Steam & Excursion > The High Iron Co., 50 years of Glory

2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 High Iron Company and its exploding onto the steam excursion world.

Ross Rowland set out a program of 5 Steam Safaris over the CNJ, leasing  George Hart's Canadian Pacific 4-6-2s, 1286 & 1238.
Wonderful machines. Immediately all 5 excursions were sold out....all by the US Mail, no internet, back then.

From that monstrous accomplishment came EVERYTHING that has become the remarkable trail out of what had become a moribund  steam world ---- of short lines and to-and-fro tea kettles plying the cheap-skate touring, rail fan trade.

So, take a moment, now and reflect on what the world of steam we have today would be like, if you take that year, 50 years ago, out of the picture.?
...What would never have existed, had HICO never come along?

One man's burning passion and crystal clear vision created ALL that we now have seen accomplished, the many ancillary steam restorations, the millions of smiling faces, and the billions of photo frames and mega bytes of digital recordings.

We wouldn't even have TrainOrders , if it weren't for Ross.

Thank you Ross for all you have brought about, singlehandidly.
What a monstrous accomplishment.

And lastly, a personal "Thank You" for your hiring me and mentoring me, you allowed me to live the most wondrous of RailFan's Dreams.... The CNJ, The HICO excursions, the 759, the Golden Spike Train, the 2102 adventures, the AFT, the 4449, the 614.
The list goes on and on.

Nobody knows the huge difference you made in our crazy hobby.  It is truly astounding and awe inspiring.
You have been battered, pushed around and kicked out, but you're still standing.  
A worthy example of that Rudyard Kipling poem, about what it takes.....

Happy 50th, and for the next decade we'll be celebrating many additional Great 50th Anniversary Events.
A well deserved on-going renewal,Party..

Wes Camp
VP & CMO
The High Iron Co.
1965 to 1975
 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/17 20:40 by wcamp1472.

Wes

I couldn't have said it any better but I'd like to add my thanks to both you and Ross. Both of you were my mentors along with Pop & Joe. It was truly a "trip" none of us expected what with all the excursions, all the engines, and Ross leading the way.
Thanks for being a friend all these years, steam or no steam, and perhaps "The Dynamic Duo" will get one last "Safari"! 

Your Truly,
Hank
VP-Mech Dept
HICO

Well stated Wes.
I was very fortunate to have had the privilege to work with you guys during that all too brief period of NJTransit trips with the 614 in 1996, 97 & 98. It was just dumb luck that I happened to be working part time for the New Hope & Ivyland during the time that the 614 was kept there and got to work with the guys that put her back on the road for those trips. To date, those trips were the fastest speeds I have EVER experienced in the cab of a steam locomotive. In the past 30 years I have had some memorable moments on steam, but nothing has come close to those trips for shear excitement and adrenalin rush.
So, Happy 50th. Anniversary HICO indeed!

Chris Bost
Leesport, PA

WOW yes it has been 50 years. Thanks to everyone at HICO for getting me started on fan trips at the age of 13. My first fantrip was August 20, 1967 Easton, PA to Wilkes-Barre with CPR 1238 and 1286. I was by myself and I didn't know what a runby was. 
Then the second trip when I was 14 again traveling by myself. (Today Parents would never think of doing this). My Brother-In-Law drove me overnight on a five hour trip to Grand Central Terminal. Next day drove back to pick me up. That trip was the two day New York City-Niagara Falls excursion behind NKP 759. That trip I knew what a runby was and got off to watch.  
Here are a few scans from Instamatic prints. The 1968 trip photos are really starting to fade.

1. CNJ CPR 1238-1286 Jim Thorpe, PA August 20. 1967
2. PC NKP 759 runby between Clyde and Savannah, NY October 13, 1968
3. PC NKP 759 runby between Clyde and Savannah, NY October 13, 1968
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/17 18:49 by PCCRNSEngr.

---

---

---

4. PC Rocky Mountain Open Air Car October 13, 1965.
5. PC NKP 759 Note PRR Twin-Unit Diner between Clyde and Savannah, NY October 13, 1968
6. PC NKP 759 at service stop in East Syracuse, NY. New Haven mail car that was on an eastbound mail train
    October 13, 1968

---

---

---

If it wasn't for HICO and the inspiration of the 759 on the Golden Spike Centennial Limited through Ohio and Indiana, Glenn Brendel, Skip Sassmannshausen, John Eichman,Gary Bensman and Wayne York would not have been inspired to get NKP 767 out of Fort Wayne's Lawton Park. HICO and RR proved it was possible.......

Posted from iPhone

Hi Wes, thanks for the story.  Since you mentioned the former Canadian Pacific locomotives 1238 & 1286, as I recall these two engines were sitting on a siding in Virginia sometime back owned by Jack Showalter, and when he passed away, I was told that his family were trying to sell both of these engines.  Do you or anyone else know the status of these engines?  Were they sold or are they still sitting there?  Thanks.
John

The 2nd car back, was Graham Claytor's SOU Ry. Office car. Bob Claytor rode the cab between Rhinebeck and Albany, NY.
The two Claytor families rode the entire trip, overnight in Niagara Falls and all...

i believe it was on the 759's return to steam that Bob began to get dreaming about a stone cold 1218....
After the R'trip, GCT to Niagara Falls, our next trips, in October were out of Roanoke ---- first steam there since 1959!
At first the Roanoke Shop forces were panicked by steam..... rembereances of the massive layoffs in the 1950s.
But soon the realized they weren't getting fired..

