Emmett's Blog

Emery Gulash, Morning Sun Books

(§}·THE ST. LOUIS·

RAILWAY ENTHUSIASTS, INC

. =-.-...-:=----=--'=:.:..:.. c== -- --· ...-·---

NOVEMBER 2022

Randolph & Wells, Sept. 9, 1960 Al Holtz photo

Mark D. Goldfeder, President, 1064 Ferngate Lane, St. Louis, MO 63141-6130,(314) 878-2786 Steven P.

Binning, Vice-Pres, 341 Charlottesville, St. Charles,MO63304-1038,(314) 537-7162 Kelvin K. Wilke,

Secretary, 1615 Ridgeview Tr., Fenton, MO 63026-XXXX,{636) 600-1132_

Charles D. Dasho, Prog ms 6543 Chippewa, Apt.406 St Louis MO 63109 (21i-f) i� ?$'ff

David J. Neubauer, Editor Emeritus., Villages of St Peters- 'oe\ w- {636) 447-6358

Thomas Konieczny, Cq_ntrib-Ed.,2101 Mathilda Dr., Belleville, ll 62226-7357, (618)235-1309

.A - rnV:G!'. Sisl<,. ... _fef,t.or 720 Angenette Av_ ..'.'- w.oruLM0.63122-6222, {314)484-1592

David J.Neubauer, 5400 Executive Centre Pkwy, St Peters MO 63376 Sisk: asisk@sbcglobal.ne.t

To obtain or renew membership send a check for $20 made out to St. Louis Railway Enthusiasts

c/o 'Mark Goldfeder, President, address above. Membership Year runs September-August.

NO DUES NOTICES ARE SENT OUT I STAND BY FOR ANNOUNCEMENT FROM MARK OF MEETINGS.

St Louis Railway Enthusiasts WHISTLE TALK November, 2022 Pg. 2 Welcome to

the November (4th of 4 in 2022) issue of Whistle Talk. I have only a smattering of rail news for St

Louis, so perhaps you'll forgive me if we take a trip uptoChicago for much of our content. It is,

after all, where my railfanning

impulses "crystalized'' into a passion - and perhaps many of you had the same experience.

First, however, some news on St Louis. The UP recently concluded a grade crossing replacement

program that extended from St Louis City to Pacific. It was quite a show at the Kirkwood Depot for

a few evenings. I went there one afternoon to see 318 (the train from Chicago) pull through, while

Track One was down for construction. Not long afterwards we heard from the track gang that Amtrak

had struck and killed someone. It was that teenaged boy by Castlewood State Park. What a shame;

probably ear-buds to blame. Meanwhile, the only remaining track was tied up by this for 3-1/2

hours, ruining train and crew dispatchers' plans.

¥Joe Edwards offered some news that car 003 will be ready for operation this coming Spring, and

that with all three cars available to run, it will be "fantastic". I wonder if that means they will

runtwo at a time, so that headways are½ hour, not an hour's wait? There's no schedule, no number to

call to ask, no Automatic Vehicle Locater on the car by which one can trace the cars via a phone

app, so all we can do is just wait for the next car (or, catch it at the start). See you in April.

Joe also hopes for development to occur on Delmar east of the Wabash Station, particularly when

Washington University recognizes that station's (which it owns) potential as "the gateway" to the

area.

Steve Siegerist informs that on the Monday after Thanksgiving Metro will return to its "pre-flood"

operations. Red Line trains will run from Lambert to Shiloh; Blue Line trains will run from

Shrewsbury to Fairview Heights.

A few of you may have known Keith Sherman; he just passed (11/18). Keith was apparently active in

getting the KCS Holiday Train to visit his area (he lived in Godfrey); this year it will come only

as far as Roodhouse on December 13 at 4pm. This may be our last chance to see it, before the CPKC

merger takes effect sometime in early 2023.

The CN has pressed for trackage rights across MO on the former (underutilized) GM&O line (now KCS).

It makes sense as a way to reduce Chicago congestion by spreading the load. CN says it would

restore its line from Springfield north - but some companies promise but do not deliver.

Jaguar Holding Company just spent $1M to improve the tracks of the Missouri Eastern (formerly MO

Central). Its locomotives are still in UP paint, however (with MERR stenciled on).

