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I just got a gift of a super book. Thought I'd share it with y'all. It is TRAVEL BY PULLMAN by Joe Welsh and Bill Howes. The pictures are excellent,shows the inside and outside of various trains, the cars and the engines. It can be found at Amazon
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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I'm sure that Bill Howes, who during his railroad career with B&O was Passenger Traffic Manager and later B&O's Amtrak Operations Officer AND who I had occasion to meet "along the way", has produced a quality work. I simply cannot imagine otherwise.
Posts: 9977 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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It is a good book - some of the best pictures are of the interior of B&O trains. Those were the days. Bill Howes really understood how to operate a good train and even convinced a reluctant management to pull out all the stops on the last run of the Capitol Ltd. Restored full dining, dome, and observation cars with special menu. Quite a sight when I saw it leave Baltimore.
He got his start in the passenger business when working for a young manager named Paul Reistrup. Reistrup was given a free rein by B&O President Jervis Langdon to try some innovative ideas to see if he could save the passenger business. While there were some modest successes, we know the results - in spite of things like fares based on the day of the week, budget sleepers, and movies in the coaches.
Howes was also responsible for pulling out of storage the classic round end observation cars (B&O bought second hand from NYC in late 50's) in an effort to boost ridership on the National Limited. Check out the pictures of it in the book. I was able to ride it during that brief window and enjoyed a drawing room with my brother from Baltimore to Cincinnati. After cars like those, it is very hard to get excited about amfleet lounge cars.
After his days in the passenger business, Bill went on to a successful career at CSX rising to VP.
Posts: 2397 | From: Camden, SC | Registered: Mar 2006
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