Circling North America in '75

[NS VIA Fan]

The recent post here about travelling the circumference of the country reminded me of a trip I took in October 1975.......Circling North America on CN and Amtrak.......Essentially a straight shot across Canada, down the US West Coast, across the Southern States and back up the East Coast to Montreal.

I left home in Nova Scotia on a CN RDC Railiner which connected to the Ocean Limited at Truro for the overnight run into Montreal.

I had planned on taking CP’s Canadian from Montreal to Vancouver for the Domes and Park Car but when I made my reservation a month earlier all I could obtain was an Upper Berth…… the agent said he would place me on a wait list and he was sure I would eventually get my Roomette.

After arriving in Montreal early the next morning I walked over to Windsor Station to pick up my tickets but I still had an Upper Berth! I really didn’t want to spend the next three nights in an Upper so a change of plans…….back over to Central Station to see what CN had available on the Super Continental and yes they had a Roomette to Vancouver at 9:30 that evening. Cheaper too than CP and the agent even adjusted the fare as I had actually begun my CN trip on the east coast.

Now what to do for the extra 10 hours that I would be in Montreal (the Canadian had been due out at 11:30 am) It was a warm, clear fall day with the leaves at their peak and I couldn’t think of anything better than a quick round trip on the Adirondack. In the mid ‘70s the Adirondack was essentially a Delaware & Hudson train and a railfan’s delight with newly rebuilt Alco PAs and most cars in D&H’s attractive paint scheme. Only a couple of Amtrak cars would show-up in each train.

I could ride south to Whitehall, New York, make a quick connection to the northbound train and be back in Montreal in plenty of time for the Super Continental that evening. No advance planning required then to obtain a passport and you could make a spur-of-the-moment decision to cross the border. All you needed was your driver’s license…..there were so many railfans riding the Adirondack then, all you had to say to Customs was: you were just out for the train ride and you weren’t even given a second glance.

The Super Continental departed Montreal that evening and I had my Roomette for four nights on a schedule reminiscent of today’s VIA Canadian (CP’s Canadian then was on a three night schedule)

Early the next morning we arrived at Capreol to be combined with the section from Toronto to form an 18 car train.

SUPER CONTINENTAL #1 w/b from Montreal to Vancouver, Oct. 4, 1975

(Montreal to Capreol Section)

6518 FP9A

6622 F9B

6621 FP9B

9668 Baggage

5474 Coach

5530 Coach

756 Cafe-Lounge

5725 Day-Niter

1159 Sleeper (8-4-4) "Eldorado"

1134 Sleeper (8-4-4)"Endako"

2132 Sleeper (10-6) "Moose River" xFlorida East Coast

1088 Sleeper Lounge (4-bdr) "Cape Chignecto"

5383 Coach

(Toronto to Capreol Section)

???? FPA4 (Power off to yard before I got Unit No's)

???? FPB4

???? Steam Generator Unit

9633 Baggage

5455 Coach

5501 Coach

5715 Day-Niter

2319 Lounge "Gaiete" (Heavyweight: Built 1929)

1365 Diner

1154 Sleeper (8-4-4) "Evandale"

1136 Sleeper (8-4-4) "Endeavour"

2133 Sleeper (10-6) "Ecum Secum River" xFlorida East Coast

2001 Sleeper (duplex-dorm) "Ingelow"

(Montreal/Toronto Sections combined at Capreol......Power and some cars off/on at Winnipeg)

6506 FP9A (on Winnipeg)

6603 F9B (on Winnipeg)

6505 FP9A (on Winnipeg)

6518 FP9A (off Winnipeg)

6622 F9B (off Winnipeg)

6621 FP9B (off Winnipeg)

9668 Baggage

9633 Baggage

5455 Coach

5501 Coach

5530 Coach

756 Cafe-Lounge

5715 Day-Niter

5725 Day-Niter (Off @ Winnipeg)

1159 Sleeper (8-4-4) "Eldorado"

1134 Sleeper (8-4-4)"Endako"

2132 Sleeper (10-6) "Moose River" xFlorida East Coast

2319 Lounge "Gaiete" (Heavyweight: Built 1929) (Off @ Winnipeg)

2701 Sceneramic Dome "Athabaska" (On @ Winnipeg)

1365 Diner

1154 Sleeper (8-4-4) "Evandale"

1136 Sleeper (8-4-4) "Endeavour"

2133 Sleeper (10-6) "Ecum Secum River" xFlorida East Coast

2001 Sleeper (duplex-dorm) "Ingelow"

5833 Coach (Off @ Winnipeg)

On the third day we arrived at Winnipeg. An old heavyweight lounge we had been hauling was swapped out of the consist to be replaced by a full length Sceneramic Dome (x Milwaukee Road) along with some other equipment shuffling. Then it was on across the prairies on another warm fall afternoon.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Day four it was onto Edmonton and Jasper then into Vancouver the next morning.

After a couple of days in Vancouver I boarded Amtrak’s “Pacific International” for Seattle. Here it is at Blaine……I stepped off for a photo after we cleared customs.

