October 2012 Memphis Buff

THE MEMPHIS BUFF

VOLUME 39, ISSUE 10

NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

October 2012

City of New Orleans Terminates in Memphis (Again) A Railroad Vacation ( Part 3) “Panama Limited” type service returns to IC Rails

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Memphis Chapter Officers President – Walter Lang

walterhlang@yahoo.com

Vice President – Bruce Smedley Director – Bill Strong Secretary/Treasurer – Thomas Doherty Program Co-chairman – Carl Lancaster Program Co-chairman – Don Weis Yahoo Group Co-ordinater – Terry Redeker Newsletter Editor – Tom Parker

williambstrong@bellsouth.net TRDoherty@aol.com DBWeis@aol.com tkredeker@hotmail.com tscottparker@gmail.com

September Meeting The September meeting was held at the Germantown Library. Those who are going on the Oct Tennessee Central trip received their ticket packet. The group is planning an Amtrak outing on Saturday, Nov 3 to McComb, MS and back. Those who wish to go should buy there on tickets. At McComb a tour will be made of the Depot museum.

David Johnson presented a program on the first forty years of Amtrak.

The next meeting will be Oct 11 at Germantown Library @ 7:00 p.m.

DUES: National dues are going to $39 this year, it was decided to keep the total dues package below $50 so this is our dues structure for 2013: National & Local membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $49 Local only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25 Affiliated to National through another chapter and also joining the Memphis chapter $20 Your national dues billing will be sent to you and you are to remit to Tom Doherty. Do not send you payment directly to national this just slows down you renewal!

There will be an error in your bill showing total due as $54; remit only $49 with checks payable to NRHS - Memphis Chapter.

Any dues questions call tom Doherty at 754-1674.

The City of New Orleans basks in the Memphis sun as it awaits its evening dash to the Windy City.

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City of New Orleans Terminates in Memphis (Again)

By Tom Parker

For the third time since 2005 the Amtrak was forced to suspend service south of Memphis and terminate the City of New Orleans here.

Evacuation Train at Central Station , September 1, 2008 The first was was when Hurricane Katrina was bearing down on New Orleans. Amtrak suspended service on August 29, 2005. The train was terminated in Memphis for four days, service being extended to Jackson, MS staring on September 2nd. Service to New Orleans wasn't restored until October 8th. Side-note: Amtrak relocated their equipment from New Orleans to McComb, MS on August 28th. Amtrak contacted New Orleans Mayor Nagin, offering space on the train for evacuees, but the offer was turned down.

Consequently , the train consisting of seven locomotives and 20 cars departed New Orleans at 8:30 PM with 900 empty seats.

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike were responsible for the next disruption. In anticipation of Gustav, Amtrak suspended service over the entire route On August 29, 2008. On September 5th service was restored between Chicago and Memphis.

Three days later, on the 8th, service over the entire route was briefly restored, only to be suspended again on the 11th south of Memphis due to storm surges from Hurricane Ike washing out

the newly repaired track north of New Orleans.

Service to New Orleans was again restored on September 20th. This interruption was notable for the two evacuation trains from New Orleans to Memphis on August 31st and that Amtrak trains were being detoured around Central Station due to the sinkhole just south of the station. When service was suspended south of Memphis, the City of New Orleans used Central Station, otherwise the temporary facility at Johnston Yard was used.

City of New Orleans, Central Station, September 7, 2012 By comparison, this years suspension of service due to Hurricane Isaac was rather boring. Service was discontinued south of Memphis from August 27th through September 11th. No drama, no evacuation trains, just an opportunity to get a few photos of the City of New Orleans in daylight.

AMTK 500, a GE P32BWH (Dash 8-32BWH), is an unusual visitor to Memphis.

A Railroad Vacation Part 3 (The Grand Finale)

By Tom Doherty We’ve reached the final leg of our Triple Crown railroad vacation. As with the real Triple Crown this one proved to be a glorious gem! The trip from Durango to Chama is about 2 ½ hours. We headed east on US-160 till Pagosa Springs, CO then south on US-84. This is a very scenic drive but alas the last part for us was in the dark.

the operating rights for the RR. The road only operates from mid-spring to mid-fall. There have been several different operators in its’ past; none of whom have been able to make a go of it. At the beginning of the 2012 season a new operator took over. The line is now run by the same company that runs the Durango & Silverton, which has a successful background in running tourist lines.

