[This message has been edited by dnsommer (edited 11-27-2003).]
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
A few more come to mind, others I had to look up:
C-City of San Francisco/New Orleans/etc. D- Del Monte, Daylight L- Lark S- Shasta Daylight
To fill the holes:
K- Kansas City Zephyr, Kansas City Chief, Kansas Cityan, Kate Shelley "400".
R- Rio Grande Zephyr, Royal Gorge, Rochester "400", Rocky Mountain Limited, Rocky Mountain Rocket, Royal Blue, Royal Palm.
W-Whippoorwill.
Alas I could find no reference to any "U" trains.
Posted by dnsommer (Member # 2825) on :
What road operated The Whippoorwill? Just curious.
The Heber Creeper doesn't really count, I have to say. I just couldn't think of a bona fide train with a name which starts with H. Was there a train named The Houston Something-Something, perhaps?
Dave
[This message has been edited by dnsommer (edited 11-25-2003).]
Posted by dnsommer (Member # 2825) on :
Did The Royal Gorge earn its name because it had an all-you-eat-eat buffet that was fit for a king?
Dave
Posted by Kairho (Member # 1567) on :
A few current Amtrak trains:
K - Kentucky Cardinal, Keystone
R - (Ann) Rutledge
W - Wolverine
And, to get a US train into O:
O - Orange Blossom Special
Posted by rmiller (Member # 341) on :
W = Western Star, GN secondary train with through cars Chicago - Seattle and Portland.
Posted by UncleBuck44 (Member # 2049) on :
Another K would be the Kansas City Mule Goes from STL to KC, could also be known as St. Louis Mule
Posted by Ira Slotkin (Member # 81) on :
W: Wabash Cannonball
Posted by Nasscarr1720 (Member # 2060) on :
How about the Hiawatha for the letter H
Posted by MPALMER (Member # 125) on :
U - Did the UP ever run a 'Utahn' or anything similar?
K - Amtrak recently pulled out of Louisville. That train might have been called the Kentucky Cardinal.
Posted by zephyr (Member # 1651) on :
MPALMER, great call on the Utahn. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles (C&NW and UP).
Well, Zephyr, that is a great list of train names!
I didn't see a Hiawatha on the list, but I did see a Hustler and a Hummingbird, which takes care of "H." I think it's the Hiawatha's formal name was The North Coast Hiawatha. And I also saw Afternoon Hiawatha on Zephyr's list.
The Wolverine certainly qualifies for "W." But was the Wabash Cannonball properly known by that name, or was it "The Cannonball" operated by the Wabash RR?.
The only "U" train on Zephyr's list was the Utahn, MP.
Nothing starting with an "X"...
I guess the only left to do is debate which train is more significant in RR history than another in cases of multiple entries! Like, I'd say a "Royal Gorge" beats a "Rio Grande Zephyr" in overall significance. It's kind of like poker! For example, having all the "City of" trains would be like a royal flush. But would three Regionals beat a pair of Zephyrs?
It's your turn to ante up.
Dave
[This message has been edited by dnsommer (edited 11-25-2003).]
[This message has been edited by dnsommer (edited 11-25-2003).]
Posted by zephyr (Member # 1651) on :
Yep, we're still missing "X". Maybe there was a train called the Xpress, or Xtra, or X-train, or X-treme, or X-travagant, or X-ultation. It's x-asperating that we can't fill in that blank. If we can go outside of North America, doesn't Australia have the Xpress Passenger Train (often just called the "XPT")?
Posted by zephyr (Member # 1651) on :
Re. "...would three Regionals beat a pair of Zephyrs?"
Dave, one Zephyr would trump all. Check it out (Hoyle's Book of Games, Feather River Canyon edition).
Posted by espeefoamer (Member # 2815) on :
Southern Pacific, at one time ,had a secondary train called the Klamath.N.Y.C.had a lightweight train in the 50's called the "Xplorer".
S:Slim Princes, a Southern Pacific norrow gauge railway that serviced a long time ago its a musium now. theres more about it at http://www.thesierraweb.com/bishop/laws/
------------------ JONATHON D. ORTIZ
[This message has been edited by JONATHON (edited 11-25-2003).]
[This message has been edited by JONATHON (edited 11-25-2003).]
Posted by Nasscarr1720 (Member # 2060) on :
There was also a train from the Milwaukee Road called Olympian Hiawatha that ran almost the same route as the Emipre Builder.
Posted by TwinStarRocket (Member # 2142) on :
Ah, the Olympian Hiawatha. I still have a timetable. Awesome train! Actually it ran far to the south of the Empire Builder from MSP to Spokane: through South Dakota (Aberdeen, Mobridge). It could have been called the City of Nowhere between Minneapolis and Helena.
The abandoned line between Missoula and Idaho is now the "Route of the Hiawatha" bike trail which features numerous displays of life on the elegant Olympian. Full length "Great Domes" and the all glass rear-end parlour car at the end.
It was electrified through the Rockies and the trains running downhill generated power back to their power plant. When it was discontinued, they still ran a train to Aberdeen, SD. I have heard the last run to Aberdeen was a railfan bash.