Spring 2011 • $7 95 FSharing tihe exr periencste of Fastest railways past and present & rsary nive 40th An Things Were Not the Same after May 1, 1971 by George E. Kanary D-Day for Amtrak 5We certainly did not see Turboliners in regular service in Chicago before Amtrak. This train is In mid April, 1971, I was returning from headed for St. Louis in August 1977. —All photos by the author except as noted Seattle, Washington on my favorite train to the Pacific Northwest, the NORTH back into freight service or retire. The what I considered to be an inauspicious COAST LIMITED. For nearly 70 years, friendly stewardess-nurses would find other beginning to the new service. Even the the flagship train of the Northern Pacific employment. The locomotives and cars new name, AMTRAK, was a disappoint - RR, one of the oldest named trains in the would go into the AMTRAK fleet and be ment to me, since I preferred the classier country, had closely followed the route of dispersed country wide, some even winding sounding RAILPAX, which was eliminat - the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804, up running on the other side of the river on ed at nearly the last moment. and was definitely the super scenic way to the Milwaukee Road to the Twin Cities. In addition, wasn’t AMTRAK really Seattle and Portland. My first association That was only one example of the serv - being brought into existence to eliminate with the North Coast Limited dated to ices that would be lost with the advent of the passenger train in America? Didn’t 1948, when I took my first long distance AMTRAK on May 1, 1971. Chicago President Richard M. Nixon only sign the train ride alone at age 10, to and from the would be hit hard with the cutback of train authorization bill because it was attached State of Washington. The train still had services. No longer would the ladies of to something else he badly wanted? Wasn’t some heavyweight sleepers, but the stream - Danville, Illinois be able to ride the train Roger Lewis, the new CEO and president lined observation car, where I spent a lot of to Chicago for a day of shopping and of the new corporation an oil industry man time, was making only its second round return home by early evening. Nor would with no railway experience? Weren’t the trip. You could still smell the fresh paint. the folks from Clinton, Iowa have a similar new locomotives that were anticipated to Sitting in my room and watching the service any longer. Indeed, there would be be ordered, freight engines that would be Mississippi rolling along outside my win - no passenger service anywhere on the sold to the freight railroads when passen - dow, sorrow came over me like a dark cloud Chicago & Northwestern RR, including, ger service ended? There were a lot of as I realized that this train, running over amazingly, Green Bay, Wisconsin. There questions unanswered. this magnificent piece of high speed rail - would be no Madison trains on the The railroads that went into Amtrak did road, would no longer exist in two weeks. Milwaukee Road route. All of the Union so by turning over their locomotives and The senior crews that held down the Pacific trains whose routes took them out cars, servicing facilities and some depots in glamour runs like the NORTH COAST of Chicago over the west line of the lieu of cash, based on a formula that deter - and the EMPIRE BUILDER, by then com - Milwaukee Road would be terminated. mined the amount of their alleged passen - bined east of the Twin Cities, would go These were just a few of the trains lost in ger train losses. While the equipment of 10 | Firs t&Fastest Spring 2011 the western roads was considered to be in they have ever known. All thoughts of become a generic name denoting passenger relatively good to excellent condition, the elimination of the service ended when the service across the nation. On a recent out - equipment of the eastern lines, with the gasoline shortages of the early 1970s ing to the beautiful Chicago Botanic exception of the Southern, which did not arrived. A terrible inconvenience for Gardens near Glencoe, Illinois, I spent a immediately join AMTRAK, was mostly motorists, the shortages, whether real or few minutes watching the operation of the realized to be borderline junk. Even the contrived, were providential for the fledg - Garden Railroad, a big treat for the young Budd built cars of those lines, considered as ling new passenger railroad. People and old, as it wends its way through the built to last forever, were in severely deteri - descended on the train stations across the scenes created from natural materials, over orated condition. Nonetheless, these cars country, and