Ghosts of the past

[montanan]

Here's a quick one. This is the Northern Pacific North Coast Limited. One of the better pictures that I have come across. I had the opportunity to ride the North Coast Limited a number of times and it was a great train. Back in the day it was one of the top transcontenental trains operating. Prior to the interstate system, people living in many westeren states did not have the highways that we do today and these trains helped people who lived in less populared states have a means to travel to other parts of the country that would have beeb very difficult at the time by car.

 

[Iron Horseman]

This is the Northern Pacific North Coast Limited. One of the better pictures that I have come across.

Not only a good picture but a very interesting one. Does anyone else notice something strange about the position of the dome cars?

 

[fcsflyboy]

The dome cars do look a little far up in the consist

 

[tootnkumin]

Maybe they only moved the head end cars for the return journey?

 

[montanan]

The dome cars are hooked together, not having another car between them offering a better view. I don't know if this was the practice of the NP, but I believe that the Santa Fe always kept a car with a standard roof height, such as a coach between dome cars.

 

[fcsflyboy]

This photo is of a Ghost of the Past still proudly living on! This B&O baywindow calls Lester Ohio home. CSX still uses her quite often between Lester and Lorain OH. usually about once every couple weeks you can see her riding on the rails. It's really nice to see this piece of history still in active duty and in such great shape and STILL in her original livery!

 

[Iron Horseman]

The dome cars are hooked together, not having another car between them offering a better view. I don't know if this was the practice of the NP, but I believe that the Santa Fe always kept a car with a standard roof height, such as a coach between dome cars.

Exactly. It was supposedly an NP RULE that another car always go between the domes to ensure the customers had an unobstructed view.

I don't know where you got that idea about Santa Fe. They had very few domes. I can't think of a single train that had more than a single dome in it. They had the one Pullman Vista Dome in each Super Chief set, and a single full dome in each of the other Chiefs, then of course the all high level El Capitan. Toward later years they did mix some high level (El Cap like) cars with the full dome on some of the trains (the San Francisco Chief?).

 

[montanan]

Being an old fart who was old enough to have ridden on both the North Coast Limited and the Hiawatha, I did get interested in the transcontental streamliners. I know that I had seen something about the practice of using a standard height car between dome cars. Thought it may have been the Santa Fe. Never did get to ride on any other streamliners. The GN Empire Builder crosses the northern part of the state, and the Uinon Pacific, Santa Fe, southern Pacific and others are a bit far away. Guess I had a senior moment.

I wish that I could justify running one of these trains on my layout, being that my freelance railroad connects to both the Northern Pacific and the Milwaukee Road, but being that it is a short line/bridge line through rural areas, neither of these trains would have a reason to appear.

The Northern Pacific did have a spur that ran south from Livingston, MT to Gardiner, MT to bring passengers to Yellowstone Park. In my freelance world, I do have a couple of NP cars show up to take a tourist train to the west entrance of the park at West Yellowstone. Nice thing about freelancing is that it's my railroad. For normal operations on my line, the best I can come up with for passenger service is an NP RDC dragging and NP lounge car for the premier train. Other than that there's a gas electric or a drovers caboose. That's as good as it gets.

 

[fcsflyboy]

Being an old fart who was old enough to have ridden on both the North Coast Limited and the Hiawatha, I did get interested in the transcontental streamliners. I know that I had seen something about the practice of using a standard height car between dome cars. Thought it may have been the Santa Fe. Never did get to ride on any other streamliners. The GN Empire Builder crosses the northern part of the state, and the Uinon Pacific, Santa Fe, southern Pacific and others are a bit far away. Guess I had a senior moment.

I have to ask you Montanan, what was it like riding aboard those trains? I'm only 22 and while I've traveled Amtrak and had an AMAZING experience, I can only imagine what it would have been like aboard a REAL limited liner.

 

[montanan]

I was only 11 or 12 at the time. I had relatives working for both railroads so our accomoditations were the best. For someone living in a small town going to the big city on these trains was a fantastic experience.

I had ridden the the cabs of locomotives by then on both freight and passenger trains, but to ride in the comfort and have the great food that wes served was quite an experience for a kid. I am talking about the mid to late 50's. Sitting in the dome cars was one of my favorite pastimes when I wasn't eating. (you know how kids are). The sleeper compartments were top notch. There something about being rocked to sleep on a train.

I keep going back to the food. The meals on both railroads were always good. A few years ago I came across a cook book with recipies for meals that were served on the NP North Coast Limited. I did buy it and we have enjoyed the recipies. It is amazing that they were able to get such great meals created in the small kitchens in the dining cars.

I have only ridden on an AmTrack train once quite a few years ago and there is no comparison. Although I was only a kid, it's quite easy to see the difference. Everything had to be the best on transcontenental trains back then. We lost AmTrack service here in southern Montana years ago. All that's left is what we call the highline, the old GN Empire Builder route across the northern part of the state.

 

[montanan]

This photo is of a Ghost of the Past still proudly living on! This B&O baywindow calls Lester Ohio home. CSX still uses her quite often between Lester and Lorain OH. usually about once every couple weeks you can see her riding on the rails. It's really nice to see this piece of history still in active duty and in such great shape and STILL in her original livery!