..J,,1'mstill waiting for the Mayor of St Louis to commit using some of their Rams-resettlement

money to bring our Gateway

1' Station downtown up past second-class conditions. Meanwhile, how pitiful of Amtrak to dismiss

long-distance trains as

an "experience" that is not real. It seems that most national planners' philosophy is that life

only happens on corridors.

Dave Neubauer, aka the Energizer Bunny, has bounced back from another visit to DePaul to clean out

his (re-infected) shoulder. Yet another "temporary" spacer was installed, but the doctor hopes that

this Spring, he'll get his new shoulder joint. Then he may be able to move into a situation where

he could have a computer, and finally email us!

Wally Dittrich is apparently having a rough go of it, with memory issues following his heart

attack, so again send your dues payment to Mark Goldfeder, our president (address on cover).

Meanwhile, Mark announces an arrangement with SLRE Ken Rimmel who is active at the Big Bend RR Club

(former Frisco Station in Webster on Big Bend with an O-scale two-rail layout). The St Louis

Railways Enthusiasts will be able to gather in their meeting room on the second Thursday of the

month (usually a WB BNSF on Thursday eves to go by). Mark will call our regular attendees with

details to follow.

In the meantime, Jim Doerr invites us to his annual NRHS/SLRE Christmas party at the Genesis

Banquet Center on Telegraph Road. This will be the last time that we will meet there, with their

great food and service - they are closing at the end of the year. In lieu of having an SLRE

Christmas dinner party at Pietro's, Mark invites us to join with the Truck Club of St Louis at

Pietro's in their Holiday luncheon on Saturday 10 December, noon-4pm. Call Mark to reserve.

One last word, SLRE Jerry Peters died on Nov.14ᵗʰ, aged 98. A dear guy with a true love for RRs. He

was with the US Army railroad in Germany, and then with thefounding of NMOT. Go to Berger Memorial

for more info.

St Louis Railway Enthusiasts WHISTLE TALK

November, 2022

)f'- L-'--2

Norman Carlson

Pg. 3

A RICH RAIL TRANSIT HISTORY by Norman Carlson, Metra Board, Transit consultant, editor First &

Fastest From Railway Age, September 2022

In his on-line article "Happy 75ᵗʰ, CTA", Contributing Editor David Peter Alan makes reference to

CTA's Skokie Swift, now known as the Yellow Line, as the last remnant of the Chicago North Shore &

Milwaukee Railroad. Also, there were the South Shore Line, now owned and operated by the Northern

Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), and the Chicago Aurora & Elgin. Collectively they

were known as Chicago's Big Three electric interurban railways.

For those who remember the North Shore, it is hard to accept that it has been 60 years since the

last trains pulled into their terminals around #:00 a.m. on Jan. 21, 1963. Marketing itself as The

Road of Service, the North Shore operating culture was speed and efficiency. The balancing speed

of the trains operating as Milwaukee Limiteds was between 80 and 83 mph. Unlike any other

interurban, dining service was offered from shortly after Milwaukee service began in 1908 until

abandonment in 1963.

Their trainmen's philosophy was "get them off, get them on, get out of town." Coming into a station

was a combination of smells and sounds: ozone from the traction motors, hot lubricating oil,

squealing brake shoes on steel wheels, thumping air compressors, grinding gears on the traction

motors, step traps slammed against the doors and the exhausts of the air brakes. Passengers got on

and off quickly. Then it was two bells and the slamming of the traps hitting the floor as the train

accelerated. Station stops were a matter of seconds. On the North Shore, there were no speed

limits, only speed restrictions. Motormen ran trains with the controller "on the rass" (full

parallel), with heavy

service applications for braking. When asked how can you run 85 mph with trolley poles, reportedly,

the railroad responded no one told us we couldn't do it.

Adding to North Shore's legend were the literally millions of Navy and Army recruits that rode the

railroad. The railway served Naval Station Great Lakes and Fort Sheridan. And then there were the

Electroliners, which entered service early in 1941.

These two four-unit articulated streamlined trainsets made five fo the 17 daily limited train trips

in each direction between Milwaukee and Chicago. They were famous for their Electroburgers, a

well-seasoned beef patty marinated in

.--Worcestershire sauce, grilled on plate that gave t em a distinctive taste.

an induction

St Louis Railway Enthusiasts WHISTLE TALK November, 2022 Pg. 4 •

Served with chips and an adult beverage, they were a delightful Friday dinner along with a train

ride from Milwaukee.