I was in Seattle only long enough to connect to the Coast Starlight. This was my first time to the US West Coast and I was looking forward to the scenery through Washington, Oregon and onto California the next day. Since I would be on the train only for one night, I decided to save a little cash and go coach. The train was several coaches long and not full at all so I had a double seat to myself. The Bay Area was quite foggy the next morning but once south of there we were into the California I had expected……sun and heat! It was a great afternoon rolling down into San Luis Obispo where we met the northbound Coast Starlight, then along the coast to Santa Barbara and onto Los Angeles.

I spent a couple of days there doing all the tourist things and then on the last day, did a round trip to San Diego.

I was taking the Sunset Limited out of LA that evening so caught the 4:30pm San Diegan back. Rolling up the coast at dusk, all of a sudden there was a jolt and the train came to a quick stop……we had hit something! After a few minutes we were allowed to get off (and this was just along the track…..no station/no platform……I can imagine this being permitted now!) Wrapped around the front of our SDP40F was a Triple A Tow Truck. No injuries…..the driver had been out when we hit.

They brought in another tow truck to haul it off and after a two hour delay we were underway. I started to worry about my connection but the Conductor said the Sunset would be held as several others were connecting also.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

The Sunset Limited and a Roomette in the “Transcontinental Sleeper” was to have been the highlight of the trip. For a few years Amtrak operated a through sleeper from Los Angeles to New York (and for awhile, all the way to Boston) It was handled in the Sunset to New Orleans where it sat overnight (for occupancy) then was attached to Southern Railway’s Southern Crescent the next morning for Washington. On the last day Amtrak forwarded it onto New York.

Amtrak #2 Sunset Limited at Los Angeles October 14, 1975

568 SDP40F

570 SDP40F

1064 Baggage

9926 Hi-Level Coach

9961 Hi-Level Coach

9917 Hi-Level Coach

3393 Dorm. Bar Lounge

8041 Diner

2753 Palm Leaf Sleeper

2217 Indian Pony Sleeper

2619 Pacific Meadow (Transcontinental Sleeper)

......but what a disappointment when I entered my Roomette! The outer window pane had been replaced with “Lexan” and if anyone can remember these cars……After a few trips through the car washer, the lexan became so scratched and yellowed, the windows were almost opaque. Leaving LA a bit late at 10 pm, all I could make-out were halos around lights and putting up the shade the next morning was no better……the views of the desert I had been looking forward too were nonexistent! A far cry from the clean glass windows on the Super Continental that were actually washed at a couple of station stops while crossing the country.

A visit to the dining car and breakfast put me in a better mood so I decided to make the best of it and found a seat in one of the xSanta Fe Hi-Level Coaches…..my first time in one of these cars. I spent most of my time there (and in the lounge) during the day, only returning to the roomette at night.

My sleeper was the last car and I remember we stopped for a meet out in the desert…..I asked the rear brakeman when he got off if I could step out too for a picture …..”sure, but watch for rattlers!” I enjoyed the desert scenery ……something I hadn’t seen before. We had a long stop in El Paso where I could get off for pictures and then got a nice shot of the sunset from the Sunset near the Mexican Border.

The next day was on across Texas and into Houston.

The third night out we arrived in New Orleans at 7:30 pm and as the sleeper was my Hotel for the overnight stop…… plenty of time to go out for dinner and a look around the city.

Just as I woke the next morning we were starting to move, now part of the Southern Crescent. The following photo is during the stop at Birmingham.

The Southern Railway had stayed out of Amtrak and continued to operate their own trains until 1979 when they joined Amtrak. The Southern Crescent even had an xWabash RR Parlour Dome running between New Orleans and Atlanta and again, certainly a better spot to be sitting for the view then in my Roomette. We stopped at Atlanta in the evening to pick up some cars then it was onto Washington for an 8am arrival the next morning.

I was leaving the Transcontinental Sleeper here and not continuing onto New York. I spent the day touring the city……Monuments, The Smithsonian, riding the Metro etc then was back at Union Station for the 5pm departure of the Montrealer. This was my last night on the train and I would be home tomorrow afternoon so decided to save a little and just travel coach overnight. After the coaches thinned out a bit in New Haven, I had a double seat to myself.

I arrived back in Montreal on a Sunday morning……two weeks since I set out on my trip. I had to be at work the next day so it was out to Dorval and a quick 70 minute ride home to Halifax on an Air Canada L-1011.

 

[Jim G.]

That was a very enjoyable presentation. Thank you so much for posting it. You should have wonderful memories of a wonderful trip.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Fantastic Trip! As always enjoy your Trip Reports and Pics, Thanks!! :wub: Some people have all the fun!

 

[had8ley]

Wonderful report...almost makes me want to turn the clock back. I noticed the four (4) Southern units (eight sets of main reservoir tanks) on the Crescent at B'ham~ was this the old L&N station or the Southern station?

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Wonderful report...almost makes me want to turn the clock back. I noticed the four (4) Southern units (eight sets of main reservoir tanks) on the Crescent at B'ham~ was this the old L&N station or the Southern station?

