descriptive writing about childhood experience

[spotts]

Hello train travelers,

I am new to the forum and I am taking a correspondence course in children's writing. My assignment that I am working on now is about a descriptive story about how I took a Amtrak train ride with my grandfather from Galsburg, IL. to Los Angels, CA when I was 11 and now I am quit a bit older and I am try to find photo's of the railway back in the mid 70's, 1975 to be exact. I need to be able to find some information and or pictures to help me jiggle the memory a little so that I can write my next assignment called trian ride to the west. One thing I do remember that I would never had experience anywhere else was when we passed in the desert and how beautiful it looked and one of the most vivid was when it was dusk and we were riding along and I looked to the other side of the train and it was raining on that side and looked like a perfect day on ours. At 11 years old that was most impressive, to see nature at it's finest. Please if you have any suggestions that may help me in "going back in time" please reply to my posting. Thank You and Safe travels to all. spotts

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I don't have a lot to help you.

But here is a suggestion. The train you rode was of course operated by Amtrak. But Amtrak is not a railraod itself, it operates passenger trains on other railroads, that is in most parts of the country.

Now---the railroad you were on was originally known as the "Santa Fe" ( complete name: Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe). Today, freight railroads all over the country have merged like crazy. It is BNSF today(Burlington Northern Santa Fe).

But I now FINALLY get to my point, having said all that: check the web for Santa Fe materials, photos, etc. There should be a lot. Also, the train you rode, the Southwest Chief, was at one time known as the "Super Chief". So check those sites, in addition to anything you might find on Amtrak sites.

Somehow looking up Santa fe and looking up Super Chief stuff, you might get some ideas, maybe some scenic photos, etc.

The Santa Fe just happened to have been one of the biggest and best all time pre-Amtrak operators of passenger trains. A whole slew of stainless steel "chiefs" (and El Capitan) ---the Chief, the Super Chief, Texas Chief, San Francisco Chief, Kansas City Chief, etc.

Oh yes----the superliner cars you can ride in today out west were patterned after some hi-level cars built in 1955 for Santa Fe to re-equip its El Capitan. It built yet some more hi-level coaches in about 1966.

So, you were not just on "any old train" or "any old railroad".

The pre-Amtrak Super Chief was at one time known as the Train of the Stars(i.e. Hollywood stars). Entire books have been written about it.

Oh by the way-- but you might look over kids books to see if any these days feature riding a train. Probably not, but you might get ideas if any do

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Oh yes, I will see if I have a 1975 timetable tonight. I do not know the exact history of name changes on that train. It would still have been operating with pre-Amtrak equipment, maybe both Super Chief sleepers and El Cap high-level coaches.

In later years, before Amtrak (May 1971) , the all pullman Super Chief and all coach El Capitan did sometimes run together as one train as an economy measure. I will let you know tomorrow what I finid out from 1975 as to train name, equipment, etc.

I am quite sure there was another name between Super Chief and Southwest Chief, but I do not remember what that was, maybe Southwest Limited??? I should find out tonight.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

What I want to do is reconstruct your trip for you as much as possible.(including the time major stops were made)

But I just ran into a glitch. I noticed that the California Zephyr route, as well as the Southwest Chief route, goes through Galesburg.

Now the California Zephyr is a train that goes to San Francisco. But there was a time when it ran combined with the Pioneer to Seattle/Portland and Desert Wind to LA.

So it is possible you rode the Desert Wind from Galesburg to LA.

But I don't think so. I don't think that was happening yet in 1975.

Just an outside chance.

Any chance you remember some of the stops en route? If you went Kansas City, Albuquerque, etc you were on the S.W. Chief. But if you went Denver, Salt Lake City(and saw the Rockies), you were on the Desert Wind.

But, again, I don't think the Desert Wind was operating yet in 1975. You would have seen much more of the desert from the Southwest Chief, also.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

The closest timetable I could find to 1975 was 10/31/76.

The Desert Wind was not yet operating. So, your train was then (at least in 1976) called the Southwest Limited.

It left Galesburg at 8:10 p.m., got to KC at 1:15 a.m.,departed KC at 2 a.m., proceded to leave Lamar, CO at 9.30 a.m. Alburquerque at 5.05 p.m. Flagstatff at 10.40 p.m. and LA next morning(second morning out) at 8:55 a.m. That not a complete list of stops, just a sample.

It was operating with the former Super Chief single level sleepers,and the El Capitan hi-level coaches. Not sure whether the diners and lounges were single level or double deck or even both.

There was a through sleeper from NYC and St.Louis hooked onto the train at KC. That car was hauled in the National Limited from NYC to KC.

Again this is from a fall 76 timetable, but I suspect it had not been much different in 1975.

 

[Anthony]

effective May 15, 1975

 

[Steve4031]

Those timetables brought back memories. I miss that ride out of Chicago on the old ATSF route. I also rode overnight from Oklahoma City to Chicago by myself on the Lone Star in 1978 or 9. It pretty much followed that schedule to. The diner was intersting in that it had some 2 seater tabloes as well as the 4 seaters.

 

[MrFSS]

The New York to Kaunas City Rout is interesting. Its the old PRR from NYP to STL. Much of the track is now completely gone in Ohio. Wouldn't it be nice if some was still there that could be used for a train from the east to St Louis today.