined. The NP owned five of these cars and the sixth was owned by the CB&Q, they were assigned one each to each NORTH COAST LIMITED consist between Chicago and Seattle.
Following WW II the NP like so many other railroads was anxious to purchase lightweight streamlined cars particularly for the NORTH COAST LIMITED and placed orders with Pullman Standard following the war. The NP NORTH COAST LIMITED unlike many of the postwar streamliners never actually became a streamliner on any particular date but seemed to evolve as a streamliner. As each new batch of cars arrived in St. Paul from Pullman Standard they were set up at the NP Como shops and then assigned to the first eastbound NORTH COAST LIMITED from St. Paul to Chicago traveling ahead of the regular consist. When the NP train arrived in Chicago the heavyweight cars the new streamlined cars would replace were set out and the streamlined replacements took their place. The heavyweights were then returned to St. Paul at the head of the NORTH COAST LIMITED. After the heavyweights were set out in St. Paul the NORTH COAST LIMITED then continued to the West Coast. Pullman Standard delivered the new cars for the NP between October 1946 and July 1947. Three types of cars comprised the Coach section of the streamlined NORTH COAST LIMITED. First their was a 56 revenue seat Coach without leg rests for the short trip passengers from the 500 – 517 series the remaining 12 cars from this series were assigned to the two consists of trains 407-408 the NP pool train between Seattle and Portland. Second their were two 56 revenue seat Leg Rest Coaches from the NP 588-596, CB&Q 598, 599 or SP&S 300 series, with one assigned as a through Chicago – Portland car the other a through Chicago – Seattle car. The third type of car comprising the Coach section of the streamlined NORTH COAST LIMITED was 26 revenue seat Coach with Conductors Office, Buffet and 20 seat Lounge in the 494-499 series.

56 REVENUE SEAT DAY COACHES WITH 8 SEAT SMOKING LOUNGE Pullman Standard October 1946 – July 1947 (Built for and assigned to NORTH COAST LIMITED and Seattle – Portland trains 407-408)

500 – 517

56 REVENUE SEAT DAY-NITE COACHES WITH LEG RESTS Pullman Standard October 1946 – July 1947 (Built for and assigned to NORTH COAST LIMITED)

NP

588 – 596

CB&Q

589,599

SP&S

300

26 REVENUE SEAT COACHES WITH CONDUCTORS OFFICE BUFFET 20 SEAT LOUNGE Pullman Standard October 1946 – July 1947 (Built for and assigned to NORTH COAST LIMITED)

494 – 499

The NP NORTH COAST LIMITED would become the VISTA – DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED with the addition of both Dome Coaches and Dome Sleeping Cars in 1954. At the same time as the NORTH COAST LIMITED became the VISTA – DOME NORTH COAST LIMITED in 1954 it received a new paint scheme designed by famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy. The new paint scheme of dark green and lighter green separated by a white stripe added a real touch of class to what had been a rather dull drab looking train. The interiors of the older streamlined cars received attention at the same time the Domes arrived. Raymond Loewy was responsible for creating the famous Lewis & Clark Travelers Rest Lunch Counter Lounge cars from the older Coach Lounge cars 494-499. The conversion of these cars was done in the NP Como shops between July and October 1955. This was possible as the NORTH COAST LIMITED was now matching the timekeeping of rival Great Northern Railways EMPIRE BUILDER and only required five sets of equipment rather than the original six required by the slower schedule. This created another problem for the NP, as they were required by the ICC to provide service to the towns that the faster NORTH COAST LIMITED now passed. The old heavyweight ALASKAN had been the secondary transcontinental train across the NP mainline between St. Paul and Seattle; it was now replaced with a new train the MAINSTREETER. The NP MAINSTREETER received the unused 56 revenue seat leg rest coaches from the NORTH COAST LIMITED that had been displaced by the domes and sleeping cars that had been replaced by the dome sleepers. These were the only cars streamlined in the original MAINSTREETER train sets.
When the NP added the two 46 revenue seat Vista Dome coaches to the NORTH COAST LIMITED they replaced one of the 56 revenue seat leg rest coaches the other was retained and was trainlined between the two Vista Dome Coaches, this was great for those wishing to view the passing countryside the flat top coach between the dome coaches afforded a far better view. The NP did the same with the two Vista Dome Sleeping cars in the NORTH COAST LIMITED placing a flat top sleeper between them. The Budd built Vista-Dome Coaches and Sleeping cars were the first non-Pullman Standard built streamlined cars added to the NP roster.

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

NP

550 – 556

CB&Q

557, 558

SP&S

559

With the arrival of the SP&S Vista Dome Coach 559 on the system for assignment to the NORTH COAST LIMITED the earlier 56-revenue seat leg rest coach SP&S 300 was sold to the NP and renumbered 597 in July 1954.
In December 1953 and October 1954 the NP received six cars that would complete the streamlining of NP trains 407-408 the NP Seattle Portland Pool trains. In December 1953 the NP received two 40 seat Dining cars from Pullman Standard identical to those assigned to the NORTH COAST LIMITED numbers 456 and 457. In October 1954 the NP received two 56 revenue seat Coaches numbers 586 and 587 for assignment to 407 –408 during peak travel periods, at other times if not needed these cars were assigned to the MAINSTREETER pool of cars. The other two cars delivered by Pullman Standard in October 1954 were Parlor Buffet Lounge cars 492 and 493.

