Coaxial Train circa 1976
Author: almo
Date: 12-12-2006 - 21:00
The "Spirit of '76" train was operated with a partnership between the SCL, AT&SF and Frisco. Hard to imagine at that in 1976 the railrads who would participate in this promotion would not exist thirty years later.
The locomotive was an SCL U-boat painted in a red, white and blue scheme similar to the Santa Fe Bicentennial paint job. Santa Fe provided the coaches for this special, and were painted similar to the SCL engine. These were rebuilt from Pullman heavyweight coaches. I'm not sure how many cars were painted up and run on this train. Frisco got the caboose, and about the easiest repaint job out of the three railroads.
Does anyone know more about this train? Where was it run. I would assume that it travelled on the three railroads exclusively- but from where to where? Any more pics out there?
Also, there was plans and scale models of a "coaxial train" that were in Santa Fe's presentation car. This strange thing had a "duck's bill" (cowcatcher, me thinks) and looked to be the train-of-the-future that most any eccentric display would surely have. Was this to be a mag-lev design or something else that is now accepted and proven technology?
Got another stack of old magazines from my father. Strange pictures of this train grace the index page, but not enough photos to explain enough.
Thanks
almo