Of course, on the return trip the bar was open. Speaking of the bar being open, in North Shore's

final days, the drinking

; ge in_lllino_is was 21 while in Wisconsin it was 18. As far as the bartender was concerned, the

train was in Wisconsin for its entire trip.

For the military, there were weekend specials from the military bases on Saturdays and Sundays.

Fleets of trains would make morning departures to Chicago with a smaller number of trains to

Milwaukee in addition to the regular service.

The extra trains would return in the late afternoon and well into the evenings. While known as

military specials on the railroad, their more common name for the Great Lakes trains was Swabby

Specials. This in part explains why North Shore's legend extended far beyond its service territory.

Over the decades, there was considerable commonality between the Big Three and the Chicago Rapid

Transit Company (CRT) and later CTA. All three interurbans reached downtown Chicago on trackage

rights, North Shore and CA&E on CRT, later CTA, while the South Shore ';JSed Illinois Central and

now Metra Electric. At one time, the Big Three and CRT along with electric and gas utilities in

Northern Illinois and throughout Indiana were entities within a corporate conglomerate controlled

by Samuel lnsull. Incredibly, CRT was a subsidiary of Commonwealth Edison (CE), the electric

utility serving most of the Chicago region.

Chicago's local transit systems, including the street railways, were financially challenged during

most of tehir existence. This was of great concern to Sam lnsull. The so-called "traction load,",

the electrical demand of electrified railways, was the base load that provided economic

justification for the investment in significant expansion of lnsull's companies electric generating

capacity in Illinois and Indiana. To protect this investment, lnsull became involved in the

attempts to financially organize Chicago's rapid transit and interurban companies as early as 1901.

lnsull's Empire collapsed in the Great Depression. North Shore did not emerge from bankruptcy until

1946.

The Post-World War II expansion of automobile ownership and limited access highways was the mortal

blow for the CA&E and North Shore. Neither of these railways recovered their cost of capital. New

rolling stock and infrastructure investments were out of the question. The South Shore Line

survived as one of the last interurbans in America due to its significant freight traffic and being

located in the heavily industrialized area of Northwest Indiana. CA&E's passenger service was

abruptly suspended shortly after noon on July 3, 1957, stranding passengers at their destination.

As noted,

the North Shore Line was abandoned in 1963.

Recognition of the commuter railroads' financial crisis began in the 1950s with the Long Island

Rail Road and quickly spread throughout the East Coast. CA&E's abandonment caught the attention of

a few people in Washington, D.C. Perhaps because of its relationship with the military, North

Shore's abandonment caught the attention of many more people in Washington.

In 1963, the Chicago Transit Authority proposed a plan to provide nonstop high-speed shuttle

service between the main line rapid transit station at Howard Street at the north city limit of

Chicago and Dempster Street in Skokie, a distance of five miles. CTA, working with the Village of

Skokie, applied for a federal grant to pay two-thirds of the cost for a two year demonstration

project. CTA and the Village split the remaining one-third of the cost. Service began in April 1964

and was a resounding success. Originally named Skokie Swift, it is now CTA's Yellow Line. The late

George Krambles (1915-1999), who retired as CTA's Executive Director, was the project director. The

North Shore operated this segment of railroad for 37 years, while CTA has run it for 58 years and

counting.

In George's words; "Although it remains one of the world's smallest rapid transit routes, Skokie

Swift's success encouraged the creation of local, state and federal programs to assist transit

capital projects elsewhere. It helped set the pattern for the many new-start rail systems, becoming

really the first of the modern light rail transit lines without

ever knowing the name!"

St Louis Railway Enthusiasts WHISTLE TALK November, 2022 Pg. 5

Metrolink passing the former Wabash Turntable in Jan., 2010 (during Vandeventer Bridge

replacement). That turntable recently went to U.S. Sugar near Lake Okeechobee, Florida.

HUB OF THE MIDWEST By David Peter Alan, Contributing Editor, Railway Age (excerpted)

....With the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and its eight-line local rail system, Metra trains

throughout Chicagoland, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District South Shore Line to

Indiana, and more than a dozen Amtrak corridor-length and long-distance routes, Chicago and the

region present a variety fo rail experiences and useful mobility for residents and visitors alike.

