Railroaders' Nostalgia > My Dumb Luck: the AFT years 52

52 Miami. FL., Dec. 26-31

The Last Run of the AFT was on a wet Christmas Day. The night before, the train closed as normal and we tore it down for the last time. But after the flats were loaded and the Move Night Pie finished off, we sat, and waited until dawn. The last move would be a daytime run so that everyone on the staff, not just those of us who lived aboard, would have a last chance to ride. We left for Miami first thing in the morning with a bit of a crowd aboard. Actually, during the last month or so, the people from tickets, security, and other departments were getting in their last –and sometimes first – rides.

Photo 1. Passing through West Palm Beach.
Photo 2. Our last move.

Photo 3. The End – the bumper in Miami, Christmas Day 1976. I must have been aboard the Tool Car to have hit the ground and gotten this photo – this literally seconds after we’d come to a stop.
Photo 4. A quick steam crew portrait. From left: Roy (Pop), Craig, Myrle, Tom, Doyle, Bob, and Al.

There was a pause for handshakes, hugs, and back slapping, and then we set about in what was another in a series of “lasts,” setting up the train for display. We took our time, as we'd have the rest of the day off. That night there was a Christmas party aboard the Preambles, best described as “restrained.” The whole week in Miami was that way- restrained.

Photo 5. Our little tree in C&D aboard the 201 Car. I think Jim and Gail (tickets) set this up.
The next day I borrowed a courtesy car and drove down to the Everglades National Park for a look around (I guess it was my “last” of my many outings). But for the most part work resumed as usual in the morning, aspecially on the locomotive- the valves on the 4449 got new brass.
Photo 6. Al at work, probably looking for leaking stay bolts.
Photo 7. One of the valves. It’s stamped for 4448, 4449, and 4450 – the ’49 is representative of the SP’s GS-4 class in more ways than you may have considered!
Photo 8. And representative of the men and women who kept these machines fit: here on the underside of one of the tender hatches Frenchy and Rudy left their marks. (Feb. ’48, and Sept. ’50)
Photo 9. I don’t remember why, but for some reason it was necessary to move the locomotive later that week. It may have been to wye the ’49, or the Preambles for the train’s departure in a few days? But it was truly the last time she’d turn a wheel in AFT service, so I scrambled aboard and got this shot backing out of the Miami depot. We didn’t go far – at most, a mile.

The train closed for the last time on the evening of Dec. 31, 1976. Everyone says that after the last visitor had exited the train, the entire staff went through to have a last look. I honestly don’t remember doing this, but they say Ross stood at the door and thanked each of us individually for being part of his dream, and THAT does sound familiar. It was all so overwhelming – those last few days are dream-like to me now. My memory of them is far more of emotion than fact. There was a formal dinner at the Hialeah that night, but that too is a blur.

Photo 10. Me.
Frank (electrician) gets credit for the Last Milepost. The plate carries the signatures of nearly, but not quite all, the AFT Family. (For what it’s worth: I was with the train for 14,618 of those miles)
 
For this past year various members of the AFT family have been at the mercy of my “pen” in telling our story. That hardly seems fair, so invited a few who have helped me in retelling my/our adventure, and were in Miami to have a last say:

“Wild” Bill Hoban
AFT Curator 9/75 – Miami
I wrote a letter home from every stop ... That covered 109 cities in 39 states, 476 days on the road covering somewhere around 23,000 miles, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf ... Sometimes I talked about what was going on, other times it was thoughts on what we were doing, but I made sure I penned something from each city so that I would have a record/journal ... This was the beginning of my last letter from Dec. 30, from Miami:
“Well, this is it. Miami. The object that most of us have been shooting for, for up to 21 months in some cases. We’re all a bit confused. We don’t know whether to laugh or cry. At the (closing) party tomorrow night, there will be great merriment and mirth ... but there will also be tears and sorrow. Last year at this time, we were in Santa Barbara thinking how far Miami was from our grasp. Now it is here.”
It was a unique adventure. I too was confused. After spending up to 15 months working with, and living with 100-plus people, on Jan. 1, we were scattering to our respective parts of the country. I hoped that wouldn’t be the last time I saw many of my friends. It was the end of one adventure, and the start of another. I just wasn’t sure what that adventure would be. 
 
