Finding the Descendent's of the Super Chief, under Route 66

The time is 8:06 AM on a balmy late August day in Chicago's West Loop. The sun is out and the sky's are blue, but the humid overnight heat bought Lake Michigan inland in the form of fog, enshrouding anything above the 35th floor of the Willis Tower. Looking down on Jackson Blvd one can see hundreds of people moving like ants over the bridge rushing to get to work by 8:30. 

Odds are that most of those rushing down Jackson and over the bridge have no concept of the historical significance of the street they are walking down let alone, what lies below street level on the West Loop side of the bridge. In 1926 Jackson Blvd was Route 66, both eastbound and westbound until 1955 when it became one way from Michigan Ave to Ogden Ave. The foot bound commuters are traveling on the first few miles of the the famous route, with no realization that that it had westbound lanes leading all the way to Santa Monica, CA. 

Eastbound Jackson Blvd (left), and Union Station southbound train sheds (right).

Below this portion of Jackson Blvd from Canal to the river bank lay the tracks of Metra and Amtrak feeding into Union Station. The only parts that are visible to street bound travelers are the train sheds, large greenhouse looking corridors, that cover the southbound track. Historic survivors in themselves witnesses to the Alton Limited, and Pennsylvania's T-1, somehow spared the air rights glut of the 70's and 80's. Under these sheds Metra operates two lines with significant connection to the Santa Fe passenger operations that once where. 

The most important of these is a line that runs from Union Station to Aurora. For you see this mere 40+ miles of track is the home to Santa Fe's now BNSF's last surviving passenger trains. 

View from inside the locomotive, notice the BNSF lettering above the passenger car door, reminiscent of the Santa Fe lettering on silver cars indicative of Santa Fe's Super Chief, and other passenger trains. 

BNSF operates these passenger trains for Metra, meaning you won't see any Warbonnet F40PHM's pulling these trains. Instead you will see Metra locomotives pulling them.

I had the privilege of riding in the cab of this locomotive from Chicago to Aurora and back. Metra F40PHM-2. 

These passenger trains are the last operating with any direct connection and lineage to Santa Fe. BNSF takes pride in this as you can see since the lettering on the passenger cars gives a close resemblance to what we would have been seen on both Santa Fe and CB&Q passenger cars of the past. Looking at these passenger cars one is reminded of the high-liners Santa Fe operated on such trains as the El Capitan, but inside they are standard commuter cars like those on the rest of the Metra system. 

Metra also operates one other line of significant lineage as well, that is its Heritage Corridor. This line is entirely operated by Metra but leaves from the same southbound tracks as the BNSF operated trains. The Heritage Corridor is aptly named and travels down the same tracks as the famous Santa Fe streamlines did, and also crosses paths with Route 66 a few times. The line runs to the Route 66 town of Joliet. 

Historically speaking Santa Fe's trains would leave southbound out of Dearborn Station, which is actually across the Chicago River a mile to the southwest of Union Station, there are no tracks going to Dearborn Station now. Riding on and experiencing these trains is something any fan of Santa Fe's trains need to do, to have some final connection the past. 

Boron a Town of Ghosts & Legacy's: Part 3 - Sky-borne Odyssey

Part 3 of a series on a small Mojave Desert town that witnessed American transportation history in motion.

Authors Note: Boron's involvement in military and space avaition history is extensive. My summary here does no justice to its level of involvement, and I must keep my summery concise to stay within the content and theme of my blog. For more in depth subject matter please visit the Boron Sun blog @  http://theboronsun.blogspot.com/ .

The day was October 14th, 1947 and the long slender silver shape of a B-29 took to the clear blue sky's over Rogers Dry Lake. Today though the bottom of the Boeing masterpiece would be disrupted by the shape of an odd orange missile protruding from its bomb bay.  The B-29 climbed to 45,000 feet, and once level the orange missile known as the Bell X-1 suddenly dropped from the bottom of the B-29 at 1019 hours military local, igniting its four rocket engines. 

