1927 locomotive will steam into San Bernardino April 18, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Preservation, Railroad.add a comment
A former Santa Fe Railroad steam locomotive, Engine No. 3751, dating to 1927 will make a rare appearance in the Route 66 town of San Bernardino, Calif., during San Bernardino Railroad Days on April 27-28.
According to a news release from “Route 66 Railway” author Elrond Lawrence:
The steam special will be operated from Los Angeles to San Bernardino, Calif., on Saturday, April 27, departing LA at 10 a.m., via the Metrolink San Bernardino Line. It will return Sunday, April 28, departing San Bernardino at 3 p.m. No stops will be made between the two cities. The train will feature four vintage rail cars built during the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, plus a conventional Amtrak coach.
Admission is free to the 2013 San Bernardino Railroad Days on April 27-28 at the historic Santa Fe Depot, at 1170 W. Third St. in San Bernardino. The event draws 5,000 to 7,000 visitors and will feature displays of new BNSF diesel locomotives, Santa Fe No. 3751 and mid-century passenger cars. Kids can also view historic fire vehicles and rare equipment, plus colorful model railroads.
Other exhibits include the Orange Empire Railway Museum’s Harvey Girls, Women in Railroading, the National Association of Retired and Veteran Railroad Employees, Pacific Railroad Society, Railway & Locomotive Historical Society and more. BNSF Railway will host exhibits by Operation Lifesaver and the railroad’s signal department, maintenance of way, and special police.
Those who wish to actually ride the train during its excursion can buy tickets for a little over $100 from the San Bernardino History & Railway Museum.
(Photo courtesy of Elrond Lawrence)
City of Carthage prods railroad to fix Whee Bridge February 26, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Railroad.add a comment
The City of Carthage, Mo., is taking a more assertive approach with the Union Pacific railroad to shore up two bridges, including the historic “Whee” Bridge on Route 66, reported the Carthage Press.
City Administrator Tom Short said the recent closing of the nearby Sycamore Street bridge due to cracks in its supports prompted the city to send a letter to the railroad, urging it to bring that bridge and the Oak Street bridge, aka Whee Bridge, on Route 66 up to a “reliable standard.”
Ten days after the letter was mailed, Short said the railroad hadn’t responded. The newspaper said:
In its letter, the city said: “A review of our information, it appears that the railroad was required to install and maintain numerous crossings in the city as a part of the city granting the easement for the railroad right-of-way. Therefore, the city of Carthage is hereby notifying the railroad of these conditions and requiring the bridge be brought up to a reliable standard.” [...]
The city has been talking to the railroad for more than six years about refurbishing the iconic Oak Street bridge, also known by other names as the “whee bridge” or “tickle-tummy bridge” because of its unique hump and its location on Route 66.
The city received state and county funds to refurbish the Whee Bridge, but the necessary work would have cost far more than the money that was available.
You’d think Union Pacific, which recorded record earnings in the fourth quarter and in all of 2012, could afford to cough up some money to help refurbish a beloved historic bridge on America’s most famous highway.
Route 66-inspired rail bridge over Arcadia freeway is finished December 18, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Highways, Railroad.add a comment
The distinctively styled Gold Line Bridge for light rail over Interstate 210 in Arcadia, Calif., finished construction Saturday, according to a news release from the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority.
The 584-linear-foot sculptured bridge is the largest single public art/transit infrastructure project in California. Guests at the dedication ceremony Saturday were allowed to walk on the structure before the tracks are laid.
Designed by award-winning artist Andrew Leicester, the Gold Line Bridge is anchored by two, 25-foot ‘baskets’ that pay tribute to the indigenous peoples of the San Gabriel Valley and the oversize iconic roadside traditions of nearby Route 66. The distinctive bridge has a serpentine main underbelly featuring casted grooves and hatch marks that simulate the patterns found on the Western Diamondback snake, metaphorically referencing the spine of the transit system.
The $18.6 million project cost about the same as a typical light-rail bridge, and finished on time. It’s part of the 11.5-mile Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension light rail project between Pasadena and Asuza.
(Photos courtesy of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority)
Indian marching band reunites after a half-century hiatus December 2, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Music, Railroad.3 comments
Something remarkable occurred during the recent annual Winslow Christmas Parade on Route 66 in Winslow, Ariz. — the Santa Fe All-Indian Marching Band reunited after a hiatus of 49 years.
The Arizona Daily Sun reports that the band started in 1923 — several years before U.S. Highway 66 was commissioned — and disbanded in 1963 after not enough highly qualified musicians could be found.
“It was started by three men who were at a picnic in Clear Creek,” explained Rosemary Natseway, 73, who is from the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico but has lived in Winslow her whole life. “The conductor, I think his name was Charlie, just had a stick and the other two men were shop workers for the Santa Fe Railroad.”
Membership included mostly Santa Fe employees and representatives from as many as 12 Native American tribes. [...]
At the peak of the band’s popularity, the group had traveled more than 10,000 miles for performances and even played during President Dwight Eisenhower’s inaugural parade.
The reunion of 24 former members of the marching band, who came from all over the country, was organized by Kenn Evans, a ranger at Homolovi State Park and chairman of the city of Winslow’s Historic Preservation Commission.
An original Santa Fe All-Indian Band banner, with its patches that included the logo of the Santa Fe railroad, was unfurled during the Winslow parade.