when they did, they discov - high trestles and low waterways. A train had to be used and western route passen - ered that many of the archaic practices of that was a model of the German high speed gers, long used to traveling in high style, the past had been eliminated. No longer Intercity Express, the ICE train, was oper - were occasionally treated to the spectacle were credit cards not accepted, no longer ating but it was painted in the AMTRAK of riding in an under maintained, worn out did the traveler have to pay a hefty first color scheme. A group of young boys care - car that came from the Penn Central. The class fare in addition to a charge for a fully watched for it to appear and when it folks at the Santa Fe who had never fal - sleeping car space, and reservations were did, several of them dutifully called out, tered in the flawless operation of their pas - now uniform, nationwide. The short haul ”HERE COMES AMTRAK”! AMTRAK senger trains must have cringed when they trains had been modernized with Amfleet had definitely arrived. first heard the new AMTRAK slogan, cars and new locomotives were arriving. Chicago, long known as the railroad “We’re making the trains worth riding Despite the entire amazing acceptance of capitol of North America and still today, again”. Soon it was announced that John the new American passenger train and its the heart of the Amtrak system, lost many Reed, CEO of that road, had revoked the ever increasing passenger loadings, of it’s passenger trains on Amtrak Day, use of the copyrighted name, SUPER Amtrak continues to be a political punch - May 1, 1971. In time all intercity trains CHIEF, because, among other indignities, ing bag. The present administration is the were consolidated at Union Station, ful - it was learned that the lounge cars and din - first to acknowledge that it deserves prop - filling a long time dream of Chicago city ers were serving Manhattans in Martini er funding and must continue, though planners. But for a period of just under a glasses! What would Mr. Reed think of there are many friends of the railroad on year some trains continued to operate out today’s airline style plastic? both sides of the aisles in Washington. of Central Station, the Lakefront home of Nearly two generations have come of While many of the famous names of the the Illinois Central trains as well as trains age since AMTRAK was founded and for passenger trains have been maintained and of the New York Central bound for Detroit many people it is the only passenger trains some new ones added, AMTRAK has and Cincinnati. 5A harbinger of things to come, Great Northern’s Empire Builder, operated by the Chicago Burlington & Quincy between Chicago and Minneapolis, was detouring over The Milwaukee Road due to flooding in the Upper Mississippi River Valley. The train is still on Chicago Union Station Company trackage as it passes west of the Noble Street tower in June 1965. Under Amtrak this would be the Empire Builder’s route out of Chicago. Spring 2011 Firs t&Fastest | 11 Things Were Not the Same after May 1, 1971 Amtrak Chronology 2-14-69 Association of American Railroads announces that its board has voted to ask for Federal subsidies for passenger trains and a Federal passenger car pool. 6-11-69 Twenty eight senators sign a resolution asking for a study of subsidies or government operation. 9-29-69 Senate Transportation Committee begins hearings. 1-18-70 Department of Transportation announces its “RAILPAX” 5E-unit 296 is leading a Chicago-bound Detroit train through Ogden Dunes, Indiana, on the former plan, involving formation of a New York Central in June 1974. In the foreground is the single track of the Chicago South Shore & National Railroad Passenger South Bend. The South Shore’s service to South Bend could have qualified as a “long distance” serv - Corporation. The proposal is ice under the Amtrak legislation. However, parent company Chesapeake & Ohio decided not to opposed by the Office of include the South Shore under Amtrak. —John F. Doyle photo 6Amtrak train 5, California Zephyr, Management and Budget. passes under the Oak Street bridge in Hinsdale, Illinois, in November 1974. The “strings” hanging 5-6-70 Railpax bill is passed by Senate, down are a railroad artifact dating from the early days of railroads. Known as “tell-tales,” they were 78-3 a warning to men riding on the top of freight cars that a close overhead clearance was just ahead. 10-14-70 House passes its own RAILPAX bill, which is accepted by Senate on a voice vote. 10-30-70 President Nixon signs the RAILPAX bill. 11-30-70 Transportation Secretary Volpe announces end points for pre - liminary route system.