Classic Trains Fall 2021

My friend and colleague Jim Wrinn titled his 2000 book about the Southern Railway/Norfolk Southern steam program Steam’s Camelot. The title references the legendary, probably mythical, era of England’s King Arthur, a golden age and place of prosperity, happiness, and justice that flourished briefly and then vanished forever. It perfectly captures how many of us feel about the three-decade reign of 4501, 722, 610, 1218, et al. Here in Wisconsin, we had our own, more fleeting Camelot of steam. It was largely the work of Chris Burger, who tells the story of Chicago & North Western’s steam program in the latest installment of his “Best of Everything” series [page 16]. Although it didn’t feature big engines hauling 20-car trains every weekend, C&NW’s effort was the real thing, with public trips and…

Local talent in Philly Helper for a 3-car train DL&W club car restored Reviews Circus and Carnival Trains in Color By Robert J. Yanosey. Morning Sun Books, Avon-By-The-Sea, N.J. 128 pages, $69.95. Author Yanosey has searched his photographic collection for the flamboyant circus and carnival equipment and trains of years past. Early pages show circus wagons and the unloading process. Then the book is divided into three sections covering the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Combined Show, James E. Strates Show, and other shows that used trains. The format of these portions will be familiar to readers of Morning Sun’s freight and passenger equipment book series. A final section, the last 26 pages, comprises action shots of circus trains through the years. Some of the photography is quite recent, reaching into the 21st century. — Brian…

I was most pleased and entertained by Jack Elwood’s story “A Day on the Dead Horse Job” [“The Way it Was,” page 88]. You also had his obituary listed on page 7. And you had him on the cover, too! He was promoted to Road Foreman of Engines on the Santa Fe and worked in this position in Gallup, N.Mex., and Fresno, Calif., and was my immediate supervisor at the latter location in the 1970s. Both of his sons followed in his footsteps and became locomotive engineers, as well. He was a fine railroader and will be fondly remembered. Phil Gosney, Castro Valley, Calif. Coming in hot I could feel the anxiety over trying to flag down the Pan American at Elizabethtown, Ky., in Phil Gosney’s “The South Wind Doesn’t Stop Here” [page…

There are so many mainline steam restorations going on now, the mind reels. Where to begin? Are you thrilled by the prospect of seeing Santa Fe 4-8-4 2926 rolling again? How about Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 4-8-4 576? Or Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 2716? We might even see two Reading 4-8-4s before long. And kudos to the Western Maryland Scenic for hitting the finish line a few months ago with C&O 2-6-6-2 1309. What really got me excited recently is the news from the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, Pa.: Pennsylvania Railroad K4s 1361 is poised to escape purgatory. The museum’s chairman, former Norfolk Southern and Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman, is heading up a $2.6 million campaign to get the 1361 back in service. Now we’re talking! I didn’t come along…

During the late 1970s and early ’80s, when I was manager of Chicago & North Western’s Wisconsin Division, there wasn’t much left in most railroads’ tills for public relations and advertising. In our neck of the woods, when most folks thought about railroads, what came to mind was the Milwaukee Road bankruptcy. Our railroad had made a lot of progress since becoming employee-owned in 1972, and many North Western people, including me, felt we had a positive story to tell — but we also understood the financial realities. Having grown up during the tail end of the steam era, and having begun my rail career when roads like the Burlington, Reading, and Union Pacific had steam programs of one kind or another, I understood the fascination and could see the…

December 1979 started out looking pretty grim for a lot of Rock Islanders. The end of the Rock was apparent and there were no guarantees any of it would be picked up. So, when word spread that Southern Pacific was hiring, it was a note of Christmas cheer. A phone call to SP’s human-resources department confirmed it, and I was assigned a date (late December) and a place (a motel room in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) where I was to be given an interview. When word spread that Southern Pacific was hiring, it was a note of Christmas cheer. An SP HR person was there, along with a general road foreman of engines. They rented two rooms and had most of us filling out employment applications and paperwork in one room while the…