Here’s an image of the band marching in downtown Gallup, N.M., in the 1950s. Here’s another image of the band from that time period.
According to the Navajo-Hopi Observer, band members received a tour of La Posada hotel in Winslow and a reception there in the grand ballroom before the parade.
Route 66 Trailhead Park dedicated October 13, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Events, History, Railroad.add a comment
The Route 66 Trailhead Park, which includes a new, Route 66-themed overpass for pedestrians and cyclists on the Pacific Electric Trail, was dedicated Wednesday on Foothill Boulevard (aka Route 66) in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
The event also marked the completion of widening that road from four to six lanes.
David Allen, in a report for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, described the park as a “history grab bag”:
The park has portions of the abutments from the P.E. bridge that crossed Foothill until 2010, when it was removed to make way for the road to be widened to its current six lanes.
It’s got faux railroad ties running through the abutment toward a wall with both the Pacific Electric logo and the names of local stops along the line, including such obscure names as Carillo, Las Uvas, Milligan, Los Minos and Grapeland.
It’s got freshly planted vines of Mission grapes, the first species planted in Cucamonga in 1838.
And it’s got a short, walkable segment of the original Route 66. [...] A piece of the original alignment remained as part of the right of way north of Foothill and now has been incorporated into the park.
Not only the original alignment, but the original pavement. The concrete dates to 1914, the macadam overlay to the 1920s.
Darin Kuna of the Upland Historical Society provided historical context about the Pacific Electric Railroad bridge. First, here’s an image of the bridge being built in 1914, when the roadway was just 18 feet wide.
Kuna also provided this 1936 photo of eastbound Route 66, just after Baker Avenue:
In an email, he explained relevance of the photo to the chunk of old Route 66 now in the Trailhead Park:
This vividly shows the original 1929 realignment with three lanes, just before construction started in 1937 on widening out the road to 4-lanes. In the background you can see the plateau of the old road with young eucalyptus trees planted alongside it. Above that, you can see the posts that carried the electric cables for the red car.
Kuna also found old maps that uncovered some history of that road, which was called San Bernardino Avenue:
[...] Prior to the 1913-14 road construction, it went straight along the present-day San Bernardino Avenue and sharply turned just west of where the bridge was constructed. This, I believe, was the old Butterfield Stagecoach Road because the county had no other maps of the general area going back before 1913, and they have records going back to the 1800s. You can also see that in the 1913 plans call for the highway to bypass and curve NW from where the present-day portion of San Bernardino Avenue that exists today. So, somewhere farther west of what this map shows, Foothill must have made a jog or two down to San Bernardino Avenue and continued east. I’ll have to research that farther. I’m assuming that San Bernardino Ave. was changed to Foothill Blvd. east of where the curve at Sycamore Inn was during this time. [...]
The portion of Foothill that you are going to save is of the original 1914 pavement over the old Butterfield Stagecoach Road. Since it was bypassed in 1929, it officially served as Highway 66 from the time it was given the route designation in 1926 until its bypass in 1929 … almost four years. The asphalt over the cement must have been put on there over the years between 1914 and 1929, but the cement underneath is the original road. Hopefully, they can remove the old blacktop without damaging the cement, being it’s so old.
For modern context that shows San Bernardino Avenue, see this Google Map:
Another interesting thing: Joan Andreas Miller attended the dedication of the 1938 widening of Route 66 in that area. She was about 5 years old, and she appeared in a newspaper photograph of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Allen reported:
Does she remember that day? Not really. Too young.
Her grandfather, Godfrey Andreas, was a state assemblyman, which is how she got into the picture.
Seventy-four years later, she was invited to the ribbon-cutting Wednesday at the park. Here she is now:
(Photos courtesy of Darin Kuna and Curt Billings; hat tip to Scott Piotrowski)
Tulsa’s Route 66 Village would get Vision2 funding September 21, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Museums, Railroad.add a comment
The Route 66 Village along old Route 66 in west Tulsa would receive $549,000 from potential Vision2 sales-tax funding, reported the Tulsa World after a Thursday meeting of the City Council.
Councilors parceled out about $158 million in quality-of-life projects if the Vision2 tax package is approved by voters on Nov. 6. Vision2 is a $748 million, 13-year plan to extend Tulsa County’s current 0.6 percent Vision 2025 sales tax.
Money for the Route 66 Village will be used to build a shelter, information center, and rest rooms.
The Route 66 Village already is home to a 154-foot-tall replica oil derrick, plus a restored steam engine (pictured above).
But it probably wouldn’t be prudent to make plans for the Route 66 Village improvements yet.
The original Vision 2025 sales-tax package — which included about $15 million for Route 66 in Tulsa County — continues to be popular. But the perception from much of the public is Vision2 is being rushed (Vision 2025 won’t expire until 2017) and not as well-conceived as its predecessor.
Big train a’movin’ September 11, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Preservation, Railroad.add a comment
Yesterday, historic Engine 765, owned by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, made its return trip from the west St. Louis suburbs to Decatur, Ill.
Here, you’ll see cool footage of the train moving at a not-so-lumbering speed, including near the Route 66 town of Litchfield, Ill., about the 5:00 mark.
The 1944 steam engine’s trip was part of the 30th anniversary of the Norfolk Southern railway.