Then we wintered-over in Conneaut,  Doyle got to run her, Bellevue, Ohio, to Conneaut roundhouse.  In January, 1969, the 1218 was enroute to Roanoke, paused for 'inspection' at Conneaut roundhouse, we got out the alemite gun, for old time's sake....and shot the rod bearings, just like old days, then she headed for Roanoke shops....and a later return to steam .....with Bob at the throttle...

in May of '69, we departed NewYork's Grand Central Terminal, bound for Promontory, Utah

Great memories...

​W.

Re: ClubCar..

See earlier T.O. posts of the two, on flat cars, headed back to Canada, mid-2016....and eventual return to steam?

​W.

wcamp1472 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Re: ClubCar..
>
> See earlier T.O. posts of the two, on flat cars,
> headed back to Canada, mid-2016....and eventual
> return to steam?
>
> ​W.
Thanks Wes.
John

Amen to an excellent tribute! Thanks for allowing those of us who are (were) younger to experience big mainline steam firsthand...

ShastaDaylight

Interesting inclusion of a PRR Twin Unit Diner set in the consist!

Later, 1969, that twin-unit diner was used in the GSCL to Salt Lake City...complete with staff.
The train was 14 cars. All the passengers and crew were fed out of that diner, meals pre-paid---had very few passengers ( $1,000 r/trip, all-expenses-paid, including hotel rooms & transportation, in every over-night city).

We parked the 759 in K.C.,MO, while The Blue Train continued west, to SLC & Ogden--- for the Centennial of the 100th Ceremony.
Oh, by the way,  the 8444 did the honors SLC to Ogden & ret, All the passengers had grandstand seats at the site...

Power leaving KC was the maiden trip of Centennial #6900 and two SD35P ( steam generator), all on-line and pulling.
We zipped along, above 90-per in places....( you can calculate the HP/car ratio, 14 cars...).

Returning to KC, we had 4 or 5 E-units doing the honors.
I was sure glad we didn't beat the poor 759, all those those thousands of miles...

Gave me a 'taste' of what would be needed, ( i.e.: a BIG oil-burner) if we did an AFT-like train,
Waaaaay back when THAT was just glimmer in Ross's imagination.


​W.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/17 17:55 by wcamp1472.

wcamp1472 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> We wouldn't even have TrainOrders , if it weren't
> for Ross.
>
Interesting.  Didn't know about his involvement in Trainorders' creation.

RuleG Wrote:

> Interesting.  Didn't know about his involvement
> in Trainorders' creation.

Yeah, that claim was surely a candidate for "eye roll of the day."

Posted from Android

Take R.R. out if the picture, since 1966.
What happens in its place, to produce the current explosion of enthusiastic railfans?

Sure, Todd saw an opportunity as a 'market' of people..... BUT the fan base of that day was very small...steamers are dramatic and sell lots of rolls of film.  Nothing ignited the hobby as much as the Main Line excursion business that R.R. raised to a whole new level, and filled with excitement.   R.R.'s focus has always been on giving the paying public truly memorable experiences.
A customer-centric ethic is what powers Ross.

A hint about the state of Railfandom is captured by the likes of the images posted by LoggerHogger, and other famous photogs, now mostly deceased.
The explosion, sure, was propelled by the electronic age, but TrainOrders was started years ago, as a small start-up.

So, as a derivative of the crowds generated by the explosion of 'private', steam engine restoration industry, TrainOrders has tapped into a very inquisitive crowd, and they use the current technology to share thier craft, and bask in the light of 'validation',

Ross started the genre of excursions pulled by dramatic motive power
 Others emulated  that model, even up to today --- and the 'fan market' grew, following the smoke trail.

Tapping into that was a very smart move by Todd. But Todd didn't rebuild steam engines and ignite tthe huge excitement that ensued.  I truly appreciate this wonderful medium, and the integrity with which Todd runs this board.  

The facts are the facts.

​W.
 

Rode many of those trips back then, I knew Ross as well both of us living in North Plainfield, NJ. I would often run into him at the Hobby Shop in Piscataway, NJ.
Ed K. cp Laurel Run

Does anybody have any inside photos or handouts of the Golden Spike Centennial Limited exhibit cars?  As a teenager I saw the 759's train at Lima, Ohio, but the lines were so long for the exhibit cars that I never got inside.

Thanks Wes for your nice tribute. I'm grateful for the many great events we've been able to execute over the years and always am reminded that these were team events only made possible thanks to the combined efforts of a whole lot of dedicated folks behind the curtain.

   Let's hope we've saved the best for last !!!

   Happy New Year to all.  Ross Rowland

as I work to develop information on  the pivotal moments in the history of the Oregon Rail Heriage Foundation here in Portland, Oregon, I greatly appreciate Wes pointing to the more universal decision points in rail fan and rail preseervation history.   as I age, I think it is important at least for me, to look back and figure out how and why we got to this point in history.  I would like future generations to know some of the important decision points.  

​my current research is focused on the Portland City Council's decision in 1957 or 1958 to develop a Transportation Museum thus prompting the solicitation of area railroads for locomotive donations....the who and how this got approved is what I am after.    who was that person(s) that championed this idea????.  

​by the way Wes.....some one should write the history of The High Iron Company.......certainly very important history that your postings allude to.     Arlen