Since its founding almost 200 years ago, Chicago has exhibited a gritty, "get-it-done" character.

More than a century ago, poet Carl Sandburg described it as the "Player with Railroads and the

Nation's Freight Handler" and the "hog Butcher for the World." Chicagoans do pretty well with

cattle, too. Italian beef is the city's signature sandwich.

It's not just freight. People go to Chicago and get around there by rail, too. The city is known

for its museums and other cultural institutions, as well. It is also famous for its classic

downtown buildings and other historic neighborhoods.

It's not just people who came from Europe who give Chicago its diversity. During the period of the

Great Migration, African American Southerners escaped the misery they were enduring in that region

and gave Chicago's South Side some additional Southern flavor. If they came from New Orleans,

Jackson or Memphis, they might have made the one way trip on the Illinois Central, the route of

Amtrak's City of New Orleans today.

Chicago also has a neighborhood called Pilsen, but the heritage of its inhabitants is that of

Mexico, not the Czech Republic. Put it all together, and Chicago is an interesting place to visit,

while millions choose to live there.

I first visited Chicago in 1969. I wanted to experience the rail scene, and I took Penn Central's

old Lakeshore Limited, which had temporarily lost its official name at the time. I got off at the

old South Bend Union Station and waked a few blocks to catch the South Shore Line on its

street-running track on LaSalle Street. Less than a year later, the downtown

St Louis Railway Enthusiasts WHISTLE TALK November, 2022

track was gone. When I arrived in the Windy City, I caught a train of 1920s-vintage 4000-series

cars on the CTA's

I 6• V

Evanston Express. At that time, there were no stops between the Loop and Howard Avenue on the North

Side, and the conductor came around to collect an extra fare. We dropped coins into a device he

held in his hand, and it rang a bell.

There was a lot more passenger rail activity at the time, run by a large number of railroads.

According to an Official Guide from that time, there were nine railroads running commuter or other

regional service (now Metra on the Illinois side), 10 running corridor-length routes, and another

11 running long-distance trains, with several routes running more than one daily frequency. Some

long-distance trains ran over track on several railroads during the pre-Amtrak era, too. There is

much less passenger rail activity now than there was then, but Metra keeps local service going,

while Amtrak runs six corridor-length routes and eight long-distance routes., six of which run

daily at this writing. Chicago still has more passenger rail activity than most cities, and you can

still take Amtrak there from 262 other places.

To get around the city, visitors and Chicagoans alike use the CTA. The agency is celebrating its

75ᵗʰ anniversary on Oct. 1. Transit in Chicago ges back much further, though. Chicago's famous

elevated (or "L") lines were built in the 1890s, and the South Side Elevated Railroad took visitors

to the Columbian Exposition in 1893, one year late to celebrate the 400ᵗʰ anniversary of

Christopher Columbus's first voyage. Today's system has eight lines, reaching as far north as

Evanston (home of Northwestern university), as far west as Oak Grove (famous for buildings designed

by Frank Lloyd Wright) and as far south as 95ᵗʰ Street, with an extension planned that would take

the Red Line to 130ᵗʰ Street, as part of the CTA's "Red Ahead" program.

Chicago is the only city in the nation with elevated lines running downtown. Nowhere else can a

"local" or visitor sit on the train and watch buildings go by from the level of the third floor.

Lake Street, Wells Street, Van Bren Street and Wabash Avenue are the streets under the Loop, where

trains first ran in 1897, and which forms part of most of the CTA's lines. The Loop is a tourist

attraction in its own right, and has been a part of Chicago's cultural history and lore ever since.

Legendary jazz cornet player Bix Beiderbecke formed a band with Frankie "Tram" Trumbauer and some

of his other friends in 1927, and called it the Chicago Loopers, even though they were playing in

New York at the time. In the Windy City itself, Bix was known to have jammed with Louis Armstrong

and other New Orleans greats, even though they were not in a position to play gigs together due to

the segregated nature of much of the music business at the time.

The CTA extends beyond the Chicago city limits in places like Evanston and Skokie to the north and

Oak Park to the west. There is much more to Chicagoland, as the locals call it, and Metra trains go

to those towns. Metra is a large system, the result of consolidating local services that were once

operated by eight different railroads. Metra operates trains on several different railroads today,

by contract. They include BNSF (historic Burlington Route) and Union Pacific (historic C&NW). Other

Metra lines run on former railroads (historic Milwaukee Road and Rock Island). Metra stays within

the State of Illinois, except for a few trains on the UP North Line that venture up to Kenosha,

Wise. Only the three lines to the South Side that were historically operated by the Illinois

Central are electrified.

