Passenger Trains > C&NW biz train question ala 1985

Back in the fall of 1985 John Arbuckle & I chased a C&NW business car train which ran over the UP, then the C&NW line in Wyoming. Because of cab signalling requirements it ran over the UP w/ C&NW engine 5078 leading a pristine A-B-B-A set of Fs, a power car (ex-F7b?) and 9 psgr cars, one of which was UP. We caught the train first thing in the morning at North Platte and chased it all the way up toward the coal fields north of Bill, WY. John & I split a motel room in Casper, so I'm positive the train overnighted at Bill. We also chased it back into western Nebraska before we had to break off to return home. One thing I do remember was listening to a radio broadcast of a Kansas City Royals ~ Toronto Blue Jays AM league playoff game (KC won), which puts the chase in the middle of October of 1985. Does anyone have the exact dates & legs this train ran???

Lance/199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/17 16:43 by santafe199.

sweet trip; memories

That would have been one of the playoffs for 1985 "I-70" World Series between Kansas City and St. Louis. The series ran from Oct. 19 to Oct. 27.

JBOmaha



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/17 13:19 by Copy19.

Lance the 1985 American League Championship Series between the Royals
and Blue Jays ran from October 8th-16th. The Royals won Games 3,5, 6 and 7
which were played on October 11th, 13th, 15th and 16th respectively.
Hope this helps in narrowing down the dates of your chase.

Copy19 Wrote: > ... one of the playoffs* for 1985 "I-70" World Series ...

I have slides I shot in Wichita, KS that are confirmed to have been taken on the afternoon of Oct 11, 1985. So John & I started our chase from central Kansas no earlier than Oct 12. We passed through Belleville, KS and chased the KYLE west over the old Rock Island into night shot darkness at Phillipsburg, then headed north through Holdrege, NE and stayed overnight in North Platte. The next morning (no earlier than Oct 13) we picked up the business special E of town between Brady & N Platte. At this point the train was carrying C&NW 5078 on the point acct cab signalling. The train went up the "coal main" at O 'Fallons and lost the 5078 somewhere west of Lisco, NE (maybe at Torrington?). We chased the train with C&NW F-unit 400 leading a B-B-A trio of Fs through Wyoming until we ran out of sunlight. Would this have been over BN trackage? We stayed overnight in Casper. The next morning (no earlier than Oct 14) we had to back track a bit east, then north to head for Bill, WY. This is where I think the train overnighted and somehow got turned to get pointed back south (east?). We took a gazillion shots at Bill -from all sorts of angles- then chased the train as it left Bill with C&NW 400 on the point. We passed through Douglas, WY later getting our last shots of the train at dusk in Gering, NE where it had reacquired the 5078 on the point (most likely at Torrington?). We then got back on the road toward Kansas with the C&NW biz psgr chase behind us. Before reaching North Platte for another overnight stay I remember pulling off for a restroom break right after listening to *one of the Royals' wins over the radio. This would HAVE to have been either the game 6 win on the 15th, or the game 7 win on the 16th. I honestly don't remember being euphoric over a Kansas City American League Championship, so I'm leaning toward this being the night of the 15th. But I can't be 100% sure. This is why I'm asking for help from any C&NW or special business train fans who might have a precise, day by day history of this unique event...

Lance/199 (KC Royals fan)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/17 17:56 by santafe199.

The locomotive switch may have been made at South Morrill, NE, rather than Torrington. The UP coal line heads north just west of South Morrill.

Kim Heusel

KimHeusel Wrote: > ... locomotive switch may have been made at South Morrill ... UP coal line heads north just west of South Morrill ...

Thanks, Kim! That's why I couldn't make sense of the map(s), Google & otherwise. I knew the C&NW line into Casper was still in place in '85 because John & I shot 2 C&NW geeps -one on the turntable, a CGW lettered fuel tank car, an old Rock Island boxcar lettered for C&NW and a white 2-story RR structure (which was probably the C&NW depot) before heading up to get the biz train at Bill. But I was trying to place the train "waaay out in the sticks"... on the BN between Orin Jct and Casper via Douglas

So... did the UP coal line connect with the C&NW? Maybe at or near Lusk, WY then headed west to Orin Jct??? If so, was that segment of the C&NW line upgraded to welded rail between Lusk & Orin Jct? That will likely help me ID those boonies pacing shots taken late in the day.
Lance/199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/17 17:38 by santafe199.

there is some of the old cowboy line thru lusk along US 20 that is used

Thank you, Dan.

santafe199 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> So... did the UP coal line connect with the C&NW?
> Maybe at or near Lusk, WY then headed west to Orin
> Jct??? If so, was that segment of the C&NW line
> upgraded to welded rail between Lusk & Orin Jct?
> That will likely help me ID those boonies pacing
> shots taken late in the day.
> Lance/199

The C&NW (with lots of UP money, I think) built new track from the UP just west of South Morrill north to the C&NW Cowboy Line just west of Van Tassell, WY. The Cowboy Line was upgraded through Lusk and beyond where it connected with the BN north of Orin. I'm not sure of track ownership beyond that point. I'm sure there are others who can explain that part of it. I was living in Fremont, NE through the 1980s. At one point there was plan to upgrade the entire Cowboy Line through Nebraska to a point just north of Fremont and then build new track to connect to the C&NW's Fremont-Blair (NE) line. I had heard that C&NW was unable to secure the loan needed to do the work which prompted UP to enter the picture. It's always interesting to wonder what might have been if the original plan would have come to fruition.

Kim Heusel

KimHeusel Wrote: > ... The Cowboy Line was upgraded through Lusk and beyond where it connected with the BN north of Orin ...

Thanks again, Kim. Acting on that hunch I took a close look at the Van Tassell ~ Lusk area through Google Maps this morning. I hit the jackpot! I found all of the spots John and shot from while pacing the train along US hwy 20: a tiny dent in the road called Node, WY (courtesy of DeLorme), Lost Springs & Shawnee, WY where we were geographically forced to part with the train for the night. I can't recall why we didn't try for a shot through (greater downtown... ;^) Lusk. I guess it's just one of those things you have to decide while on the fly, chasing a train...

Lance/199