A Most Unforgettable Ride On The North Coast Daylight - Northwestern Pacific Railroad Network2024-03-29T11:43:20Zhttp://nwprr.net/forum/topics/a-most-unforgettable-ride-on-the-north-coast-daylight?commentId=3290209%3AComment%3A190616&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI thought about that and wond…tag:nwprr.net,2019-02-12:3290209:Comment:1907262019-02-12T05:22:15.699ZJeff Moorehttp://nwprr.net/profile/JeffMoore
<p>I thought about that and wondered myself. I might see if we have anything from that trip still around. I don't remember stopping to clear a party of kids off the tracks, but then again I was all of twelve at the time. </p>
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<p>Jeff Moore</p>
<p>Elko, NV</p>
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<p>I thought about that and wondered myself. I might see if we have anything from that trip still around. I don't remember stopping to clear a party of kids off the tracks, but then again I was all of twelve at the time. </p>
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<p>Jeff Moore</p>
<p>Elko, NV</p>
<p></p> Jeff,
I got to thinking over…tag:nwprr.net,2019-02-11:3290209:Comment:1907232019-02-11T17:19:07.689ZFred M. Cainhttp://nwprr.net/profile/FredMCain
<p>Jeff,</p>
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<p>I got to thinking over the weekend. Wouldn't that be a most amazing coincidence if you and I were both on the same train?! I have no idea how we could ever figure that out. I believe I was on it one weekend in June or July. I don't think it was August 'cause I had to be back to teach school in Indiana by about mid August so I wanted to return in plenty of time before school started.</p>
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<p>Regards,</p>
<p>Fred M. Cain</p>
<p>Jeff,</p>
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<p>I got to thinking over the weekend. Wouldn't that be a most amazing coincidence if you and I were both on the same train?! I have no idea how we could ever figure that out. I believe I was on it one weekend in June or July. I don't think it was August 'cause I had to be back to teach school in Indiana by about mid August so I wanted to return in plenty of time before school started.</p>
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<p>Regards,</p>
<p>Fred M. Cain</p> Two things....
1. Keep in m…tag:nwprr.net,2019-02-09:3290209:Comment:1905222019-02-09T05:44:52.501ZJeff Moorehttp://nwprr.net/profile/JeffMoore
<p>Two things....</p>
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<p>1. Keep in mind this timetable is from 1985. NWP put a lot of work into the line after the 1982/1983 winter inflicted substantial damage on the line, and this dates from a few months before the 1986 storms tore the railroad apart again. Railroads could and often did issue daily track bulletins that further modified speeds based on track conditions. </p>
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<p>2. Yes, I meant 1988, not 1998. It was late and I was tired. </p>
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<p>It very well…</p>
<p>Two things....</p>
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<p>1. Keep in mind this timetable is from 1985. NWP put a lot of work into the line after the 1982/1983 winter inflicted substantial damage on the line, and this dates from a few months before the 1986 storms tore the railroad apart again. Railroads could and often did issue daily track bulletins that further modified speeds based on track conditions. </p>
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<p>2. Yes, I meant 1988, not 1998. It was late and I was tired. </p>
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<p>It very well could be that the FRA ordered an end to the passenger excursions after the 1988 season. Whatever the case the railroad did start offering Eureka to Fort Seward trips in 1991, those persisted until the fall of 1994. </p>
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<p>Jeff Moore</p>
<p>Elko, NV</p> Revising what I'd posted abov…tag:nwprr.net,2019-02-08:3290209:Comment:1907182019-02-08T18:31:53.162ZFred M. Cainhttp://nwprr.net/profile/FredMCain
<p>Revising what I'd posted above where I stated that "…</p>
<p>Revising what I'd posted above where I stated that "<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Lucida Grande','Lucida Sans Unicode',sans-serif; font-size: 13.13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.06px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I think Jeff said he rode on it during 1998 - almost ten years after my trip.</span>"</p>