The rocket plane shot past its escorting P-80 Shooting Stars sent to chase and observe it. At 1024 hours military local, 10:24 AM Pacific to the rest of us, a huge boom shook the land, rattling in some accounts shattering glass in the town of Amargo, CA now known as Boron. The orange missile, or the .50 caliber bullet with wings, known as the Bell X-1 piloted by the legendary ace Chuck Yeager had broken the sound barrier in straight and level flight. 

Amargo then, known as Boron today was a hotbed of activity in the world of aviation even before Yeager's historic 1947 flight. Not far from the town was the ranch, turned bar and hotel of avaition legend Poncho Barnes. Poncho's "Happy Bottom Riding Club", had become a major destination in the world of early avaition. Aviation pioneers and celebrities alike would fly into the ranch’s private airstrip also known as the Rancho Oro Verde Fly-Inn Dude Ranch, to mingle and drink, and swim in the ranch’s unusual swimming pools. It wouldn’t have been unusual to see Howard Hughes here rubbing elbows with the likes of Randolph Scott, Myrna Loy, and other notables of the time in those days before the war. Even after the war started the celebrities still stopped in but the bar had also become a destination for pilots in training from Muroc Army Air Base (as Edwards AFB was known at the time) or one of the many other military and private aviation schools in the Antelope Valley at the time.

  

The link below is a great website known as Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields that can show you the location of many lost WW II training fields, and reserve bases in the Antelope Valley.

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/CA/Airfields_CA.htm

 

The bar was known for its pictures of aviators that served as a memorial for many of those killed while trying to tame the sky’s, above the Antelope Valley, most of them test pilots. One of the pictures of recollection was of America’s highest scoring ace of all time Richard Bong, a P-38 pilot with 40 kills in the Pacific, killed while test piloting early versions of Lockheed’s P-80.

 

Ruins of Ponchos today. 

Eventually controversy would catch up with the club, and the “Happy Bottom” would be closed after a mysterious fire destroyed the bar in 1953. But the bar would become the stuff of legend, especially after Tom Wolfe’s 1979 novel, and 1983 film adaptation of “The Right Stuff” in which Wolfe captured Barnes personality, and the bar. Wolfe also gave notoriety to Poncho’s famous steak dinner the prize to the first man to break the sound barrier, something that dispite much of the book and films mythos actually was true and was awarded to Chuck Yeager, plus I’m sure he was bought plenty of drinks from that time on as well. Sadly though, not much remains of the bar and hotel today, and it takes special permission from Edwards AFB to access the area.

 

 

Poncho would live out the rest of life in Boron, finally passing on in 1975 from Breast Cancer. Although there are several rumors that the death had some usual and even mysterious circumstances to it, one could say Poncho even in death, was larger than life.

 

 

Today in Boron, Domingo’s Mexican Restaurant is the modern day equivalent to Poncho’s, but a little more refined and family friendly. Test pilots old and new dine here after a big flight, and shuttle Astronauts would dine here after landing at Edwards. Meaning Boron is keeping the spirit of aviation alive, even if its foremost ambassador Poncho Barnes is long gone. Once again Boron legacy’s comes to light, too bad the free steak dinner tradition isn't part of that though.

 

The Saxon Aerospace Museum in Boron is open to the public and is wonderfully family friendly. If you want to spend some time investigating Boron’s rich aviation history this is the place to do it.  The museum gives you a great look at Muroc and Edwards operations, and unlike the museum on Edwards you don’t need to request special access to visit.

Here is their website: http://www.saxonaerospacemuseum.com/Saxon/home

 

There are even more stories to tell about the sky’s above Boron, like the story of the XB-35 and XB-49 grandparents of today's B-2 Spirit bomber. The XB-49 would crash under dubious circumstances on June 5, 1948 killing test pilots Major Daniel Forbes, and Captain Glen Edwards, Muroc Air Force base would have its name changed to Edwards Air Force Base in honor of Capt. Edwards, and Forbes too would have an airbase named after him in Kansas.

 

 

There are stories here about astronauts from Mercury program all the way to the ISS. Stories of X-planes such as the fastest manned aircraft ever the X-15 blazing through the sky’s above the town. Stories of Neil Armstrong piloting the “Flying Bedstand” a terrestrial simulator for the Luner Excursion Module, that Armstrong ejected from moments before it crashed. Even now the stories still come as new and fantastic aircraft race above Boron’s sky’s, like Spaceship One, the X-43, X-48, and a wide range of UAV’s.