Schedules vary greatly between lines...Three lines run during commuting-peak hours only. The

smallest amount of service runs on the Heritage Corridor to Joliet, historically part of the Alton

Railroad (and before that, C&A, after Alton, GM&O ed.) and running near the route of the Illinois

and Michigan Canal. The line hosts only three commuter trains into Chicago in the morning and back

to Joliet in the late afternoon (following the GM&O's "The Plug" service which used heavyweight

cars to its end - ed.), although Amtrak uses the route for the Texas Eagle and Lincoln Service

trains to St. Louis....

...Metra has not followed the lead of the MBTA in Boston of increasing mid-day and evening service

while running fewer trains during historic peak-commuting hours. On weekends, the standard is every

two hours, similar to Boston and now Philadelphia, but less than the hourly service typical of the

New York area....

There is one line between Chicago and the Hoosier State: the NICTD South Shore Line...There is not

much service, trains only run every two hours or less to and from Michigan City outside

peak-commuting hours, although there are a few that only run between Chicago and Gary....There are

only five daily trains to South Bend...(that)...go to the airport...

St Louis Railway Enthusiasts WHISTLE TALK November, 2022 Pg. 7

Indiana's only recent state-supported train, Amtrak's four-day-a-week Hoosier State, was

discontinued in 2019, when the state killed its funding. It ran between Chicago and Indianapolis on

the four days a week that the Cardinal, running through West Virginia and Virginia mostly on the

historic Chesapeake & Ohio route, did not. The South Shore Line is planning to build a new branch

from Hammond to Dyer, which is on the Cardinal route. Advocates at the Indiana Passenger Rail

Alliance (IRPA) hope to see a "Hoosier Corridor" with more-frequent service to Indianapolis, while

avoiding the (convoluted, multi-RR -ed.) Amtrak route to Union Station. They also hope that trains

will someday run to Cincinnati, Louisville and even Nashville.

The State of Illinois, through the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), remains a leader

in running intrastate corridors through Amtrak. There are currently three routes in operation.

Lincoln Service trains run four times a day between Chicago and St Louis, on UP (the historic Alton

Route) through Springfield and Lincoln (a town that was named after Abraham Lincoln before he

became President). The Texas Eagle also runs on that route. At this writing, Amtrak has suspended

one round trip CHI-STL. * (Fifth train, the 4:35am STL departure, to be restored Dec.2022-ed.)

On the normal schedule, there are also two round trips between Chicago and Carbondale on CN

(historic Illinois Central route), along with the City of New Orleans. At this writing, one of

those round trips is suspended. * (To be restored Dec.2022-ed.) The line serves Southern Illinois

University in Carbondale and the University of Illinois at Urbana via a local bus from Champaign.

The third Illinois operation runs between Chicago and Quincy, on the Mississippi River. There are

two round trips per day on that route.

Illinois and Wisconsin combine to run service to Milwaukee seven times a day (six on weekends).

There is an additional train from Chicago on Friday nights that returns from Milwaukee early on

Saturday mornings. There are efforts to add three daily frequencies to the schedule, but local

opposition along the part of the line in Illinois is holding up the increase. Other trains go from

Chicago to Michigan. There are three daily round trips on the Wolverine route to Pontiac, through

Detroit on the historic Michigan Central route. Another trains, the Blue Water, splits from the

Detroit service at Kalamazoo and goes to Port Huron the historic grand Trunk Western route, part of

CN. There was once a through train between Chicago and Toronto, using CN in Canada, but there is no

longer any connection between the Amtrak side the VIA rail side in Ontario.+ (CP has proposed

restoring pax svc CHI-Toronto via its tunnel link - ed.) The other train is the Pere Marquette to

Grand Rapids, a single daily frequency, named for the railroad that was named for the French

explorer.

The roster of Amtrak's long-distance trains serving Chicago has not changed in years...the Empire

Builder...the California Zephyr...the Southwest Chief ..the Texas Eagle...the Capitol Limited...and

the Lake Shore Limited (NY & BOS}. The Cardinal to DC and New York still runs on the tri-weekly

schedule, as it has for more than 40 years. The City of New Orleans will return from five days a

week to daily operation on October 2....

