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I have a question which I hope someone can answer. I realize this is pre Amtrak but with all the knowledge in this forum somene can surely come up with something. A few years ago we decided to follow the old Oregon trail from Wyoming to the Coast. On the way back we ran into a snow storm in Wyoming that prevented us from getting to Cheyanne. We stayed overnight in Laramie instead. We had dinner in a great restaurant called The Overland which is next to the tracks. As we were eating I remembered vaguely as a small child going from LA - Minnepolis by train. I was so amazed that the train ran right in the middle of town. The question..does anyone know what that train would have been? I assume it may have been a NOrthern Pacific but again am not sure. thanks in advance.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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hmm.. sorry, dont know, several Trains have places on there route where they run down a Street, The Coast Starlight (Once made an Emergency Stop in the street) San Diego Trolly, Santa Maria, and others, try sending an E-mail to TrainWeb, They encourage people let them answer Questions
posted
Train Lady, I suspect the train that passed through Laramie was the Union Pacific's City of Everywhere. If memory serves me right, the City of San Francisco and City of Los Angeles were combined through Laramie and on to Ogden, UT. It split there, the respective parts going to their respective name places. The Ogden morph brought about the nickname City of "Everywhere."
The restaurant aside the tracks--The Overland--was probably so-named because of its proximity to UP's "Overland Route."
Your following the Oregon trail from Wyoming to Oregon sounds like a great vacation. My wife and I went to the Oregon-California Trail Association Annual Convention in August. I've been reading related books since. And getting my 4x4 Jeep ready for following some of those trails.
Posts: 445 | Registered: May 2002
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Without really asking your age, about when did this "small child" trip occur? Do you remember anything else that could give us a hint. There are several possible routes for Los Angeles to Minneapolis. The two fastest would probably have been either Santa Fe to Kansas City and then Rock Island the rest of the way, or the Golden State which would be a Southern Pacific - Rock Island through train which carried through cars LA to Minneapolis that werre switched out at Kansas City and put in the Minneapolis to Texas train. You could also have ridden Union Pacific from LA to Omaha and changed trains there, I think, but am not sure. Don't remember if there was another practical transfer point between there and Chicago or not. Finally, there would be the go north from LA to Portland OR and then take the SP&S train that ran through on either or both Great Northern or Northern Pacific the rest of the way to Minneapolis.
Once one of these possibilites is nailed down then we can try to figure out the places where the train ran in the middle of town. I have the feeling there are quite a few possibilities for that.
George
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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Train Lady - did the train you were on go down the middle of the street in Laramie? Or was that in some other town? If it was in fact in Laramie, then Zephyr is right -- it was likely the UP "City of Everywhere." If the town where you ran down the middle of the street was not Laramie, then it could have been any of the trains George suggests.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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sorry if my post wasn't clear. I know the town,Laramie). It's the train I wanted to know. It would have been in the late 1930's. The only thing I remember is eating in the diner while we were in the station in Laramie. Zephyr, It was a fabulous trip. We did the northern route to the Oregon coast. As you know it was really 3 routes, California, Morman, and Oregon. We "amtraked" to Denver ,rented a car and drove up to FT. Laramie. The following year came through Canada, through the mid west and did the part from Nebraska to Cheyanne and then to Denver. There is a great book called The Traveler's Guide to the Oregon Trail by Julie Fanselow. Falcon Press (1800 582 2665) It has mile by mile info, maps, history , side trips etc. Much of the trail is obsecured by cities but enough remains to be very interesting.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Well Train Lady, you seem to have a great memory of your trips, or made great notes. Anyway, I have found a schedule of passenger trains passing through Laramie in April, 1935 which was at the height of the depression.
The only railroad through Laramie is, and was, the Union Pacific and they had only two passenger trains per day stop there. Following is info:
Westbound: Pacific Limited at 1:32 PM Portland Rose at 10:10 PM Eastbound: Portland Rose at 6:45 AM Pacific Limited at 7:10 PM
I hope this is of some assistance.
RRCHINA
Posts: 467 | From: Prescott, AZ USA | Registered: Mar 2002
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RRCHINA, Wasn't it the next year (1936) that UP introduced the City of SF and LA streamliners? Happen to know their Laramie schedules? Also, weren't these City streamliners separate trains (i.e., not combined east of Ogden) until 1960 or so?
And train lady, thanks for the heads-up on that Oregon Trail book. I see copies can still be had at Amazon.
Posts: 445 | Registered: May 2002
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Zephyr, sorry but I don't have info for 1936 nor for several years later. I got my 1935 info from a copy of the Official Guide of Railways which was issued monthly. Perhaps others at this site have copies for later than 1935 and can assist.
These Official Guides are a great source of Info and some are being reproduced. Perhaps larger libraries have them.
Posts: 467 | From: Prescott, AZ USA | Registered: Mar 2002
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thanks to all of you who answered. It does put to rest a nagging but non earth shaking question. Since I cannot send a private message to Zepher I ask the rest of you to please be patient while I again address the Oregon Trail. Zepher, if you are doing the northern trail ( to oregon) you will not need your jeep. We followed the book page by page in our Honda Accord and my husband says it was the easiest trip we made. I do keep a daily journel while traveling so if you need recommendations for lodging or restaurants or things to see, contact me.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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