 

Visiting the town, all one needs to do is look around to get the feel and sense of history this town has, especially its place in aviation and the space race. On a nearby mountain southwest of the town there is “Rocket Site” a NASA rocket test stand that you can see from Boron, and occasionally you can see rockets being tested up there. To the northeast of the town on another hill is former radar facility used to track X-planes, and other experimental aircraft in the past, it was known as Boron Air Force Station. West of town you will find Desert Lake Apartments, this structure was originally built to accommodate members of the 750th Aircraft Control Squadron, but after housing was built near the radar dome the apartment complex was sold to private owners who turned it into a motel and apartment complex.

Boron has a very unique feel to it, but as the article title indicates it’s a place of ghosts and legacies. When it comes to aviation you can still sense that 1950’s and 1960’s ideal of the future to come, the optimism of the “Space Age”, this is a ghost that lingers, sometimes hit home by both relics and active aviation sites nearby. But its legacy continues on above in its sky’s.

The Santa Fe Railway at Edwards Air Force Base

 

As we now combine Route 466, Santa Fe streamliners such as the San Francisco Chief, and this deep connection to aviation history, and compare it to California 58, BNSF's Bakersfield District operations, and the X-43 zooming above it all we see Boron’s legacy and life that still streams from it. The very fact that a small relatively obscure town could become so intricately involved in key transportation routes past, present and very possibly future is almost mind boggling, and yet it happened.

 

If you are a rail fan (or Foamers in rail speak) of the Santa Fe, a Route 66 aficionado, or a military aviation buff I would definitely suggest visiting Boron for a day. For those of you chasing the Santa Fe or Route 66 Boron is only 40 miles west of Barstow a town any Santa Fe rail fan, or Route 66er will be in anyway just follow California Route 58 west out of Barstow, and  be sure to stop and see one of the last signed portions of Route 466 north of Barstow. If you’re a military aviation buff Boron can be found on the map near California Highway 58 directly northeast of Edwards AFB.

The Mausoleum of Luxury and Glamour

The 1970's where a hard time in Chicago. The railways that once populated the city, and made it the nations hub where vanishing and assumed to be near extinction. Land developers looking to make a grab for the valuable downtown property occupied by tracks grabbed whatever they could. Many made a grab for the air rights over the rails, too anxious to wait and see if the railways would meet their demise. The terminal building across Canal from Union Stations Great Hall would be ripped from the Earth, and a massive office building constructed above the tracks, a story that would happen all above the Northbound tracks of the old Milwaukee Road. 

In to the 1980's such practices where common but the results always the same, air rights granted and bought but the tracks remained. But their where a few exceptions, one of which was Dearborn Station. Dearborn Station itself still stands and is currently in use, but its tracks where taken out and land used for residential property quickly.

The yards that connected to the stations South end. These are long gone replaced with residential properties. 

Amtrak had possession on Santa Fe's rights to Dearborn station only two days before they would close its doors. At that point it's fate seemed to be sealed. Other stations in Chicago no longer serving trains like Central, and Grand Central stations where ripped down almost immediately after train service stopped. 

Somehow though through a twist of fate and a need to save such historic building Dearborn station itself managed to be spared the wrecking ball, its train shed and tracks wouldn't be that lucky. In 1976 an urban renewal project spearheaded by the City of Chicago would take place and the track and train shed would be removed to make way for housing in a new neighborhood aptly named Dearborn Park. 

The station itself would sit almost abandoned all the way through the 1980's with rumors still abounding that the building would meet its fate by the wrecking ball. Finally in 1986 with an 11th hour decision was made to save the station as a historical landmark. But the station facility was to large to maintain in its original form. Sadly although the building would be saved the station interior would be almost completely remodeled to for use as professional offices and retail space. 

Entering Dearborn Station today reminds me of entering a lot of other historic train stations around the country long abandoned by train service. There is little sign trains ever came here as dentist offices and jewelry stores now occupy spaces where passenger waiting rooms, newspaper stands, and ticket booths once use to sit. You can no longer feel the excitement a train travel, or the sense of poshness that once was felt here in the days of the Super Chief. 

