The Illinois Central’s City of New Orleans arrives

in Hammond, Louisiana (vintage postcard)

 

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In September of 1986, I took a train trip that made an indelible impression upon me and my love of trains. It was the first train trip I had taken since those long-ago days of riding to visit my grandparents on the Illinois Central’s City of New Orleans.

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You remember that train. Arlo Guthrie made popular Steve Goodman’s “Riding on the City of New Orleans,” which immortalized the final run of the Illinois Central’s train. Mr. Goodman wrote the song in 1971, which was the year when Amtrak took over passenger rail service.

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But I digress.

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I did not ride on the City of New Orleans in 1986, but on Amtrak's Cardinal. Successor to the Chesapeake & Ohio’s (now CSX) George Washington, the Cardinal originates in Chicago and swings down through Indiana to Cincinnati before it crosses the Ohio River and cuts across the top of Kentucky and enters West Virginia. The ride through the coal mining region of that state and the New River Gorge are highlights of the journey before the train enters Virginia, crosses the Shenandoah Valley, and makes its way up to Washington before it terminates in New York City.

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In those days, some of Amtrak’s cars still had begun life with their pre-Amtrak owners. By 1986, Amtrak had repainted the exteriors in their own color scheme. The interiors, however, still reflected the predecessor railroads. The coach in which I rode clearly had come from the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, for the desert southwest motif still could be seen on the B-pillars that separated the windows.

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On the way home, a week later, Mr. Conductor sat across from me and opened my eyes to the history of passenger trains. He asked if this was my first train trip. When I told him about riding on the City of New Orleans, he asked me what kind of locomotive it had. I did not know what kind it was, only that the windshield sloped down “like a sad-eyed Basset Hound,” as I described it. My description got away with him, but he explained that it had been a General Motors Electromotive Division E-8 locomotive. He also told me that the front end of those 1950s locomotives had been weighted down with concrete in order to help them hold more securely to the tracks. Now, that got away with me! Mr. Conductor went on to tell me the history of the George Washington and how he had served aboard it in the days before Amtrak. He seemed to miss those days, too.

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So, where did the sad-eyed Basset Hound come from? I’ll tell you. The Illinois Central’s color scheme was brown and orange. Add the sad eyes, and what do you have but a Basset Hound.

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Ever since that trip in 1986, I have been a railfan, learning bits and pieces here and there. I even made a list of all the trains I’ve ridden on during my lifetime. As I added them, an interesting list began to emerge. Still, I ache to go on yet another train trip, if only my husband could be persuaded to take me. Unfortunately, he’s not much of one for travel. Maybe, one day, I can add trains from my bucket list, Amtrak's California Zephyr and VIA Rail Canada's Canadian, for starters.

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So, here's my list of trains on which I’ve ridden. Most, I've ridden only once, while a few, I've ridden multiple times.

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Passenger Trains

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Amtrak Capital Limited – Chicago, IL to Washington, DC

Amtrak Cardinal – Cincinnati, OH to Alexandria, VA and return

Amtrak City of New Orleans –Fulton, KY to Hammond, LA and return; Memphis, TN to New Orleans, LA

Amtrak Crescent – Manassas, VA to Slidell, LA and return; New Orleans, LA to Manassas, VA and return; Atlanta, GA to Manassas, VA; New Orleans, LA to Atlanta, GA and return

Amtrak Heartland Flyer – Oklahoma City, OK to Fort Worth, TX and return

Amtrak Lakeshore Limited – New York, NY to Chicago, IL

Amtrak Metroliner – Washington, DC to Baltimore, MD; Washington, DC to New York, NY

Amtrak Missouri River Runner – Kansas City, MO to St. Louis, MO and return

Amtrak Southwest Chief – Lawrence, KS to Kansas City, MO (Dare I count this?)

Amtrak Sunset Limited – New Orleans, LA to Houston, TX and return

Amtrak Twilight Shoreliner* – Alexandria, VA to Newport News, VA and return; Newport News, VA to Fredericksburg, VA

Amtrak / NRHS** – Washington, DC to Wilmington, DE to Delmarva Peninsula and return

Ferrocarilles Nacionales de Mejico – Monterrey, MX to Mexico City, MX and part-way return

Illinois Central City of New Orleans – Hammond, LA to Winona, MS and return; Hammond, LA to Batesville, MS

Kansas City Southern – Southern Belle – Baton Rouge, LA to New Orleans, LA and return

Missouri Pacific – charter - Baton Rouge, LA to Clinton, LA and return

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Commuter Trains

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Maryland Area Rail Commuter – Baltimore, MD to Washington, DC

Virginia Railway Express – Manassas, VA to Washington, DC and return; Manassas, VA to Alexandria, VA and return

WMATA*** Metrorail – Huntington, VA to Washington, DC and return; Vienna, VA to Washington, DC and return

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Excursion Trains

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Arkansas & Missouri – Springdale, AR to Van Buren, AR and return

Kentucky Railway Museum train – New Haven, KY to Boston, KY and return

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania – Strasburg, PA to nearby countryside and return

Texas State Railroad – Rusk, TX to Palestine, TX and return

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad – Cumberland, MD to Frost, MD and return

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Park Trains

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Audubon Park Train – New Orleans, LA

Dole Plantation Express – Wahiawa, HI

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*      now known simply as one of the Northeast Regional trains

**    National Railway Historical Society, Inc.

***  Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

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