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Railroaders' Nostalgia > Bicentennial near-miss!Date: 03/23/15 15:31 Bicentennial near-miss! Author: santafe199 I grew up in the only major city in Kansas (Manhattan) that was NOT served by the Santa Fe. This is, unless you count Santa Fe’s involvement in the “Manhattan, Alma & Burlingame” that operated for roughly a couple of decades around the turn of the century. That’s the OTHER turn of the century, over 115 years ago. It was short-lived collaboration between the UP and the AT&SF. The line was an extension of Santa Fe’s branch from the main passenger line at Burlingame, KS up to a connection with the Rock Island at Alma, KS. The line roughly paralleled the Rock Island’s McFarland ~ Bellville branch into Manhattan. (I probably have the actual history wrong here...)
For me to become a life-long, die-hard Santa Fe fan the railfan gods must have decided that ‘paying my dues’ would include a hefty & heartbreaking price: I never once laid my young eyes upon live Santa Fe passenger Red & Silver. The very same famous piece of Santa Fe history that just about every other Kansas railfan I’ve ever met had the luxury of taking for granted. By the time I turned 16 (June 1971) and had a solo driver’s license I would have had a chance to visit either Topeka or Emporia to see Amtrak’s borrowed ATSF Red & Silver Fs. But what decent parent is going to let a 16 year old drive off by himself into the wee hours of the night just look at a train? Besides, at 16 I was busy looking at locomotion of the 2-legged and decidedly more feminine form… By the time I came to my railfan senses and picked up a camera (a 126 Instamatic in mid 1975) Santa Fe Red & Silver was all but extinct in my neck-o-the-woods. I think there were still a couple of R/S F-7Bs running around here & there. The only real consolation I had was the current Bicentennial fervor that flowed through the American RR industry in general, and the Santa Fe in particular. And there were 5 [count ‘em: FIVE!] gorgeously decorated Santa Fe SD-45-2s that regularly rolled over the mainline just a tauntingly scant 75 minutes SSE of Manhattan where I still lived & worked for the US Postal Service. I would make numerous treks down to Uncle John’s territory in the next 2 years, but my timing was nearly always off. A friendly Santa Fe operator at Emporia once told me: “Ya just missed it, kid! The 5702 just went through here ‘bout an hour ago.” Only once did I happen to catch a Santa Fe Bicentennial unit in sunshine (#1 below). That was in the summer of 1976. I tried in vane to get ahead of it and get a sunny shot. I only got the pacing shot shown below, and dark side grab at Ellinor just down the road. 2 years later I would be a Santa Fe brakeman and would have the knowledge that I could have easily chased this train down through the Flint Hills. But that knowledge was over a year in the future… I converted to 35mm photography in November of 1976 and my ongoing quest to bag one or more Santa Fe Bicentennials went into a higher gear. I knew time was working against me. I’d heard reports that all 5 units would go back into standard blue & yellow. Time after time at Emporia or other places I would strike out. One night at the Argentine Diesel Shops I would experience adrenalin-spiking false alarm (see #2 & #3 below). Driving around I would spot 2 very bright number boards displaying the numerals 5-7-0-1! By now I was getting very good with the ol’ tripod: But it was just more disappointment. The re-painting had begun… Success at last! (kinda…) On an oppressively overcast day in January of 1978 I finally mated my 35mm Nikkormat with a Santa Fe Bicentennial, the 5704 (#4 below). Cloudy, crappy weather, but HEY, I’ll take it! I would never get another chance… 1. AT&SF 5703 racing through the old Plymouth, KS area. (126 Inst slide taken in July of 1976) Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/15 15:41 by santafe199. Date: 03/23/15 15:33 Re: Bicentennial near-miss! Author: santafe199 2. AT&SF number boards with a bright “5701” in each one made my heart skip a few beats. Could it be…
3. …DANG! It’s already back to the standard Blue & Yellow. (SIGH………) (2 photos taken November 11, 1977 in Argentine, KS) 4. AT&SF 5704 leads train 973 T-1 east out of Emporia, KS on January 23, 1978. Thanks for looking back! Lance Garrels santafe199 Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/15 15:34 by santafe199. Date: 03/23/15 20:26 Re: Bicentennial near-miss! Author: KskidinTx Checked my timebooks to see if I was on either of the red, white & blue locomotives in your pictures, but no I wasn't. I was on the 5705 July 15, 1976, train 811-M-1 with conductor Hull. Departed Wellington !:52 am and arrived Emporia 4:10 am. That was a pretty close matchup to your first picture but was the wrong time of the day, or, or, or night!
Mark Cole Temple, TX Date: 04/10/15 16:42 Re: Bicentennial near-miss! Author: ProAmtrak Hey at least you didn't give up man, there's some fans, me included, that missed an oppurtunity on catching a unique locomotive in action until you heard it was too late!
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