Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Whistle Talk November 2022

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


c.

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.











































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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.