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was originally constructed in 1880 as part of the Rio Grande’s San Juan Extension, which served the silver mining district of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. Like all of the Rio Grande at the time, it was built to a gauge of 3 feet between the rails, instead of the more common 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches that became standard in the United States. The inability to interchange cars with other railroads led the Rio Grande to begin converting its tracks to standard gauge in 1890.

Chama Depot Chama is a VERY small town; with no chain motels. There are some local motels but we found the Parlor Car B&B on line, right across from the station, to be very nice. There is one radio station, so whatever music venue they’re playing is all you have to listen to. The innkeeper told us, “The radio station used to have a weatherman which the town really liked because it was their only source for a local weather forecast. However that has come to an end as the weatherman left to work for the Indian tribe on a nearby reservation. Now there are no local weather forecasts.” Folks that is a small town! The next morning after breakfast it was off to the station.

Those who know about the Cumbres and Toltec also know it has had a shaky past as a tourist RR. The railroad is jointly owned by the States of Colorado and New Mexico and they lease out

C&TS 488 is a Mikado type locomotive built by Baldwin in 1925 However, with the repeal of the Sherman Act in 1893 and its devastating effect on the silver mining industry, traffic over the San Juan Extension failed to warrant conversion to standard gauge. Over the ensuing decades it became an isolated anachronism, receiving its last major upgrades in equipment and infrastructure in the 1920s. A post-World War II

natural gas boom brought a brief period of prosperity to the line, but operations dwindled to a trickle in the 1960s. Finally, in 1969 the Interstate Commerce Commission granted the Rio Grande’s request to abandon its remaining narrow gauge main line trackage, thereby ending the last use of steam locomotives in general freight service in the United States.

Most of the abandoned track was dismantled soon after the ICC’s decision, but through the combined efforts of an energetic and resourceful group of railway preservationists and local civic interests, the most scenic portion of the line was saved. In 1970, the states of Colorado and New Mexico jointly purchased the track and line-side structures from Antonito to Chama, nine steam locomotives, over 130 freight and work cars, and the Chama yard and maintenance facility, for $547,120. The C&TS began hauling tourists the next year.

Co where you’ll have lunch. It is about an eight hour long ride counting the lunch layover and the return bus ride. Here is where the experience of the current operator becomes evident. You can ride the train from end to end and bus back to your starting point. You can bus on the front end and ride the train back; or you can ride to Osier, switch trains and return to your starting point. In years prior there were only the two trains with no return. You’d have to arrange your own transportation back to the starting point or spend the night and ride the train back the next day. While this may be fine with rail fans it didn’t make for a family friendly trip. Remember no matter how you do it, it is a full day activity. As a side note after riding the train all day it is only an hour bus ride to return.

By now this shouldn’t surprise you but the RR does offer several different classes of travel and fares.

Today the railroad is operated for the states by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission, an interstate agency authorized by an act of Congress in 1974. Care of the historic assets and interpretation of the railroad is entrusted to the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a non-profit, member-based organization whose mission is to preserve and interpret the railroad as a living history museum for the benefit of the public, and for the people of Colorado and New Mexico, who own it.

This is a long train ride (time wise). There are two trains each day; Chama to Antonito, and Antonito to Chama. These trains meet at Osier,

We elected to travel Chama to Antonito and bus back. Going either way will provide spectacular scenery; we choose Chama as our starting point as it is a little closer to Durango then Antonito.

As should be familiar to you by now, we opted for the last car, again an extra fare car. You get to ride in parlor car comfort plus have the rear platform for picture taking or just enjoying the fresh air and mountain scenery. This train ride rivals, or surpasses the Durango and Silverton when it comes to scenery; it reminded me of the rugged mountains of Alaska. On the Chama end you start out going through aspen forests and after Osier it’s high mountain terrain. At

Antonito you are on the high mountain mesa just south of Alamosa. The remoteness and ruggedness of the entire route will keep you glued to the window for the whole ride. Not this year but we will ride this again during the fall season when the aspens change color. If you are not familiar with aspen trees they are in the birch family and in the fall the leaves turn gold in color and become hard. When the breezes blow they make a sound something like castanets. If traveling eastbound (Chama departure) try to set on the right side of the car. The vistas falling away from the track and down into the valley can best be seen on the right. But even if the car is sold out it is relatively easy to move around to take those priceless shots of the amazing scenery. While my wife isn’t a train buff, she was moving all around the car (inside and out) to take in the views. When I mentioned doing this again someday for a fall adventure she was all for it.