I would say it was the old L&N station, also used by the Floridian and used today by Amtrak. I do not think it was the Terminal Station historically used by Southern and several other railroads.

Fascinating trip. Too bad about the windows in your transcon sleeper.

The Super Continental is an old friend of mine. When I took my first cross country Canadian trip, about 1971, I went from Toronto to Vancouver on the Super, then returned Vancouver to Montreal on the Canadian. Today's trip does represent a swap in routes, of course.

For anyone not familiar with the "old" equipment, those brown cars on the Super Continental are just as luxurious, lightweight,modern and streamlined as the flashy unpainted stainless steel silver cars on the Canadian. The CN cars, not being made of stainless steel,did not hold up like the CP cars, but at the time of being built about 1955 they were all fine cars.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Wonderful report...almost makes me want to turn the clock back. I noticed the four (4) Southern units (eight sets of main reservoir tanks) on the Crescent at B'ham~ was this the old L&N station or the Southern station?

I would say it was the old L&N station, also used by the Floridian and used today by Amtrak. I do not think it was the Terminal Station historically used by Southern and several other railroads.

Yes it was Terminal Station.....at least the site of. I remember backing in along the one remaining platform.....not much else left. I was back in Birmingham the following year on the Floridian and we stopped at the Amtrak (L&N) Station. A more modern facility.

And the station index page from the 1975 timetable page confirms the two stations still in use:

http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19750515a&item=0012

After I get my slides scanned, I'll post a trip a Report from that trip on the Floridian.......part of a USA Rail Pass adventure in 1976.

Thanks everyone for all the comments about my Trip Reports. Glad I always carried a small pocketsize notebook with me to record consists, notes etc of my trips. Just makes it so easy now to jog my memory!

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Wonderful report...almost makes me want to turn the clock back. I noticed the four (4) Southern units (eight sets of main reservoir tanks) on the Crescent at B'ham~ was this the old L&N station or the Southern station?

I would say it was the old L&N station, also used by the Floridian and used today by Amtrak. I do not think it was the Terminal Station historically used by Southern and several other railroads.

Yes it was Terminal Station.....at least the site of. I remember backing in along the one remaining platform.....not much else left. I was back in Birmingham the following year on the Floridian and we stopped at the Amtrak (L&N) Station. A more modern facility.

And the station index page from the 1975 timetable page confirms the two stations still in use:

http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19750515a&item=0012

After I get my slides scanned, I'll post a trip a Report from that trip on the Floridian.......part of a USA Rail Pass adventure in 1976.

Thanks everyone for all the comments about my Trip Reports. Glad I always carried a small pocketsize notebook with me to record consists, notes etc of my trips. Just makes it so easy now to jog my memory!

OK. The tip off is your statement "at least the site of". Terminal Station was a quite big affair in its day but by this time much of it had obviously been torn down. Which made me think of the L&N station since it had fewer tracks.

 

[jb64]

great pictures of beautiful trains. Thanks for sharing.

 

[TrackWalker]

After a couple of days in Vancouver I boarded Amtrak’s “Pacific International” for Seattle. Here it is at Blaine……I stepped off for a photo after we cleared customs.

Having ridden the "Pacific International" out of Seattle a few times in the mid 1970's I very well remember this dome observation. It even had a piano in it.

I've always wondered who it belonged to originally.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Having ridden the "Pacific International" out of Seattle a few times in the mid 1970's I very well remember this dome observation. It even had a piano in it.

Resurrection of a 10 year old post but nice to reminisce again

 

[Seaboard92]

Having ridden the "Pacific International" out of Seattle a few times in the mid 1970's I very well remember this dome observation. It even had a piano in it.

I've always wondered who it belonged to originally.

That looks like the Parlor/Dome/Observation from the Wabash Blue Bird. It is a quirky car because unlike most dome observations it has it's dome closer to the vestibule than the normal ones which are toward the rear. It's also the car used on Johnny Cash's "Riding the Rails" documentary. It is currently at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, GA.

 

[railiner]

That photo showing the SDP40F at the grade crossing accident, reminds me how 'burly' those six-axle units were, and had nose-doors permitting pass-through.
The GG-1's were even more formidable....I'd bet an engineer would rather be in one of those, than a cab-control car going over crossings...

The ability for serendipitous, spontaneous decision's, like taking a quick side trip at the spur of the moment across the border and back on the Adirondack, is sadly, an experience that would be nigh impossible now, even if the border was 'open'....

 

[Seaboard92]

That photo showing the SDP40F at the grade crossing accident, reminds me how 'burly' those six-axle units were, and had nose-doors permitting pass-through.
The GG-1's were even more formidable....I'd bet an engineer would rather be in one of those, than a cab-control car going over crossings...

The ability for serendipitous, spontaneous decision's, like taking a quick side trip at the spur of the moment across the border and back on the Adirondack, is sadly, an experience that would be nigh impossible now, even if the border was 'open'....

The only thing I wouldn't like about the GG-1s cab was just how small it was. I've been in one and it was almost claustrophobic tight. But compared to a cab car definitely much better protected those were tanks.