Steam & Excursion > T&P 610 - night move - at Houston Union Station

Feb 1976
610 was in town with the Freedom Train.
It is around 4am as the engine is moving out of the station and will pick up the Freedom Train cars just ahead.
The train will go to Fort Worth on the Santa Fe to hand the train over to SP 4449.
TO member BoilingMan was a crew member and wonder if he remembers this early departure.

Gary


 

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Great night scene.
Bob

He forgot to turn ON the headlight.
He'll discover that, soon enough.

​W.

With a time exposure this sharp there's no way the train is moving. And since it's not moving there's no need for the headlight to be burning...

Lance

LOL, no- I would have been tucked in asleep.   The routine was to have everything tied down on the flatcars by midnight and then head to the Pie Car (Crew Diner) for a quick something before calling it a night.  In Houston the "something" would have been Lone Star Beer.  The good folks at Lone Star made sure the AFT Crew had  an unlimited flow of their fine (?!) brew while in Texas.    Later in the tour, when John Long took over the Pie Car operation, he went literal:  Fresh baked pie before turning in!
SR

BoilingMan Wrote:
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> LOL,  In Houston the "something" would have been Lone Star Beer.  

Great shot Gary!  ​I love the silhouettes.

I remember that night well.  I too was working on a Lone Star that night - an Amtrak train.  I remember feeling cheated a bit, that my night shift conflicted with the move.  But I found solace in hearing the echos of the enchanting steam whistle bounce off the skyscrapers and fade into the distance.  I had my own steam too - those darn boilers on the Amtrak SDP40F engines were always like cranky babies needing something.


 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/24 07:29 by Hou74-76.

 I flew from SFO to Houston the day before and tried a couple of Extrachrome shots leaving town on 2/25/76.   My first shot after dawn was north of Sealy.  Thus ensued a great all day chase to Ft. Worth.
  Two photos leaving Houston and the Sealy shot below.  I had no idea where I was going but luckily ran into Dick Kuelbs and Joe McMillan who helped keep me on the right highways.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/24 14:04 by masterphots.

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A great night image. Thanks, Gary , as I was unable to see the 610 in steam .

The can of lone Star I had turned up some 20 years later in a box of stuff. It was blown up like a balloon, hard as a rock. It went through the air like throwing a grenade blowing open when it hit the street. That stuff was lethal. Sure had some great food come out of the pie car from "Long John." Prior to him it wasn't bad, but after he took over it went to the next level. 


BoilingMan Wrote:
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> LOL, no- I would have been tucked in asleep. 
>  The routine was to have everything tied down on
> the flatcars by midnight and then head to the Pie
> Car (Crew Diner) for a quick something before
> calling it a night.  In Houston the "something"
> would have been Lone Star Beer.  The good folks
> at Lone Star made sure the AFT Crew had  an
> unlimited flow of their fine (?!) brew while in
> Texas.    Later in the tour, when John Long took
> over the Pie Car operation, he went literal: 
> Fresh baked pie before turning in!
> SR

Now, now… you’re confusing your Longs: John Long ran the Pie Car. Long John was a whole other guy!
SR

Easy enough mistake- their mail got mixed up all the time…