Nostalgia & History > Uncle John's horses ready to gallop!

In the past few weeks I’ve been spending an enormous amount of time behind my scanner & computer desk. I’m scanning & ID-ing the bulk of my Santa Fe slide collection for the upcoming SFRH&MS Convention starting June 21 in Wichita. The HARD part will be to whittle so many possible image candidates down to a 50-55 minute presentation. As an inevitable result I am ending up with hundreds of images that won’t make The Final Cut (with apologies to Roger Waters & Pink Floyd). But many of them are interesting just the same.

Here’s a shot from a 1981 chase of Santa Fe’s annual Director’s Special. Exactly ½ of the 1980s Kansas Gang was in on this chase, crappy weather not withstanding. Besides myself were two more future TO members in “PRose” (Bob Helling) & The Chief Way” (John Arbuckle). I sorta like the posture of Special’s consist in this shot. It looks like those FP-45s are just itching to get out and RUN! We Kansas Gangsters scored 4 times on this chase!. We bagged our first shots on the Eastern Division 1st District near Wilder, KS. Wilder is an unincorporated dent in the road & old Santa Fe timetable location in rural Johnson County. After that we hauled buns over to Topeka where we figured on taking advantage of a long passenger-related delay. Then we dropped just south of town and set up at Pauline for some “at speed” action shots. For our last series we had the luxury of time to head east for shots at the Craig (crossovers) on the 2nd District mainline east of Olathe. And by the time the Special ran down to Emporia, navigated the east leg of the WYE at NR Jct and headed back toward Argentine the good old sun had come out.

1. AT&SF 5943, 5940, 5947 & car 139 are sitting in the starting gate behind the classic cantilever searchlight signal *which STILL stands today* at the south end of the passenger platform.

2. My two “partners in crime”! That’s Bob on the left (with hair) & John on the right.
(2 photos taken May 27, 1981 in Topeka, KS)

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/22 03:13 by santafe199.

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     Most interesting as we had the ATSF 139 at Dodge City on the DCF&B for a number of years. Used the diesel powered generator in it for the dinner train. We also added a 500 gallon water bladder to it for restrooms in the other cars as well as a bathroom in the end for the crew and a full kitchen.
     However, all that work and its gone now.

     Now if you could just find a photo of ATSF 999014 in service and on a train, that would be great. Currently that caboose is at the depot in Dodge City.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/16 13:46 by dcfbalcoS1.

dcfbalcoS1 Wrote: > ... find a photo of ATSF 999014 in service and on a train...
How's this?!? I had one other slide of waycar 999014 on this same local at Osage City with with more sunshine, but it was a lot further away & the cupola was on the "wrong" end...

3. AT&SF 999014 on local train 1219 Z-1. This local is a 'Topeka turn' based in Emporia. It came up from Emporia as 1220 Z-1.
(Photo taken at 4th St in Topeka, KS on September 26, 1980)

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With the shadows, and sunshine on the west side of the cars in the yard, I would guess the picture of the waycar was taken in the middle of the afternoon.  If this was on a weekday I was possibly inside one of those passenger cars.  Wish you had stepped inside and introduced yourself.  Thought perhaps DDG may have been there too but after checking discovered he was in the 2nd training class in 1980 so he was already out playing trains.  Sure do enjoy all the pictures you post of my home turf.  Of course I've had several homes on the railroad:  Emporia, Wellington, Hutchison, Newton, Barstow, Argentine, Salina, Marceline, Topeka, and Temple.  You're bound to hit one of them ever so often.

Mark



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/16 16:04 by KskidinTx.

KskidinTx Wrote: > ... If this was on a weekday I was...
It was a Friday. Maybe you were too busy thinking about the weekend to take gander out the window. Considering the huge overlap of guys we both worked with in Emporia, this day in Topeka we were just 2 ships passing in the...... er... afternoon!
Good thing for TO.com...

:^)

santafe199 Wrote:
>>And by the time the Special ran down to Emporia, navigated the east leg of the WYE at NR Jct and headed back toward Argentine...>>

So I was wondering why I wasn't with you guys. Dug out my 1981 timebook and found that I had worked Ark City to Emporia that morning on a 571 train, tieing up at 1245. I do remember getting out to the Neosho Rapids area on that cloudy day and shooting a somewhat back lit sun angle. It's somewhere in the abyss of my hobby room. 

Thanks for the memories, LFG.
DAF... one third gangster, maybe



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/16 16:35 by monaddave.

monaddave Wrote: > ... It's somewhere in the abyss of my hobby room...
You know, JAA has "broken the ice" and started posting stuff from his 40+ years of (how you say) abyss. That makes you the last one. Of the 4 surviving Kansas Gangsters, the #1 senior gang member, top dog, head honcho, big cheese and bell-cow, (you) will actually show up in the waycar were it comes to posting stuff from a great collection. You better get a moove on pal, we ain't spring chickens any more...

;^)
 

KskidinTx Wrote: > ... I've had several homes ...  You're bound to hit one of them ever so often...
I shot Santa Fe stuff in every home on your list except Barstow. By the time I bagged Barstow there was a prevailing orange color everywhere... :^/

Lance/199

Can't believe how wooooly I was back then!!

PRose

LOL!!

Photo #3 looks like the place I called home for 6 weeks in the Spring of '79. First time I've seen it since then.