So in 2013 Dearborn Station stands like any other mausoleum, with only a few to 

remember what once use to occupy the 

inside.

Boron a Town of Ghosts & Legacy's: Part 2 - Legacy of The Mother Road

Part 2 of a series on a small Mojave Desert town that witnessed American transportation history in motion.

Coming from Barstow you take a fork in the road on Highway 58 and brake left onto 20 Mule Team Road. It's strange for there to be a fork in the road like that on such a busy highway, but 20 Mule Team Road sees very little traffic on this part of it, and its still a ways out of town. 

The "Welcome to Boron" sign is an icon of Southern California and the Mojave Desert

20 Mule Team Road leads into the town of Boron, and as a matter of fact the East-West road is the towns main drag. But why name a road 20 Mule Team, or a town Boron. If you lived in the 50's and early 60's in the era of television westerns you would get it instantly. 

The show Death Valley Days, and sponsor Boraxo with its slogan "20 Mule Team Boraxo" and image of the silhouette of 20 mules with two wagons and a tanker on its packages, gave this road it's name. The town itself is named in honor of US Borax the towns chief employer, and the element Boron that is mined here. 

If you follow 20 Mule Team Road from end to end you will notice its totally straight, no curves, no bends, no breaking off here and rejoining there. It parallels California 58 through the town of Boron, and only curves for the first time way west of town as the road dead ends and forces you back on to 58. But even at this Western dead end beyond the markers you can see it once continued straight intersecting what are now the East bound lanes of California 58. 

You see besides its interesting name 20 Mule Team Road, has some unique history to it. Remember I mentioned in part 1 that even the road had a story to tell in Boron, and here it is. Up until 1964 this road was US Route 466, the designation tells us that this route was the 4th spur of Route 66, yes "The Route 66", US Route 66. There was a period briefly when portions of 466, where originally going to be actual Route 66, but when planning was complete sections such as this one through Boron or at that time Amargo, where designated as a spur route, and by 1935 the route would receive its 466 shield. 466 itself would extend from Las Vegas, NV to Morro Bay, CA via Barstow, and Bakersfield on what are now sections of I-15 and California 58. 

466 was,  in its heyday a busy route much as its replacement CA 58 is today. Meaning that the town of Boron saw hundreds of vehicles a day travel down this spur of The Mother Road, between Barstow and Bakersfield. One can only imagine seeing Boron in about 1958 as a steady stream of cars rolled through the town, and Santa Fe Streamliners flew down its tracks. 

Route 466 would also help contribute to the world of aviation and music as well. The route would have bought stars of early country and rock music from the East to Bakersfield to produce what would be called the "Bakersfield Sound". This new type of country sound would influence country music to this day, and even contribute to the era of Classic Rock as The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Eagles and other bands overtly included the sound in their music. One could only read Merle Haggards hit song "Okie from Muskogee" as a country story of someone who left Oklahoma down the Mother Road, and 466 to come to Bakersfield, and keep their Oklahoman values. 

US Route 466 also influenced aviation as flyers, engineers and dreamers found their way down the route to Rogers Dry Lake Bed, later named Muroc, and then finally Edwards Air Force Base. One could only think that Chuck Yeager, Gus Grissom, and many other aviation and space pioneers must have traveled this route in those early days of the Jet and Space Age. But that is all a posting for later. 

One could easily argue that this little known town, with its little spur of the famous Route 66 may have played a far larger role in history then we think. You have seen its rail history and now it's road history, and I feel I have barely scratched the surface on both. But it's easy to see that this little town began to form a kind of nexus in transportation history as rail, road, and air would converge on it. 

US Route 466 would be replaced by California 58 in 1964. California 58 would bypass Boron as a freeway. California initially began to build 58 to be part of I-40 that would run between Barstow and Bakersfield using US Route 466 as a roadbed for the super highway, but the federal government later rejected the idea. This left only some portions finished with Boron being one of the few towns bypassed. Luckily for us though Boron, and 20 Mule Team Road remain as a living monument to what Route 466 was. 

