Re: [CBQ] Morning Zephyr ##22 on 11/7/1965

["Bill Schultz via groups.io" <jwschultz9=aol.com@groups.io>]

At the time of the detour described in the CT article, the Savanna Tower and Galesburg Subdivision (including Savanna-Denrock) was part of the Aurora Division.

The Afternoon Zephyr's portion of the train that derailed at Lee (No. 31-23) on November 6 would have returned from Minneapolis to Chicago the following day as No. 22 - the day/date of the ride described in the CT article - in which the author describes boarding/riding a dome parlor car.  As no protection passenger equipment was kept at Minneapolis, in all likelihood, the dome-parlor and coach(es) arriving Minneapolis on No. 21 on Saturday (that would protect No. 24 departing Minneapolis Sunday) departed Minneapolis as No. 22 on Sunday, with additional coaches and a dining-refreshment car (deadheaded from Chicago on Saturday evening's Black Hawk) added in St. Paul.  That would have required the entire consist of Sunday's No. 21 to turn back from St. Paul Sunday afternoon as No. 24  (which, by plan, the dining-refreshment car and St. Paul coaches did anyway), with Minneapolis operating a connecting "stub 24/stub 21" to St. Paul (where Minneapolis passengers exchanged trains) and return (using the Black Hawk's chair cars) to allow No. 24 to depart St. Paul on-time.

The CT article indicates that the author's journey concluded at East Dubuque, but the coach reservation slip (reproduced in the article) shows Prairie du Chien as his destination.  By then, DRI-Line's ticket clerk must've been out-of-practice.  The author also describes enjoying an adult beverage in No. 25's lounge-observation (which was Pullman country) before departure from Chicago despite holding a seat in the Chicago-Seattle flat-top chair car.            

Bill Schultz

-----Original Message-----
From: Leo Phillipp via groups.io <qutlx1=aol.com@groups.io>
To: CBQ@groups.io
Sent: Wed, May 26, 2021 9:58 pm
Subject: [CBQ] Morning Zephyr ##22 on 11/7/1965

In the current (Summer 2021) issue of Classic Trains there is an article about a passengers’ round trip from Dubuque,IA to Washington, D.C. and return. The author states that while riding #22 on 11/7/1965 the train detoured via Denrock and Mendota,Illinois to Aurora/Chicago. The Aurora division operating employees referred to this as “going around the horn” instead of the direct route via Oregon and Rochelle,Illinois. Does anyone have info. as to what happened somewhere between Aurora and Savanna on the C&I/CB&N to cause the detour ?

When you read the article the author references the extra effort put out by the La Crosse and Aurora Division Conductors to hold his Chicago PRR connection. When that failed arrangements were made for a B.&O. connection. He doesn’t distinguish that he would have dealt with two Conductors as Savanna depot was the trade off point for passenger crews .

One last point, the detour would not have required pilots as the Aurora crews were qualified and routinely operated Savanna-Denrock-Mendota-Aurora. In fact only the Savanna-Denrock segment was non Aurora division trackage.

If you are interested in learning more about what a railroad pilot did/does watch for Burlington Route Historical Society Bulletin #65 late this year.

Leo Phillipp

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