Still, Chicago is interesting, historic and full of museums and neighborhoods worth visiting. You

can still get there by train from a lot of other places around the country, and there is plenty of

transit to get you around the city and Chicagoland on the CTA and Metra. The rail scene may not be

quite as interesting as it was a half-century ago, but the Loop with its downtown "L" trains is

still unique.

AUTO TRAIN NORTH DURING APRIL -An official trip report, by Walter E. Zullig Jr. (excerpted)

....The procedure is for the booth agent to ask your name, bring up the reservation on the computer

and then put a magnetic sign on the driver's door with a number. Then you drive to one of the three

receiving lanes where you leave the auto in Amtrak's custody while a claim agent videos all angles

of the car.

....The train (at Sanford, FL) seemed to be open around 2:15 so we went out and boarded our car

which was the second car back from the engines. Once settled into our room I went outside to get

the full consist. At Sanford the coaches are on an adjacent stub end as the platform isn't long

enough to hold the entire train. I returned to the room just as the switcher was ready to move the

coaches to the rear of the train. Dinner choices were 5 or 7 (with 6 o'clock already full) so we

opted for 5 and both ordered the flat iron steak. Just as on the southbound trip during February

passengers were served in their rooms with delivery in a big plastic bag and everything disposable.

The dinners came about 5 along with

St Louis Railway Enthusiasts WHISTLE TALK November, 2022

Pg.8

the wine and desserts. The meals were quite good but we don't enjoy easting in our room with

plastic covers and utensils. The train was sold out but in the past they were able to accommodate

everyone in the dining car with overflow into the adjacent lounge car which has six tables at one

end. Perhaps the "room service" is due to crew shortage or to the belief once expressed by Amtrak's

former president that "millennials don't like to be seated with strangers." Not many

millennials on this train though.

I always enjoy a drink before a trip like this so asked the car attendant if I could get one in the

nearby first class lounge. No, just as on the southbound trip that car was unattended so I would

have to walk 9 cars forward to the "Cross Country Cafe" in the coach section. So I did that only to

be told "We're not ready yet; come back in 5 to 10 minutes." After sitting in that car for 15

minutes I inquired again and was told they still were not open. No needing alcohol that badly I

walked back the 9 cards to our room. The car attendant later told me the reason for the unstaffed

lounge car is a shortage of personnel; a class of 10 now is underway. On problem has been that some

of the new hires fail the drug test, as sad

reflection on today's society.

During this time the train was put together, brake test conducted and we departed Sanford at

3:58pm. With a train of this length coming off a branch line the acceleration is slow but once on

the main line for a few miles we attained track speed. Soon the conductor made the traditional

announcement with vital statistics: 533 passengers on board with 282 in coach and 251 in sleepers.

There were 311 vehicles in the auto-carrying cars. We passed the "bigcurve" in Jacksonville at 6:38

and Folkston, GA at 7:20 where 5 people were on hand with cameras. The motion of the train made us

sleepy so we asked for the beds to be made up around 9:45 and were off to sleep shortly thereafter.

I slept well through the night and woke up as we were passing through Rocky Mount, NC< which would

make us quite late. As it turned out there had been numerous delays with freight trains during the

night and we were over 2 hours late. Once dressed I walked 3 cars to the diner where breakfasts

were handed out, including hot sandwiches if requested. I took them to the lounge car to obtain

coffee from the machine and then brought Suzanne's to the room...Arrival at Lorton was about 11:02

(9:00)....(after driving VA-MD-NJ-NY, we) reached home about 7:20 and I was exhausted after the

drive

in heavy traffic.

I . •.-

-&":iL

l-�t

"1'!il:I,,...-

In November 2017, due to ties being replaced on the Desoto Sub, the Texas Eagle was rerouted via

Illinois' Chester Sub for about a week. Here is a view of No.22 (running late) caught at UP's Dupo

Yard. Jim Gillespie photo.

St Louis Railway Enthusiasts WHISTLE TALK November, 2022

MY MEMORIES By Mike Haper (excerpted) 2010 ("Holiday Season #68)

Pg.9

It is ALWAYS at this time of the year (holiday season) when I begin to harvest a multitude of old

memories from my childhood. Thanksgiving and Christmas ARE special times of the year and most

people do have special memories connected to that season. Are MY own special memories different or

special? I'll let you be the judge of that.

