Month: May 2010
In March of this year my wife and I were returning to Madisonville from our trip to Phoenix, Arizona and decided to stay a night at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona. Members Don Clayton and Wallace Henderson had recommended this lovely place to me and I value their judgment because of their vast experience in traveling.
This hotel was built about 1930 and was a stop on the Santa Fe Railroad. Food and lodging were available to travelers using the Santa Fe’s route between Chicago and Los Angeles. The present building replaced one that burned down in the 1920s and is thus, the latest one built. Food was provided by the Fred Harvey Company which worked with the Santa Fe in many of their hotels. The company employed many young women in a hope that this would civilize, not only the hotel, but the surrounding area which was inhabited mostly by males a century ago. These women came to be known as the Harvey Girls and they did help civilize the area and married many of the local men. Hollywood even made a very good movie called “The Harvey Girls” starring Judy Garland containing a good story and good music showing the life of these hardworking and capable women. It also has some nice shots of Santa Fe steam engines and trains in it.
The hotel was designed by a lady architect, Mary Coulter, who worked on many projects for the Santa Fe and many of these are still standing such as the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon. The Southwest architecture is quite well done. There are several gardens and the grounds are very comfortable and provide a good place to rest. There are as many as 140 trains a day going by and the hotel even provides comfortable rocking chairs trackside to observe the action. There is an adjoining Amtrak station where trains such as the Southwest Chief stop. Winslow has a small rail yard and is a crew change point on the modern BNSF Railway which provides a nice opportunity for train watching as the trains stop for a few minutes before continuing their journey.
There are many things to see here such as the intimate gardens, a museum of modern art, the surrounding city with it’s historical buildings, and an excellent restaurant in the Hotel. The Turquoise Room has hosted many famous people over the years and they have a great photographic collection on the walls showing some of them such as Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart, and Harry Truman to name a few. The guest rooms are named for these travelers and we stayed in the Carol Lombard room overlooking the tracks. She was an actress and was married to Clark Gable and died in an airplane crash near Las Vegas in 1942 while on a War Bond tour for the Nation’s war effort.
There are two old passenger cars parked next to the Amtrak station that have been preserved and converted into permanent residences. One is pictured here and is a beautiful Pennsylvania Railroad car that is used by a local doctor as his residence. It has four nice bedrooms in it and you can even see the satellite dish mounted on the end of the car for television.
If you are looking for a nice place to stay in Northern Arizona with a lot of history, good food, nice rooms, lots of trains, gardens, art, and is right on Historic Route 66 you might wish to try out La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona.
Hopefully, you have all been enjoying the beautiful spring weather. This is a very special time of the year and it goes well with our very special celebration of our Chapter’s 25th Anniversary. The time since we first formed our Chapter has slipped by too fast but the ride has been exceedingly enjoyable. It has been a learning experience for us and a great opportunity to participate with our friends in learning about the history of railroading in our country and the part that it played in settling and growing our great nation. Being able to come together each month and renew old friendships and make new ones is one that I look forward to. We are able to share our experiences gain insight into the forces that have shaped our nation while seeing the advances that railroading has made in technology, efficiency, safety, and speed.
The National Railway Historical Society has been a great force in preserving and spreading the history of these advancements. They have documented this movement and spread this information to new generations of people interested in the history of railroading by providing an ever improving bulletin, maintaining a library of books, films, and photographs open to all, and hosting events for young people and members in general.
Our Chapter’s 25th Anniversary is a milestone and a time to appreciate the past and look forward to the future. All organizations evolve and our Society has tried to move into the new century with new ideas and ways of doing things while preserving the best of what has been done in the past. We need each member’s help in improving and participating in this ongoing movement. When good people come together to grow and learn, only good things can come from this.
One thing that will change is the ownership of the old train station that we meet in each month. Funding has run out for the current owners and the building will have to be taken over by someone else. At this time the City of Madisonville is exploring ways to take over the building and preserve its future. I have met once with the Mayor to explain our Society and Chapter and will be meeting again with him soon to try to ensure our continued use of this beautiful and historic facility. The City realizes the importance of this building and will be looking to ways that it can be used and maintained while serving the community. I am optimistic at this point and will bring you more information as I find it out.
I am looking forward to seeing all of your smiling faces at the next meeting, Monday, April 26th, at 7pm at the Center in beautiful downtown Madisonville. Come and celebrate with us the 25th Anniversary and join in the friendships and learning experience that has meant so much to many of us.
MAIN LINE-EASTERN, PART II: CONRAIL AND NORFOLK SOUTHERN ON THE EAST END OF THE PRR’s PITTSBURGH, FT. WAYNE, & CHICAGO, 1988-2009
April Program Overview By Dr. Fred Ripley The Pennsylvania Railroad’s four-track main line east from Pittsburgh is justifiably one of, if not the, most famous and photographed pieces of railroad in North America. Less well known, but just as fascinating, are the “Lines West” main lines from Pittsburgh to Chicago and St. Louis. In August of last year, we looked at the very busy operations of Conrail and Norfolk Southern from just northwest of Pittsburgh to the PA-OH state line.
In this program, we’ll start at the former mid-Ohio division point of Crestline, and follow the former Pittsburgh-Chicago main line as it heads through eastern Ohio, passing through varying topography and locations of both scenic beauty and industry. As the line approaches the eastern end of the state, it becomes the modern-day main line of Norfolk Southern between the east coast and Chicago, and is an impressively busy railroad. Given the fact that the PRR traditionally ran a significant amount of tonnage via a low-grade freight line, bypassing this section of the main, the railroad east of Alliance, OH, has more freight traffic presently than it ever has.
With an eye towards the history, we’ll see lots of action from the last ten years of Conrail and NS of recent years- big trains in great scenic main line settings, with lots of PRR position light signals, in all seasons and weather. Anyone with an interest in the PRR and its successors, or who just enjoys contemporary big-time railroading, won’t be disappointed.
Refreshments by Donnie and Betty Knight