I traveled quite a bit on the IC between Champaigne, Ill and Chicago, plus 8 or so trips on NP's North Coast Ltd between Chicago and Missoula, MT. I can't remember any trips below par, altho a few were pretty late. Once on the IC a dispatching snafoo put a student special powered by 2 passenger geeps ahead of my train....the City of New Orleans. The year was 1962 or so, and the City consistently ran heavy...16+ cars, once even running 26 cars....I didn't count them but the coaches were numbered consecutively and I was just ahead of the obs in car 26. Anyway, the student special delayed us about 40 minutes into Champagne...slow trip as the City generally ran around 90 or so and one time I timed it at a mile in 32 seconds. The only bad thing I noticed was a leaky roof on one of the reconditioned heavyweights running on either the Seminole or Creole.

As for the NP, it was first class all the way. Frozen steam pipes delayed us about 8 hours once and an ice storm in ND took down about 50 miles of lineside poles...we had to stop at every signal and creep thru the mess. Some poles were stripped of crossarms and others snapped of at ground line. It was fun tho...creaping along in the fog. I also had taken lots of Rt's on the Mainstreeter between Missoula and Spokane, and that also was first class...diner and all.