I recall THANKSGIVING being very special for a number of reasons. First, it meant that my Mom would

clean the house...and I mean REALLY clean it. Weusually invited family friends to come to our house

on that day and she would get serious about a NEAT house! Next, it meant a four-day vacation from

school. That alone made it very special! The weather was usually cool, sometimes cold and a gray

cloudy day, too. My favorite time was an hour or two BEFORE the company arrived ("Company"? Why did

we call our visitors "the company"?). The living room was spotless and inviting and I would crouch

into one of Mon's living room straight back chairs at the southwest corner window with some sheets

of sketch paper. I loved to draw and sketch. I would then raise the leaf of the...end-table next to

my chair and proceed to draw pictures...! reveled in watching the neighborhood from my perch at

that corner window and I felt especially warm with the Sx7 framed photo of my Dad sitting next to

my sketch papers....So for about an hour or so I would draw pictures....So there it is, my favorite

Thanksgiving memory: sitting alone...drawing pictures while my Dad's photo watched over me lest I

be threatened by some unknown entity. Ad, of course, the "entity" would show up ringing the door

bell an hour or two later and it was...THE COMPANY!! Ah, my solitude was shattered. But, it was

sure comforting while it lasted.

Christmas: Oh, there are many great memories of Christmas. Where do I begin?...The oldest memories

which I have go all the way back to babyhood. Yep, I recall the Lionel wind-up "Peter Rabbit" train

running around in tight circles on two rail track on a small table in our "master bedroom" (such

that it was)! Since I was just one or two years old, Mom and Dad must have put it in THEIR room so

that they could monitor my playfulness with it. I (also) have GLOWING memories of the early

Christmas trees! They were always REAL trees. Artificial Christmas trees had not "caught on" yet.

The tree always showed up on Christmas morning along with the gifts from Santa Claus. Filling the

house with the wonderful odor of the live PINE, it was a full size tree and it always stood at that

same southwest corner of the living room...yeah, that's right...where the chair and end table stood

(where I sketched) on Thanksgiving day!

I remember the cone shaped Christmas tree lights (now collector's items) and tinsel. I always felt

a special "tingle" about the tinsel! The more of it, the better! But, then there were some special

touches which I recall very clearly. Mom must have inherited these from her parents' Christmases of

the past. We had foil wrapped cardboard bells, something I have never seen again in my lifetime.

And, another special touch was the draping of the tree with some translucent tap-like plastic

material which came off a roll and showed up on the tree every year of my youth until I was about

ten ....1'11 not

forget that look!....

These memories warm me up and I hope that they also gave you some "warm and fuzzy" feelings about

this very special time of the year! Or even better that they caused you to recall some of YOUR

special, and maybe until now forgotten, memories! {Below:Brakeman Mike on RSSM 1999, Gothic in

Chicago, view of CTA/skyline looking E.from Ry.Age)

Pg.10

St Louis Railway Enthusiasts WHISTLE TALK November, 2022 Pg. 11

Captions, previous page: The Chicago Transit Authority celebrated their 75ᵗʰ anniversary in various

ways, but of most interest was the running of heritage_equipment. First shot is of the 4000s

(brown) at the new Washington-Wabash station. The 4000 series cars were built in 1923 (same year as

my house) by Cincinnati Car Co and were retired in 1973. Next, the 6000s train set (a fan favorite)

6711-12 were at the platform on the left. This is the semi-mated pair of cars rebuilt from Pullman

Standard PCCs which the CTA had traded in to St Louis Car Company, and which had been in the NMOT

trolley barn for decades. NMOT Director in the 80s Wayne Schmidt (from Chicago) got the pair for

NMOT, as well as #44, and the first North Shore ferry (trailer-flat-) car. Alongside the 6000s and

in the bottom photo is CTA's heritage set of the ill fated Boeing-Vertol cars. As a bonus shot

(lower left) we have an Indiana Harbor Belt switcher, upon which the brakeman is taking a familiar

pose, in an older photo. Photos courtesy of Eamon Rago of Chicagoland.