Dale “Palmdale” Wyant
Operations 1/76 – Miami
After spending a year on the AFT, rolling into Florida was a reality check. Up until that point, it was more or less business, and extracurricular activities as usual. Yes, we worked hard setting up and tearing down the sites, but played hard as well. There were the parties, golf cart derbies, tours for the AFT family, etc., but nothing could come close to move nights. After the train was back together and ready to go, the few of us that called it home would gather in the pie car for the midnight feast of burgers, pie and beer. At 2 a.m. we were off and often would sit on the platform of car 205 or have the exit car doors open and listen to the sounds of the locomotives echo across America. Was there a better way to see the country, absolutely NOT!
When we rolled into Miami, the final stop, it was “oh crap, this is it.” The final teardown on Dec. 30 was a somber one. There was a New Year’s Eve party and for the most part, it was almost like a wake. It was rather tame compared to the other parties, dinners, etc. It was over for all but the engine crew and a couple of others who would stay with the train to its final location for disassembly. The loco crew had another adventure waiting, getting the engine home. Craig (sp3204) bought a used up Ford Maverick and on New Year’s Day, I threw my stuff in that car and the two of us drove from Miami to Palmdale, stopping only for gas and junk food. The only time the car was idle was in Tucson for a pizza. I met some wonderful people on the train. It was a close-knit family that I am still proud to be a part of. I saw a lot of the country, some of which I would love to go back to, others not so much. There are so many things that are long gone now that was seen I can’t begin to remember all. Boilingman is doing a fantastic job with his presentation I hope the TO readers that only know the railroads of today can appreciate what the world was like 40 years ago through his stories. I have thousands of feet of 8 mm film and super 8 mm – some of it sound, that I would love to post, but that is a different challenge. Anyway, enough rambling, it was a trip of a lifetime. Blue 24 out.
Dale,exiled sp5312
 
Craig “Pixie Boots” Thomas
4449 crew/ Security 12/75-5/77 (date 4449 was returned to Portland. OR.)
While the T-1 was pulling the AFT through our Washington, D.C. stop, I had transferred to a position in security (Red 23 on your packset). With the ’49 back on, Doyle got me back on the engine crew a few stops later to finish the trip to Miami. The whole staff knew this trip of a lifetime was ending soon. It was hard to believe that the experience was about to end in Miami, but there we were on Dec. 31, 1976 – and it did! The time in Miami was a little tough, knowing in days your “extended family” would be departing for their homes all around the country. In my particular case, though I still had the experience ahead of me getting the 4449 back to her home in Portland, Oregon. I also knew being on the Southern Pacific for all those miles from New Orleans to Portland hopefully would aid in my next dream ... engine service on the Southern Pacific.
In the end, my experience on the American Freedom Train (and the 4449), did secure me that job in 1977. The first engine I ever ran as a Southern Pacific employee in engine service ... SP 3204!
 
Doyle McCormack
Engineer 4449 11/74-5/77 (date 4449 was returned to Portland, OR.)
After spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in West Palm Beach, we were off on the last short leg of the of our great Freedom Train adventure. This would be the last time we would pull the AFT consist. When we stopped in Miami, my fireman, Al Phillips, and I were the last of the original 4449 crew to have made the entire trip.
At this point most, of the folks on the train staff knew that the trip was over, this was the last stop. Everyone set about doing their job to set the train up for display just as they had done many times before. After the last paid visitor had made their way through the train on the evening of Dec. 31, the staff got a chance to take a final tour. Ross Rowland stood at the entrance and shook hands with and thanked each person as they entered the train. I think it was an emotional time for all of us. Most of the staff left Miami the next day or the day after as did the train. The locomotive and the engine crew remained in Hialeah at the SCL shops to wait until mid-January to begin the long trek home to Portland.  
There is an old saying, “when one door closes another door opens.” I think for many the Freedom Train opened a lot of doors. I know for me and my wife, Laurie, that was the case.
Back in November of '74 I was offered a position with the Freedom Train. Sometimes it’s funny how one phone call can change the whole course of your life.
 
 
Ross Rowland
AFT Founder/ Engineer T-1  1973-?  (He’s Founder for Life.)
Hello SR,
I recall well that night in Miami on a number of fronts. I remember the strong feeling of melancholy shared by nearly every member of the team that the journey was really over and that we’d all soon be parting ways and for many never reconnecting. The numerous side conversations recounting different memorable events encountered along the 25,000-mile journey were certainly fascinating and memorable.  Another thing I recall well was JJ MacDonald (VP of GM) taking me aside and being profuse in expressing his gratitude for getting GM involved and how much the whole project had meant to the senior management at GM and to him personally. And that he felt we had done a major job in helping the nation celebrate our 200th-birthday.   Personally, I felt a VERY deep sense of gratitude to each and every member of the crew for the dedication they showed toward getting the job done (often under really hard conditions) and making sure we accomplished our mission. Lord knows it wasn’t for the money! The fact that a good number of the crew still show up 40 years later to be together tells you how important being a part of this epic journey was to them! Thanks for your efforts in celebrating this great adventure.
All the best, Ross