Again the fire danger was very high and a trainman was stationed on the rear platform calling cinder fires to the chase car, same as the Durango and Silverton. At the layover in Osier the entire train crew switches trains with the Antonito/Chama train. This saves the RR having to pay for the crews to remain over night at an away station and keeps duty time within FRA limits. Lunch is included in the price of your ticket and served in a modern building at Osier.

This town only exists because of the RR. At one time it was where the section crew lived back in the Rio Grande days but today there is the “mess hall” and watering facilities. The workers at the dining facility drive in each day. The layover lasts one hour after the second train arrives. Usually the Chama departure arrives first which will give those passengers about an 1¼ hour break.

At Sublette, we stopped to take on water. This stop is in the middle of a cattle ranch, which are common in this part of New Mexico. The car attendant told us that the train crews have to watch for cattle on the tracks because if they hit a cow the railroad ends up paying for the loss of “this prize steer.” While we were stopped the

cows came right up to the cars. Once the whistle was sounded they moved back from the train.

The last car is set up as a parlor car with the chairs facing out. On this trip the car was only half full which made it easy to move to both sides to view the sights and take pictures. Part of the amenities includes beverages and snacks.

Adult beverages are available for an additional charge. Being the last car you can get some interesting shots of the train. Once again take advantage of the rear open air platform.

Inside the Parlor Car Once we reached Antonito we had ten minutes then onto the bus to return to Chama. From there we drove to Farmington, NM to cut down on the next day’s trip to Phoenix. So now that we’ve finished, what would we change? This was a very aggressive schedule but doable. I’d lengthen the trip. There are lots of tours available within the Grand Canyon so an extra day would be nice. I’d also opt to stay at Bright Angel or El Tavor Lodges; these are right by the canyon. These options are available through the GCRR. Also I’d add another day in Durango.

While the fire did curtail some of our plans it would’ve been nice to drive to Chama in daylight and enjoy the scenery. The main lesson learned is with planning it is possible to enjoy several train rides within a normal vacation period.

“Panama Limited ” Type Service Returns To IC Rails

By Tom Parker

Next month “Panama Limited” type service will return to the rails of the former Illinois Central. Pullman Rail Journeys is planning the twice a week service between Chicago and New Orleans.

Beginning on October 5th, plans are for the service to run out of Chicago on Saturdays and Wednesdays and out of New Orleans on Mondays and Fridays. Unfortunately, the service is betPullman cars in Central Station the morning of September 23, 2012 ween Chicago and New Orleans only, no passengers will board train was former Memphian Phil for about 15 minutes, the or detrain at intermediate Gosney, now an Amtrak engscheduled forty minute stop on stations. ineer living in California. Phil the trip north allowed a more Reminiscent of the “Panama contacted local railfan David leisurely visit.

Limited/Magnolia Star” of the Johnston and arranged to have More information on Pullman late 1960's where the Illinois the Memphis Railroad & Trolley Rail Journeys can be found on Central added coaches to the Museum open when the train thier website: “Panama Limited” but operated came through Memphis so that www.travelpullman.com it as a separate train, The Pullpassengers on the train would man cars will be coupled to the have the opportunity to tour the Here's wishing Pullman Rail Journeys success as Americans rear of Amtrak's “City of New museum. rediscover the train as a no Orleans”.

While the visit on the southhassle alternative to travel by On September 23rd and 25th, bound trip was brief because air.

Memphis was treated to a prethe train was only in the station view of the new service and what a beautiful preview it was.

The five immaculately refurbished Pullman cars were attached to the rear of the train when it rolled into the station.

Four the five cars were painted in the classic orange and brown Illinois Central color scheme, a scheme that probably hasn't been seen in Memphis for over forty years.

Photographers are silhouetted by the Pullman passengers tour the One of the passengers on the flash as the train leaves the station Museum on their northbound trip

CABOOSE

Pontchartrain Club” leaving Memphis Central Station Tom Parker Photo Meeting Schedule October 9, 2012 November 13, 2012 December 6, 2012 The October – December meetings will be held at the Germantown Public Library 7-9 pm.

1925 Exeter Road Germantown, TN 38138

Contact the Editor Tom Parker 3012 Wood Thrush Drive Memphis, TN 38134 tscottparker@gmail.com