Captions, this page: Here is the Missouri Eastern RR EB crossing River Valley Drive, on the

Maryland Heights border, with new transload (propane for now) traffic from Union, MO. MERR has

added a third job: they now have one crew working Lackland-Labadie, where trains are exchanged with

another crew operating from Union-Labadie. A third crew works the interchange and switching around

Lackland. Jaguar Co. has multimillion dollar upgrade plans. Next we see the KCS Shippers Special

train. The middle shot is on the former GM&O Roadhouse-Springfield line (there's also a spur from

Murrayville to Jacksonville); we see the train next to the silo at Murrayville. Finally, we had a

recent surprise visit from the CP inspection train on 10/18 coming in on the KCS across MO and

caught at Granite City. All photos by Scott Nauert.

Year ▲	PA	SO
1876	20457	589
1877	14012	726
1878	14008	1081
1879	24663	1843
1880	25041	1993
1881	25410	1784
1882	25729	2159
1883	30133	2877
1884	34508	4335
1885	32968	3337
1886	36369	4248
1887	38862	2821
1888	39867	3998
1889	41452	3492
1890	41789	3581
1891	43204	3641
1892	70615	5972
1893	63680	3341
1894	65205	3333
1895	63573	3621
1896	62230	3523
1897	63272	3729
1898	69964	4223
1899	70016	3849
1900	43485	2681
1901	43041	4246
1902	42351	3910
1903	42684	3711
1904	45653	4274
1905	46191	4430
1906	44833	4527
1907	44576	4220
1908	45420	4158
1909	46312	4467
1910	46615	4415
1911	47261	4798
1912	46788	4627
1913	46448	4606
1914	46235	4655
1915	45936	4728
1916	45760	4829
1917	46088	4488
1918	37782	2921
1919	41392	3288
1920	46921	3632
1921	46983	3380
1922	48179	3380
1923	48108	3408
1924	47029	3408
1925	47638	3373
1926	47226	3359
1927	47524	3491
1928	47954	3410
1929	48542	3465
1930	48944	3848
1931	47444	3862
1932	47887	3857
1933	46665	3528
1934	47093	4150
1935	47700	4072
1936	48465	4203
1937	47262	4553
1938	47102	4093
1939	47478	4195
1940	47645	4329
1941	47844	4408
1942	46863	4187
1943	47611	4055
1944	47974	3947
1945	48057	3865
1946	47603	4471
1947	47802	4529
1948	47536	4718
1949	48020	4587
1950	47754	5007
1951	47924	4746
1952	46929	5240
1953	47678	5307
1954	47770	5086
1955	47161	5419
1956	47018	5694
1957	47895	6150
1958	47311	6192
1959	47403	6525
1960	47228	6824
1961	47268	6622
1962	62169	9032
1963	60875	9545
1964	61182	9256
1965	61599	9649
1966	61271	9312
1967	61180	9468
1968	60728	9502
1969	73923	11628
1970	75109	11417
1971	73769	10542
1972	70817	10544
1973	74364	10507
1974	74951	9971
1975	74833	9793
1976	73933	9602
1977	74905	10488
1978	73318	9905
1979	74116	9920
1980	74060	9849
1981	49024	6332
1982	74102	10300
1983	73922	10749
1984	73708	10929
1985	73863	10674
1986	74006	11648
1987	74521	11657
1988	73259	11032
1989	73829	11354
1990	73989	11164
1991	73441	11446
1992	73658	11342
1993	86985	13358
1994	61930	10147
1995	77826	13309
1996	87529	15252
1997	87376	15320
1998	100105	17455
1999	101268	17153
2000	101254	17344
2001	99453	17908
2002	99441	17161
2003	99819	16996
2004	100207	17299
2005	99324	16880
2006	100395	17426
2007	100807	17449
2008	100001	18050
2009	99541	18282
2010	98809	19092
2011	98763	18900
2012	98064	19808
2013	92116	18374
2014	91739	19196
2015	91790	19165
2016	92540	19886
2017	92673	20310
2018	92885	21001
2019	93238	21408
2020	33202	7674
2021	49227	11771

Emmett's Blog

Friday, July 21, 2023

Takashima

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

"Assumption - Mattese" on Mattis Rd. in South St. Louis County (Roman Catholic Church)

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Whistle Talk November 2022

Saturday, July 10, 2021

Table of plate appearances vs. strikeouts in major-league baseball history