July 11, 2018
Pete - Yes, I remember my dad wearing short sleeved white shirts with dark tie, light weight suits and straw dress hats during the summer season. My mom, being a housewife, starched and ironed all my dad's shirts. Suits went to the local dry cleaners. There was no air conditioning except on passenger trains and business cars. All offices opened their windows wide and floor fans were in abundance. Even as a division superintendent in Chicago, dad's office in Freight House 9 had no air conditioning. Just big windows that opened. I remember all the dust and dirt atop the stacked paper files that he would have to blow-off before examining, unless the oscillating floor fan had done the job for him.... Dad didn't get an air conditioner until he moved to the General Office Building in downtown Chicago. It was a window unit that worked on-and-off and when it was on the fritz his office could become miserably hot. All this air conditioning we take for granted today was largely unknown in the 1950s-60s. And for today's air-conditioned locomotive cabs, well, no one would've believed such a thing was possible! Getting back to the "dress code," the only time it was relaxed for operating officials was when doing signal testing (no one wearing a suit was going to crawl through the undergrowth to catch/surprise an inattentive train crew) or during derailment clean-ups (then wearing a tie might be excused). I do remember dad dressing down a little while Chicago Division Superintendent when he would occasionally ride dinkies in the late evening and early morning hours to check on crew performance. He would usually wear one of his charcoal gray sport coats with slacks and white shirt, sometimes with a tie, sometimes not. Also, if there was a yard derailment at night or especially on Sunday (his one day off), he seldom wore a suit, just what was comfortable. All a long time ago...... Best Regards - Louis
In a message dated 7/11/2018 10:36:09 AM Central Standard Time, jpslhedgpeth=aol.com@groups.io writes:
that was OK also on the Rock Island...particularly "down south"..Southern Division..That was the exact uniform of the day as you described...I do remember, however, the first time I ever saw a "short sleeve" white shirt..It, believe it or not, was at the university of Nebraska and worn by a student to a "dress up" kind of thing.
-----Original Message----- From: John Mitchell via Groups.Io <icrr1680= yahoo.com@groups.io> To: CBQ < CBQ@groups.io> Sent: Tue, Jul 10, 2018 9:20 pm Subject: Re: [CBQ] Burlington Bulletin No. 55
Pete
In my part of the world, officials were allowed to wear STRAW dress hats and short sleeve white dress shirts (with a conservative tie) and suit pants, in our HOT summers. That was so we could spot them at a distance!
John
On Tuesday, July 10, 2018 02:30:32 PM, jpslhedgpeth via Groups.Io <jpslhedgpeth= aol.com@groups.io> wrote:
Louis...Having come out of that era myself I also made note of your dad's "uniform" and equipment"..ie dark suit, gray fedora, TT in pocket. The dark suit and WHITE shirt was mandatory...NO sport coats, no colored shirts, no "wild" ties. It was reported that shortly before I joined the Rock Island there was a meeting of alll the TRAINEES. One guy wore a sport coat...It was reported that D B Jenks, then presildent said.."Son....see you can find a coat that matches those pants"...
You, of course always had your Employees Timetable and, probably a rule book in your pocket...and of course your official, properly inspected pocket watch in a watch pocket in your pants.
As I said a couple days ago i think I might have a "clue" as to where this photo was taken...If the Omaha guys show up at our meeting tonight I'll see what I can find out...I've printed out the photo and will take it along...Sucked up lot of ink in printing due to lots of dark subjects, but I'm glad to "take one for the team.
Pete
-----Original Message----- From: Louis Zadnichek via Groups.Io <LZadnichek= aol.com@groups.io> To: CBQ < CBQ@groups.io> Sent: Tue, Jul 10, 2018 1:03 pm Subject: Re: [CBQ] Burlington Bulletin No. 55
July 10, 2018
Archie - No, it has to be somewhere in or around Omaha during 1956. Dad is wearing his best charcoal suit and a new gray fedora, classic wear for a CB&Q operating official of that era. No doubt that this Denver Zephyr train set movement was a really BIG deal. Also, note he has his employees timetable placed into the left side suit pocket. Dad was age 42 at the time, an up-and-coming assistant division superintendent on a fast track for promotion. As for location, there is a signal bridge just barely visible to the right of the E5 motor. This bridge might indicate a two track mainline. Is Pacific Junction a possibility? Comments please - Louis
In a message dated 7/9/2018 5:46:57 PM Central Standard Time, klinerarch@charter.net writes:
Louis, It almost looks like the K Line leg of the wye at West Quincy?
