Based on a recommendation by Murphy Siding, I ordered a copy of Fred Frailey's Twilight of Great Passenger Trains thru the Inter Library Lending program. I received it last week and am reading it.
I am only on the second chapter...City of Everywhere, covering the UP's fleet in the late 60's.
This is really an interesting book, taking a cold hard look at passenger operations in the decade of the 60's for selected railroads. Like Murphy earlier indicated, the mail and express contracts were critical for operations of these trains.
Has anyone else read this book? If not, I would highly recommend it.
ed
It's got one of my favorite photos. A UP mixed train behind two E's rolling over a dirt ballast railroad.
If I didn't have the picture, I would never have believed such a thing happened.
I just finished the chapter on Union Pacific. The photo you speak of, is a classic. Both photos on that page, the other being the Kansas Prairie Dog, depict trains that would have been great to have ridden.
Imagine having a day, just to ride a mixed train and take in the entire operation.
Imagine too, being in Cheyenne when all the cars were broken apart and built into the trains for final destinations.
I just completed this book and found it a very informative read. The insight that Frailey gives to the operations of passenger trains during the 1960's on such railroads as KCS, SP, ATSF, MP, CBQ, Southern, SCL, and B&O/C&O enables the reader to experience not only the riding experiences, but also takes the reader into executive offices and boardrooms.
Frailey has become the best railroad reporter on the beat IMHO. His articles in Trains provide in depth looks at railroads, or in this months issue, the Sunset Route on the UP. However, in this book, Frailey not only reported, but told the story...unlike anyone since David Morgan penned. This was not only a factual book, but very emotional to read.
At times, I found myself saddened by understanding the outcome...and knowing "our team" was going to come up short. When reading the chapters on the Santa Fe, SCL, and B&O/C&O, it was good to know that those carriers tried, and tried very hard to succeed. Even certain carriers with CEO's that wanted to exit the service, such as Burlington and MoPac, held their services to a fairly high level. The legal manuevering by carriers such as Southern (!) were understood. Southern Pacific, on the other hand....well that was a chapter I was glad to complete.
The importance of the mail business was really hammered home. Chapter after chapter as the reader progressed thru the 1960's, you knew that the fall of 1967 would eventually arrive. And it did and things did change.
The photography in this slim volume is simply stunning. As mentioned earlier, the photo on page 32 of the UP mixed train on a dirt track line gives a 180 degree counterpoint to the speed exhibited of the Santa Fe's Fast Mail, kicking up dust as sunset. The color photo of the "City of Everywhere" with 5 E units and an endless number of passenger cars contrasts with the single Budd unit on the B&O. The Pullman porter preparing a roomette (taken from outside the train) emphasizes the attention to detail. The woman walking away from the Colorado Eagle at the Kirkwood, Mo depot reminded me so much of my mother.
The photos are by the masters of the time...Lamb, Hand, Stein, Tillotson, Ingles, Marre, and are not only technically sound, but they are emotional...they tell a story and tell it quite well. J. Parker Lamb's photo of the ACL's Havana Special in Selma, NC is one of the finest composed, yet sensitive photos you will ever see. It's more than the E units, its the people waiting to board the train. Where are they going and why? Life was a bit slower back then, but people still had reasons to go places and their passenger trains were often their best option
I was fortunate, in my early years to ride a few passenger trains. No doubt the finest was the Chief from La Junta to Kansas City, but other trains left great memories...City of St. Louis in 1966 to Denver, National Limited to St. Louis in 1963, 1964, and 1966 and the Colorado Eagle from Pueblo to St. Louis in 1964. This book told me the real story behind those trains, why they ran, who they carried, and why they were discontinued. An Official Guide of the Railways makes a great companion to this book, looking at schedules, maps, and equipment lists.
Thanks to Murphy Siding for recommending this in his book report thread. This one is simply a treasure, particularly for those of us that had the opportunity to either ride those trains or watch their passage at dusk.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
I agree that would be a good book. What you have to realize is that much of the "business trends" of that era were based on factors outside the realm of management's control, such as ICC regulation, numerous interline carriers, full crew laws, shifting of the economy in certain areas.
For example there is no doubt that Southern was one of the better railroads of that time, yet how much of their success had to do with the shifting of manufacturing from the Northeast to their region (their motto "Look Ahead, Look South"). Compare Southern to lets say Erie Lackawanna and how would you compare the managements of both carriers? Or lets say NW vs Rock Island? Sometimes you had to play the cards you were dealt.
If you want to see how a management made a difference on a railroad, read "The Rebirth of the Missouri Pacific by H. Craig Minor. Downing Jenks was a difference maker. He parlaid an excellent operating area (southwest) with the latest in technology and management style. The photo of him at the site of a flood washout, talking on the dispatcher phone says quite a bit about the man. Serious dude, no doubt was Mr. Jenks. Even tho he didnt want passenger trains, the MoPac operated the trains quite well. In 1964, returning back to Illinois from Colorado on the Eagle we were running late. Already at age 9, I was reading timetables and comparing our arrival time in St. Louis with the B&O departure. My seriousness must have been obvious as an older man across the aisle leaned over and assured me that we were riding the Missouri Pacific and the train would arrive on time. It did.
The book is available in the Interlibrary Lending program, as was Twilight of the Great Trains. So impressive was Twilight, that I will purchase a copy.
Murph...what did you think of the photography?
MP173 wrote: Murph...what did you think of the photography? ed
Alright...that one will be next! Well after a couple of mystery novels I have on the shelf.
Keep the recommendations coming Murph.
Hey, did that map help with the announcement of the J buyout by CN?
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