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<p>I reread Jeff's post again and I think maybe he meant 1988 - not '98. Is that right, Jeff?</p>
<p>-Fred M. Cain</p> Michael,
Thanks for sharing…tag:nwprr.net,2019-02-08:3290209:Comment:1906242019-02-08T16:51:21.149ZFred M. Cainhttp://nwprr.net/profile/FredMCain
<p>Michael,</p>
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<p>Thanks for sharing your memories! One question I have is that I thought I could distinctly remember reading in TRAINS Magazine perhaps a year or so after our trip on the <em>Daylight</em>, that the FRA banned all passenger service on the EURK because their track was "unfit for passenger service". Does anybody else remember that or am I full of it? If the FRA did that then somehow EURK must have addressed the issue again because I think Jeff said he rode on it…</p>
<p>Michael,</p>
<p></p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your memories! One question I have is that I thought I could distinctly remember reading in TRAINS Magazine perhaps a year or so after our trip on the <em>Daylight</em>, that the FRA banned all passenger service on the EURK because their track was "unfit for passenger service". Does anybody else remember that or am I full of it? If the FRA did that then somehow EURK must have addressed the issue again because I think Jeff said he rode on it during 1998 - almost ten years after my trip.</p>
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<p>I think that the "fast running" I remember to the north of Willits was probably in the 25 MPH zone indicated in the ETT that Jeff shared with us. Since it was passenger equipment, the engineer might have pushed it a little bit but I don't know that for sure. It might've just seemed faster as Jeff suggested.</p>
<p>As for the faster running I remember along the water on welded rail, that was surely the 40MPH zone between M.P. 270.8 and 279.2 as indicated on Jeff's ETT. I continue to suspect that the FRA had mandated a 10MPH limit through there but the engineer, knowing full way that the track was safe for 40MPH simply observed the old speed limit. But again, I'm speculating here.</p>
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<p>It'd be nice to see an ETT from the 1960s to see what the speed limit was for passenger trains back then when the RDC was running. The Old SPT Co tended to put their speed limits in a separate book of "special instructions". I don't know if they did that for the NWP or not. In the last years that the SP operated before the UP "takeover" the speed limits were included in the ETT.</p>
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<p>Regards,</p>
<p>Fred M. Cain</p> You are correct, that the can…tag:nwprr.net,2019-02-08:3290209:Comment:1904412019-02-08T14:40:48.679ZMichael H Harrisonhttp://nwprr.net/profile/MichaelHHarrison
<p>You are correct, that the canyon was slapped with a 10 MPH limit. Some track limits do allow Passenger trains to run faster... NWP/EUKA I would say, between Arcata and Fortuna, would "very" their speed sometimes if they were running late. I do have to say, that from word of mouth of Engineers, they respected the canyon speeds and sometime ran slower than posted speed in the Eel. </p>
<p>You are correct, that the canyon was slapped with a 10 MPH limit. Some track limits do allow Passenger trains to run faster... NWP/EUKA I would say, between Arcata and Fortuna, would "very" their speed sometimes if they were running late. I do have to say, that from word of mouth of Engineers, they respected the canyon speeds and sometime ran slower than posted speed in the Eel. </p> Great story! I have ridden th…tag:nwprr.net,2019-02-08:3290209:Comment:1906212019-02-08T14:36:54.267ZMichael H Harrisonhttp://nwprr.net/profile/MichaelHHarrison
<p>Great story! I have ridden the EURK Daylight and NCRA Daylights as a kid. However, as Jeff posted, I think the top speed was 25 and towards the end, that was top. I do want to say from experience, my dad (and I) used to volunteer on the forth of July daylight that ran between Arcata and Eureka. at the point between Bracut and the Bridge by the old Monkey Wards we were almost keeping up with cars going around 60 MPH, so I could believe that we were doing around 40 as passengers, but 40 would…</p>
<p>Great story! I have ridden the EURK Daylight and NCRA Daylights as a kid. However, as Jeff posted, I think the top speed was 25 and towards the end, that was top. I do want to say from experience, my dad (and I) used to volunteer on the forth of July daylight that ran between Arcata and Eureka. at the point between Bracut and the Bridge by the old Monkey Wards we were almost keeping up with cars going around 60 MPH, so I could believe that we were doing around 40 as passengers, but 40 would be TOP. The other half of the forth of july daylight was not so pleasant, the tracks between Bracut and Arcata were bad and the train only crawled 10 MPH. Heck, one year they made the passengers get off at the marsh and "walk the trails" to "see the sights"... it was really because the track was so bad, they didn't want to risk a derailment with people on board. : /</p>