56 REVENUE SEAT DAY COACHES Pullman Standard October 1954 (Built for and assigned to Seattle – Portland Pool trains 407-408)

586,587

The MAINSTREETER received the only new cars ever constructed specifically for that train in July, 1956 from Pullman Standard the “Holiday Lounge” cars 487 – 491, these cars had 14 Parlor seats a Buffet and 32 Lounge seats. These were identical to the two earlier cars of this type constructed for Seattle – Portland pool trains 407-408 and delivered by Pullman Standard in October 1954. The parlor space in the cars was sold for the daylight portions of the MAINSTREETERS run. These cars only operated between St. Paul and Seattle and were not through cars to Chicago.
The MAINSTREETER was equipped with 56 revenue seat streamlined coaches by October of 1954.
The NORTH COAST LIMITED received new Budd built dining cars in December 1958 and January 1959 replacing the earlier 1947 dining cars. In fact these were the last new dining cars purchased by any class one railroad until after Amtrak. The older dining cars from the NORTH COAST LIMITED were transferred to the MAINSTREETER and operated only between Seattle and St. Paul.
The big news of 1959 was the arrival just in time for Christmas of the new Slumbercoaches from Budd. These 24 single room 8 double room cars were assigned to the NORTH COAST LIMITED one per consist between Chicago and Seattle. The NP purchased four of these cars initially and since their were five train sets each mornings arriving CB&Q DENVER ZEPHYR in Chicago hurriedly set out one of its two Slumbercoaches after the DENVER ZEPHYR was washed for departure in the afternoon on the NORTH COAST LIMITED to Seattle. The arriving NORTH COAST LIMITED from Seattle after going through the car washer in Chicago set out its Slumbercoach for departure in that days westbound DENVER ZEPHYR. The Slumbercoach in the NORTH COAST LIMITED trains was easy to spot, as it was the only regularly assigned Stainless steel car in the train. The remaining cars of the NORTH COAST LIMITED were painted in the Raymond Loewy two tone green scheme with white separation stripe. The SLUMBERCOACH was trainlined directly behind the head end cars and ahead of the first coach. The NP would eventually own twelve of these Slumbercoaches purchasing from Budd the leased cars operated by the New York Central, Baltimore & Ohio, and Missouri Pacific. The NP assigned LOCH prefix names to all twelve of the Slumbercoaches they owned to signify Scotti***hrift. Two of these cars would eventually be transferred to CB&Q ownership and in a strange twist of events would be the only postwar Budd built cars on the CB&Q to have LOCH instead of SILVER prefix names except for two baggage cars for the NEBRASKA ZEPHYR. The additional cars would find assignment in the MAINSTREETER as well as the NORTH COAST LIMITED and operated as a pool. The MAINSTREETER would eventually lose its regular sleeping car and carry the Slumbercoach only.

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

550 – 556

CB&Q

557, 558

SP&S

559

56 REVENUE SEAT LEG REST COACHES Pullman Standard October 1954 (Built for and assigned to MAINSTREETER- NORTH COAST LIMITED)

586, 587

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

NP

549

24 SINGLE ROOM 8 DOUBLE ROOM SLUMBERCOACHES Budd Company December 1959 Plan: 9540 Lot: 9691-090 (Built for and assigned to NORTH COAST LIMITED –DENVER ZEPHYR Pool)

325 LOCH SLOY

326 LOCH LEVEN

327 LOCH LOMOND

328 LOCH NESS

24 SINGLE ROOM 8 DOUBLE ROOM SLUMBERCOACHES Budd Company (Used cars purchased by the NP and assigned to NORTH COAST LIMITED – MAINSTREETER)

May 1964

329 LOCH TARBERT originally MP 699 SOUTHLAND originally assigned to TEXAS EAGLE – NATIONAL LIMITED

June 1964

330 LOCH KATRINE originally B&O 7702 RESTLAND originally assigned to NATIONAL LIMITED – TEXAS EAGLE

331 LOCH LONG originally B&O 7703 SLEEPLAND originally assigned to NATIONAL LIMITED – TEXAS EAGLE

332 LOCH LOCHY originally B&O 7704 THRIFTLAND originally assigned to NATIONAL LIMITED – TEXAS EAGLE

November 1964

333 LOCH TAY originally NYC 10800 originally assigned to TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED

334 LOCH RANNOCH originally NYC 10801 originally assigned to TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED

335 LOCH ARKAIG originally NYC 10802 originally assigned to TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED

336 LOCH AWE originally NYC 10803 originally assigned to TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED


335 LOCH ARKAIG and 336 LOCH AWE were transferred to CB&Q ownership in March 1965 with no change of numbers or name and continued to operate in the NORTH COAST LIMITED and MAINSTREETER.
The NP removed the five HOLIDAY LOUNGE cars 487-491 from the MAINSTREETER and rebuilt the five cars to 48 revenue seat leg rest coaches in the roads Como Shops between November 1962 and March 1963 and assigned new numbers 581-585. The cars were then assigned one per train to the NORTH COAST LIMITED replacing the flat-topped 56-revenue seat coach in each of the NORTH COAST LIMITEDS consists.
The NP purchased three lots of used cars from other roads. The first group of cars purchased was six postwar 56 revenue seat Coaches from the C&NW from two postwar groups. The Pullman Standard built C&NW cars arrived on the NP in November 1961 and had served in 400 services on the C&NW. The NP repainted the cars renumbered the cars 518 - 523 and assigned them to general service.