It's nice to know that still are some being used. Years back when I was a kid riding with relatives I usually wanted to be in the cab, but when you wanted to ride on the train, a caboose is good. They didn't ride quite as good though. Cabooses (cabeese?) also give those of us modeling earlier time periods something to do.

 

[Iron Horseman]

I wish that I could justify running one of these trains on my layout, being that my freelance railroad connects to both the Northern Pacific and the Milwaukee Road, but being that it is a short line/bridge line through rural areas, neither of these trains would have a reason to appear.

Rock slide or flood on the main have to detour.

The Northern Pacific did have a spur that ran south from Livingston, MT to Gardiner, MT to bring passengers to Yellowstone Park. In my freelance world, I do have a couple of NP cars show up to take a tourist train to the west entrance of the park at West Yellowstone.

In real life wasn't West Yellowstone served by UP?

The meals on both railroads were always good. A few years ago I came across a cook book with recipies for meals that were served on the NP North Coast Limited. I did buy it and we have enjoyed the recipies. It is amazing that they were able to get such great meals created in the small kitchens in the dining cars.

galley - technically dining cars have galley's.

 

[montanan]

Rock slide or flood on the main have to detour.

In real life wasn't West Yellowstone served by UP?

galley - technically dining cars have galley's.

Yes, West Yellowstone was served by the Union Pacific. Service ceased there years ago, but their tracks still serve industries in Idaho, on the other side of the Contenental Divide.

In my freelance world, there is (was) another railroad involved, the Gallatin Canyon & Western. This railroad belonged to a friend who has since passed away. It connected to my Logan Valley and went south connecting with the UP at West Yellowstone. His layout was huge, just about filling a good size building. I still have a few locomotives I custom painted for that railroad along with some rolling stock. Being that there is no way for me to model this trackage, in my freelance world, the Logan Valley bought it out and being that I am point to point, the trains would leave fron one of my yards and just go to a staging track instead of actually making the trip. More traffic for my railroad. Over a period of months, using Forest Service maps we came up with our grand plan even working out there the trackage would have to go not coming within the border of the park. That was almost as much fun as model railroading.

There is a Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone, MT that has a 1903 Oregon Shortline executive car inside the hotel, restored. It was reported to have taken passengers to visit Yellowstone Park. I haven't figured that one out.

 

[IronBeltKen]

If this old signal mast could talk...!

On a visit with "Grande Man" Eric in Birmingham, AL during the summer of 2008, he showed me this abandoned ROW with the tracks gone but the signal remaining. I wish I could remember what line he said this was, but all I know is it's somewhere North of Birmingham. I'm hoping that signal mast can provide a clue as to what RR it used to be. Maybe Carey (CJCRescent) or even Eric himself could weigh in on the thread with the missing info...?

 

[montanan]

Suprised that it's still there and that some railroad nut hasn't put a five finger discount on it.

 

[Iron Horseman]

Suprised that it's still there and that some railroad nut hasn't put a five finger discount on it.

I was just thinking the same thing. In fact if I was closer I might get a band together and perform the midnight requisition. Actually if I was closer I would find out who owns it and see if they would like to donate it to the museum before it does simply disappear.

 

[montanan]

Here's a couple of Northern Pacific steamers that are on public display around the state. The first two are NP # 25, in front of the Butte Civic Center in Butte, MT. I do have a brass model of this locomotive and even numbered it 25. The last shot is in Helena, MT. The railroads built the west and there are reminders all over the state.

 

[Iron Horseman]

After WWII the Santa Fe rapidly finished their conversion to diesels that they had started in 1936. With the advent of the Alco Road Switchers (RS-1) the fate of the 2-6-2 prairie class steamers was set. #1819 used to work the Bristol branch out of Lamar Colorado as well as the 2nd division sugar line, and locals from Pueblo to Garden City. It was originally replaced with an RS-4/5, then a GP9, and later a GP35 worked the Bristol Branch. When its final run was done, the railroad donated it to the city of Lamar. They laid temporary rails from the main line over to the city hall. The locomotive was moved under its own power to its display location.

Despite growing up around Lamar I didn't notice this locomotive too much and re-discovered it in 1984. It was in terrible condition. Apparently it had only been painted once since it had been moved, but I fell in love with it anyway. For being such a small locomotive it was a beast. I did not know that Prairie's could be so "heavy". The trailing truck looks like it could have been half of one from a Nickel Plate Berkshire. Anyway I began probing about to see what I could do or maybe even purchase it to restore and run as a tourist line from Pueblo to the Kansas Boarder (on the old MP main). I found out there was already an effort underway. Six years later that effort acquired the Lamar Station for a community center/museum and they moved the loco from city hall back over closer to its "home". It did NOT make that journey under its own power.

Worth stopping to look at in Lamar (US highway 50, 54, & 400) it is just off the highway.

 

[montanan]

It's nice to see these locomotives on display, instead of being scrapped. They are so much a part of our American history.

 

[blownoutcylinder]