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<p>I also used to get cab rides all the time. Most ride a-longs were for the Arcata/Blue Lake local. Most engineers kept the speed down to 15 MPH thru Arcata, Maybe 25 at some points. I remember one engineer was running late, and decided to pick up speed. We were on the lead to Simpson in the bottoms. That track was BAD. It shouldn't have been open... He was moving 25 MPH... I was 9 or 10... I thought I was going to die. I have never seen CCT #70 rock and roll so much in my life... This same engineer used to couple cars hard. He used to make loads of lumber on flatcars shift back and forth... He definitely either had a death wish or seriously trusted the NWP's trackage.</p>
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<p>I am glad that the Engineers and Conductors used to let me have cab rides all the time. It was a wonderful opportunity to actually observe the NWP in its final days.</p> Jeff,
Hey ! Great Picture !…tag:nwprr.net,2019-02-08:3290209:Comment:1904362019-02-08T12:42:01.764ZFred M. Cainhttp://nwprr.net/profile/FredMCain
<p>Jeff,</p>
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<p>Hey ! Great Picture ! That's the way I remember this, too!</p>
<p>On the speed limits, there's kinda of puzzle there. I distinctly remember that the guy I call the "MC" told me that the entire railroad had been slapped with a 10MPH speed limit north of just a few miles north of Willits. According to the ETT you posted, I'm guessing that'd be around M.P. 183 but cannot be sure. Realize, I have been trying to draw on memories from nearly 30 years ago…</p>
<p>Jeff,</p>
<p></p>
<p>Hey ! Great Picture ! That's the way I remember this, too!</p>
<p>On the speed limits, there's kinda of puzzle there. I distinctly remember that the guy I call the "MC" told me that the entire railroad had been slapped with a 10MPH speed limit north of just a few miles north of Willits. According to the ETT you posted, I'm guessing that'd be around M.P. 183 but cannot be sure. Realize, I have been trying to draw on memories from nearly 30 years ago now.</p>
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<p>Another question I have, most railroads (but not all) allow passenger trains consisting entirely of passenger equipment to run slightly faster that freight trains. Did the Eureka Southern ever do this?</p>
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<p>I seem to vaguely recall reading years ago in TRAINS Magazine that the D&RGW didn't do that. Amtrak complained about it for a long time. Then after the D&RGW-SP merger (or whatever it was) they finally raised the speed limit for the California Zephyr. The CZ could now run at speeds of up to 79MPH on the best stretches of track.</p>
<p>Regards,</p>
<p>Fred M. Cain</p> Thanks, Richard. Also, as an…tag:nwprr.net,2019-02-08:3290209:Comment:1907152019-02-08T12:31:22.489ZFred M. Cainhttp://nwprr.net/profile/FredMCain
<p>Thanks, Richard. Also, as an aside, after my Dad retired from the Lawrence Livermore Lab they moved up to Yountville. I used to go out there and visit them and would often see the Wine Train. I always wanted to ride on it but unfortunately you had to buy a meal to do that. I wasn't interested in the meal, I just wanted a train ride. Since then they might've changed that.</p>
<p>I actually grew up in Arizona. But my Dad and I also rode the Coast Daylight in 1969 before Amtrak took over. …</p>
<p>Thanks, Richard. Also, as an aside, after my Dad retired from the Lawrence Livermore Lab they moved up to Yountville. I used to go out there and visit them and would often see the Wine Train. I always wanted to ride on it but unfortunately you had to buy a meal to do that. I wasn't interested in the meal, I just wanted a train ride. Since then they might've changed that.</p>
<p>I actually grew up in Arizona. But my Dad and I also rode the Coast Daylight in 1969 before Amtrak took over. Since then I have also ridden on Amtrak's Coast Starlight a couple of time but that's already been about 30 years ago now.</p>
<p><br/>Regards,</p>
<p>Fred M. Cain</p> Thanks Jennifer ! ! !tag:nwprr.net,2019-02-08:3290209:Comment:1906162019-02-08T12:27:17.477ZFred M. Cainhttp://nwprr.net/profile/FredMCain
<p>Thanks Jennifer ! ! !</p>
<p>Thanks Jennifer ! ! !</p>