When I sat down a year ago, determined to write these stories out, I first struggled to find a title. “My Dumb Luck” sounded kind of, well, dumb. But there’s simply no better description – we were all just so very lucky to have been involved.
Someone turned out an employee directory at the end of the tour for those who wanted to stay in touch. It lists 235 names – and these were just the ones they had addresses for. I’d guess maybe another 50+ slipped away without leaving a trail, So let’s say 275 to 300 people were on the American Freedom Train Foundation payroll at one time or another. And I can’t even guess how many others volunteered their time!
They say lightning only strikes once?
Not hardly!

Thank you everyone!

SR Bush
Dutch Flat
  



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/14 12:44 by BoilingMan.

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Do you remember this?
I was a foreman in Sanford when you came by.

Now retired.
Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.

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Yes, the main program that was sold at the door. The artwork was a weird morph of the T-1 and the 4449!
SR

BoilingMan Wrote:
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> Ross Rowland
> AFT Founder/ Engineer T-1  1973-?  
> ... strong feeling of
> melancholy ...

I'm getting a version of that feeling as your stories come to an end. Thanks for taking us on that journey! Looking forward to your show at Winterail, and to thanking you in person.

mapboy

Thanks for recounting a part of railroad history that is unbelievable that it was even pulled off in the first place.

All of your reports should be complied and in a book, volume I. Founder for Life (R. Roland) should write volume II describing how he was able to get all of those railroads and cities to cooperate to get the train where it needed to be on a tight schedule.

I was only 5 at the time and the crowds were too big when it was in Fresno, CA so my only memories of the train is seeing it from my father's shoulders behind a throng of people.

Thanks again,
Daylight

I feel like I just finished a good book that has left me wanting a sequel. Thank you sharing your journey with us.

One of the best series I have ever read on trainorders or anywhere.

Really feeling that melancholy and sad to have the journey end.

Thanks for giving us a ride.

Thank you everyone.
This series was fun to write (a pleasant surprise, as I'd never tried writing before. I purposely dialed a lot of my own personality into the stories for the benefit of my daughter- I'm hoping she'll pass them down the line as a slice of family history. They also represent quite a bit of work- each week's installment probably consumed 8-10hrs of research, phone calls, photo scanning, etc.
This started out as an attempt to sort out all the photos I took that year and I guess it snowballed. My intention now is to go back over them in preparation for archiving on Todd Schannuth's AFT website.
As for a book (I've been asked about this several times), I've no idea if that's an economically feasible idea. Once they're ready for Todd I'll look at the cost of binding them through a service like Blurb Books. Blurb will also market books too, and if it could break even dollar-wise, then sure- why not? We'll see..
Again, thank you all for indulging me,
SR

Great post and I've really enjoyed your series! Thank you for all the work!

Andy

SR...Man has this been an emotional trip! You did such a great job, I can't thank you enough for bringing back the memories. At times it was such hard work, others, it was a ball to just be there. I was so lucky to be part of it, as we all were... Craig

This needed to be a book....so well written with amazing detail and incredible supporting photo's....THANK YOU! The best chronical on Trainorders ever....by far....perhaps an idea.....Todd could lift all your posts and give it it's own special place on this board.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/14 18:10 by OKTrainboys.

SR,

Thank you so much for sharing the true story of the AFT; it's been immensely enjoyable to follow
the operation through your experience! Your tales have been without a doubt the most fascinating
and enjoyable to follow over the past year, I hope you got as much pleasure out of assembling your stories
as I did reading them.

DV

Great series to read and glad I got to see but only behind the T-1.

Thanks for taking the time to write and post your fascinating stories of your time with the Freedom Train! I have enjoyed them and always looked forward to the next installment of your incredible journey. Thank you once again!!!

Bravo, S.R., Well done!

Many thanks for the countless hours you've spent putting the history of this memorable journey onto TO for us to enjoy.

I'm very much looking forward to your Freedom Train presentation at Winterail this year.

S_W

retcsxcfm Wrote:
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> Do you remember this?
> I was a foreman in Sanford when you came by.
>
> Now retired.
> Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.


I still have mine I purchased during the Houston, Texas stop...and the tickets too!

A masterpiece SR, well and nobly done! Hope to see you in Portland in 2016 ....

Respectfully,
Burlington John
(Todd Schannuth's apprentice)