On Jul 8, 2018, at 5:07 PM, Louis Zadnichek via Groups.Io wrote:
July 8, 2018
Dave - I've scanned and attached the glossy 8x10 print taken of my dad M.L. Zadnichek posed with one of the new Denver Zephyr train sets "somewhere" in the Omaha, NE, metro area on one leg of a long wye during 1956. The lead motor appears to be E5 No. 9915A. The original photograph was taken by a news photographer with WOW-TV and given to my dad. Back alongside the train are the conductor and flagman. Perhaps, Pete or one of our other Lines West old timers can ID the exact location. Perhaps, from the consist, some other reader might be able to definitely say what train set this was and date it.
The wye leg was long enough to hold the entire Zephyr with room to spare. For some reason, Pacific Junction sticks in my mind, but the wye could've been elsewhere. Dad was at the time the Assistant Omaha Division Superintendent with his office located in the old Burlington Station in downtown Omaha. I would've been 10 years old when this news photograph was snapped. If you plan to have a future BB follow-up on the "new" Denver Zephyr as you did on the "old," please feel free to use this image if you want. Credit M.L. Zadnichek Collection. It's going to take me a week to fully read BB No. 55. Best Regards - Louis
Louis Zadnichek II
Fairhope, AL
In a message dated 7/8/2018 2:56:16 PM Central Standard Time, Dave_Lotz@bellsouth.net writes:
Thanks for the positieve comments Louis.
I look forward to seeing that photo of your Dad and the DZ!
Dave Lotz
July 7, 2018
All - Received my copy of BB No. 55 earlier this week. In a word, AWESOME! When the call went out some time ago for materials to be used in the issue, I had an 8x10 glossy of my Dad posed in front of the Denver Zephyr that was stretched out behind on a wye in Nebraska. I had planned to submit that photograph, but forgot. Dad was assistant division superintendent at Omaha in 1956. I'll have to find that photograph and post it here. I was aware of the menu paintings, but never knew who the artist was until Randal told us "the rest of the story." I hope a number of Kathryn Fligg's Denver Zephyr wild flower paintings displayed inside the train have survived in someone's collection. My congratulations to John Schultz and the entire BB staff for putting out such a remarkable publication on the "new" Denver Zephry of the 1950-1960's. Best Regards - Louis
Louis Zadnichek II
Fairhope, AL
In a message dated 7/7/2018 12:47:47 AM Central Standard Time, rot@ti.org writes:
The Burlington Bulletin on the 1956 Denver Zephyr is a beautiful book and tremendous work of scholarship. I commend John Schultz and the Burlington Route Historical Society, and I can see that I’m going to spend a few hours reading through it.
One addition tidbit of information. Page 50 has pictures of several menus used on the Denver Zephyr that feature wildflower paintings on their covers. The text says the paintings were done by “an anonymous artist.”
Actually, the paintings were done by Kathryn Fligg, an artist who graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1951 and was commissioned by Budd (probably through the Paul Crét architectural firm) to do paintings and murals in several of its trains. She did murals for the Kansas City Zephyr and I believe she did some murals in other Burlington trains such as the Twin Cities Zephyr and California Zephyr when those trains came in for reshopping.
But the Denver Zephyr was her finest work, at least for Budd. The five wildflower menu covers shown on page 50 only hint at her achievement. According to an email she sent me, she in fact produced 115 wildflower paintings for the train. The original paintings were hung in the bedrooms and compartments of the Denver Zephyr sleeping cars.
In the email, Fligg told me she didn’t think the roomettes got paintings. But I don’t know where to put 115 paintings if the roomettes didn’t get any. Bulletin 50 indicates there were 30 roomettes, 24 bedrooms, and 5 compartments per train, so for two trains that makes 58 bedrooms and compartments or 116 bedrooms, compartments, and roomettes. So it sounds like the roomettes probably got them as well (and perhaps her memory of doing 115 paintings was off by one).
The paintings on the front (and back) covers of the dinner menus (as well as on the Colorado room beverage menu) were replicas of a few of those 115 paintings.
Fligg (now Kathryn Fligg Lee) has at least two different web sites, but the work displayed doesn’t look anything like the work she did for Budd.
I’ve wondered if any of the surviving Denver Zephyr sleeping cars still have some of her original paintings. If anyone knows, please let me know. It would be nice to document those paintings.
Best,
Randal O’Toole
<CBQ9915BDenverZephyrOmahaNE1956.jpeg>
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