Nostalgia & History > WAG Wednesday: Look what's leading the Portland Rose!

This week we find Bill Gibson shooting in the Denver area in 1966. He caught the eastbound counterpart of a train very familiar to him in Topeka, near the other end of the KP. This is the Portland Rose when it was still a long and obviously busy train. In those days Bill wound up shooting many more slides of train #17 around Topeka than he would #18.

A year earlier, in the summer of 1965 I made my first ever trip on a passenger train. I was in my 2nd home town of Abilene, KS with my mother & sister visiting cousins. Mom & Aunt Nellie concocted a same-day, reciprocal visit back to Manhattan. The grand plan involved my elder cousin ‘Billy Boy’ (6 years my senior) escorting me home on a Union Pacific passenger train, while the rest of the stampeding herd of relatives crammed into the station wagon. I can fantasize and say it was #18 we rode, but considering the early/mid afternoon departure from Abilene (IIRC) it was more likely train #70. At any rate I was excited out of my grade school mind to be riding my first passenger train. And I clearly remember having my young face smashed up against the window while going around curves, trying to catch a glimpse of those lordly yellow engines up front…

1. MILW 31A leads 2 more UP(?) Es at the point of train #18, the “Portland Rose” at Pullman in Denver, CO on September 12, 1966.
Photo by William A. Gibson (WAG) Sr.

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
Art Gibson (wag216)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/22 05:30 by santafe199.

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Nice. The MILW units were common on those trains. How far west did they operate as leaders ?  Were they equipped with UP cab signals?

I seen MILW E units on the point of the COP. But this is the first photo I've seen with them on the point of the Rose. Thanks for sharing.

Fantastic image... Growing up along the UP, I recall the Milwaukee E's as being frequent visitors to the Centennial state.  In the 69 & 70 timeframe, the SDP35's were mixed with E's. The SDP's would be pulled in Denver.   I worked out of Denver on extra board at that time but not wanting to be labeled as "railfan" the camera never traveled with me... The terminal super at the time was very anti-fan...Thanks for the memory.

YY
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/16 08:33 by YukonYeti.

Thanks for another exciting episode of WAG Wednesday!!!

The_Chief_Way Wrote:
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> Nice. The MILW units were common on those trains.
> How far west did they operate as leaders ?  Were
> they equipped with UP cab signals?

They must have had UP cab signals. But lacked ATS for the Sanfe Fe joint line Riverside to Daggett. Because of that, they did not operate over the LA&SL. A B unit could have made the trip to LA on occasion.

Nice photo.  Saw quite a bit of Milw  on #9 & #10 in Salina KS also.  Never knew how far they went west--I just figured to Denver then returned to the east.
Brian Stevens

Nice load of head & rear end traffic it appears. Great photo.

Hello all,

Below is a consist for No. 18 leaving Green River in April of that same year, copied from the Classic_UP Yahoo Group.

Take care,

Mark

Train No. 18 out of Green River, WY Apr 26, 1966:Power:  UP 925 – 958B – MILW 33C (same as it had out of Pocatello).
(car number, type or service, destination)USA G60    “guard car”      Denver - C&S interchange   UP 9345    express    “JCT Kan”   (Junction City?)   SP 6734    baggage  Denver     UP 5774    storage mail Denver   UP 5651    baggage   DenverUP 5643    baggage    DenverN&W 1403  storage mail  St. Louis  UP 5331   coach?    DenverNational Domain   180     DenverUP 4053     diner    DenverUP 5430     coach?   Kansas CityUP 5409    coach?  Kansas CityUP  6323    baggage & express    Kansas CityTotal:  13 cars

(based upon information found at the American Heritage Center at the UofWY in Laramie).
 

mamfahr Wrote: >...UP 9345 express “JCT Kan” (Junction City?) ...
JCT would indeed be Junction City, KS. This was a former division point on the KP and later UP. At one time there was a full RH + shops(??) in service. A branch line once ran NW out of town up to Clay Center and Concordia (via ATSF between Miltonvale & Concordia) with another offshoot up to Belleville. But due to the construction of Milford Lake which was finished in the 1960s, and the entire branch was abandoned. Today all that's left in Junction City is a siding & a few yard tracks...

Lance/199

Nice shot! Old UP RR train crews on the Portland Rose, were based out of denver and worked between Denver and Ellis, KS.. Denver engine crews worked to and from Hugo, CO.

Lance, another train I haven't run across any photos of would be the City of St. Louis with Wabash pool power, StL to Denver and return.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Bob3985 Wrote: > ...  I haven't run across any photos of [what] would be the City of St. Louis with Wabash pool power ...
The only color material I've seen is from a series Art & I did back 2013. Here's a link:

 http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,3025935,3025935#msg-3025935

Maybe this will help?

Lance



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/16 17:03 by santafe199.

< LIKE >

It's " Rosie " !   Thanks for sharing your Dad's  images , Art.   --Kelly

I posted a photo some time back of a Milw F unit leading train 103 into LAUPT.    Still in Milw colors.

Thanks for the link Lance. That was a journey back into my memories of all the neat GM&O power and the motor cars I grew up with. And the Wabash units on trains 9&10 City of St. Louis are awesome. Again thanks my friend.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

 When I first read the Title , I thought you putting up a photo of Bob ( PRose)   My mistake !

It has been posted on TO a few years back that Union Pacific-Milwaukee Road power cycled from the Domeliner City of Portland, at Portland, to the Portland Rose.  I don't recall how it cycled in reverse.