Pullman Standard February – April 1946

518 originally C&NW 3438

519 originally C&NW 3440

520 originally C&NW 3445

Pullman Standard October 1947

521 originally C&NW 3458

522 originally C&NW 3472

523 originally C&NW 3474

The second group of used coaches to be purchased by the NP came from the C&NW. The difference in these cars is they were all rebuilt by Pullman Standard in 1958 or 1959 for the C&NW and renumbered with 800 series numbers. All three of the 800 series cars purchased from the C&NW were originally 3400 series cars from Pullman Standard in October 1947. After purchase by the NP in September 1963 the cars were repainted and renumbered NP 524 – 526.

524 ex C&NW 826 rebuilt in October 1958 by Pullman Standard from original C&NW 3465

525 ex C&NW 838 rebuilt in January 1959 by Pullman Standard from original C&NW 3456

526 ex C&NW 844 rebuilt in March 1959 by Pullman Standard from original C&NW 3463

The final group of six lightweight streamlined coaches purchased by the NP came from the Missouri-Kansas-Texas in October 1965. The former M-K-T 1202R J. PINCKNEY HENDERSON was a 72 revenue seat stainless steel coach built as an experiment by Pullman Standard in May, 1945. It was purchased by the M-K-T as a replacement for the original 1202 J. PINCKNEY HENDERSON wrecked in December 1953; the R following the number designated it as a replacement. The other five M-K-T coaches purchased in October 1965 were 64 revenue seat Coaches delivered by Pullman Standard to the M-K-T in July – August 1955 for assignment to the TEXAS SPECIAL. The NP renumbered the cars 527 – 532 and left the stainless steel panels in place both above the windows and below the windows on the car sides. The cars were assigned to general service and were easy to spot due to their stainless steel sides, and rare occasions these cars could be found operating in even the NORTH COAST LIMITED but most often they operated in the MAINSTREETER or 407-408.

527 originally M-K-T 1202R J. PINCKNEY HENDERSON

528 originally M-K-T 1206 McALESTER

529 originally M-K-T 1207 DENTON

530 originally M-K-T 1205 NEW BRAUNFELS


531 originally M-K-T 1203 GARLAND

532 originally M-K-T 1204 PRYOR

TTFN Al

[siberianmo]

ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!

G’day All!

PASSENGER TRAIN NOSTALGIA #12

Here’s something to ponder with regard to our appreciation and fascination with
Classic Trains. Check out this ad (from The Official Guide of the Railways – 1956)



Look what they’re saying about the Vista-Dome North Coast Limited!

”FOUR VISTA-DOMES . . . the view really is terrific on the Northern Pacific!”

“Pride of the Northwest . . . a train second to none!”

“One of the top trains in the country”

“A LOVELY STEWARDESS-NURSE . . . so kind to me and my children”

“Most friendly and courteous employees”

“Comfortable trip – delicious meals. Our compliments to the chef”

“THE TRAVELLER’S REST buffet-lounge . . . most unique car we’ve ever seen . . . captures the flavor and romance of the West”

”WON’T YOU BE MY GUEST?”
Now a friendly Stewardess-Nurse welcomes you aboard the Vista-Dome North Coast Limited. You’ll enjoy extra traveling pleasure at no extra cost – in fact, even low Family Fares apply! Heading East or West through the scenic Northwest, you’ll see for yourself why passengers call it . . .

. . . . . One of the world’s Extra Fine trains . . . . .

. . . . . For complete information, write
. . . . . G. W. RODINE, Passenger Traffic Manager . . . . .
. . . . . Northern Pacific Railway, St. Paul 1, Minn. . . . . .

CHICAGO – TWIN CITIES – SPOKANE – PORTLAND – TACOMA – SEATTLE


Enjoy! [tup]

Tom[4:-)][oX)]


ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!

[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)]

[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

[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 $).

[siberianmo]

G'day!

Another NP/SPS Pix . . .


NP/SPS #559 in Montana (1972)
(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!

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!

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)]

[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

[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]

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

[siberianmo]

G'day!

One more for the road . . .

CN #6071 4-8-2 (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!

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!

Time for a foto . . . .


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



Later! [tup]

Tom [4:-)] [oX)]

[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]

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!

[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]

G'day!

Okay - one more time! [swg]

Courtesy: www.viarail.ca



Later! [tup]

Tom[4:-)] [oX)]

[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)]

[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.