  

Not much "Union" at Union Station

Heading East or West down Route 66 through Chicago it's impossible to miss Union Station. The crowds of people crossing the street near the river is usually the tip off. 

For most cities including LA, the "Union" in Union Station indicates that the station serves as the unified train station for the city meaning all trains no matter what the railway come to that station. But in Chicago that's not the case, now or in the past.  

Now days Union Station is the central station for all cross country trains, but not all passenger trains in Chicago come here. Metra, Chicago's massive commuter train service has trains that come to Union Station, but also trains that go to other stations following the heritage of the original railways that are now part of the Metra system.  Of course it has long been noted that when it comes to Union Station the relationship between Metra and Amtrak is at times strained, especially since Amtrak controls the  station dispite Metra having more trains operate out of the station every single day. 

Metra is an interesting case and point about the original stations and rail lines that came into the city of Chicago in the past, since Metra still operates at a lot of those stations either in the original form or more modern reincarnations. Or to put it another way if you want to experience the terminals and sites of historic American passenger trains Metra may provide you with a living examples, something your not likely to see anywhere else. 

Historically and in a very real modern sense Chicago is and has been the railroad hub of the United States for well over a hundred years. This means that there are hundreds of rail lines coming into the city from all directions. For the great Eastern railways that there where and are, Chicago was a the Western Terminus, for the Western Railways the Eastern terminus, and the same could be said for the Northern railways of Canada with a Southern end, and Southern with a Northern end. One can only imagine that with trains coming in on multiple tracks from all directions, the concept of a central station would cause severe rail gridlock as trains converged on one point. So Chicago would need to accomdate passenger trains with more then one station. 

For most railroads this wasn't to their dislike. A railroad station built for their specific needs, could show off the railways affluence, and market the railway to its captive audience of passengers. Ornate woodwork, gold leaf fixtures, marble floors and columns, and a plethora of top quality restaurants and passenger service stores allowed railways to instill a feeling of luxury, and service to passengers, and others passing through the stations. 

Union Station Chicago is an excellent example of railway architecture and interior design for stations during the golden era of train travel.

In the height of the rail travel era Chicago was served by 6 major train stations:

-Union Station that served the Chicago, Burlinton, and Quincy, Milwaukee Road, and Pennsylvania Railways, and several smaller lines. 

Union Station today, in the right of the picture above the "bacon" truck you can see part of the office building stucture that replaced the terminal building. 

-Northwestern Station which served the Chicago Northwestern, B&O, Union Pacific, and smaller lines. 

-Lasalle Street Station that served the New York Central and played a major part in Hitchcocks North by Northwest. Lasalle Street also served the Rock Island. 

-Central Station which served the Illinois Central, C&O, and smaller lines 

-Dearborn Station which famously served the Santa Fe, as well as the Grand Trunk,  Erie, Monon, and Wabash.

-Grand Central Station which also served that B&O, SOO, and smaller lines. 

Of the six stations only Union Station remains in its original form both in structure and operation. Or I should mention that its Grand Hall still stands which is the true show piece of the station. The terminal structure that stood accross Canal Street from it was replaced with an office complex in the 1960's. 

Old postcard depicts the entire Union Station complex as it was. Only the larger building in back the "Grand Hall" still stands, but it is a functional structure that accommodates thousands of passengers daily. 

Windows on the Eastern side of Union Station list the founding railroads of Union Station in gold lettering. 

Dearborn Station also still stands but it's railway history is long gone. The building is in good shape and has a restaurant, a few small stores, and professional offices in it. Any sign that this building was once a home to such legendary trains as Santa Fe's Super Chief are long gone. 

Central Station is no longer and was demolished in 1974. However, Central Stations legacy lives on at Millenium Station which lies below Chicago's Millenium Park, beneath that "Bean" and "Pritzker Pavillion". Millenium Station still serves Illinois Centrals electric line, now part of Metra. You might have seen Millenium Station in "The Dark Knight", as Batman raced his Batbike through it. 

Northwestern Station operates as part of Metra/Union Pacific Railway. However the original station structure was demolished in 1984 and replaced with a towering office building, that has hints of the original structure still in it. Ogilvie Station as it is now called, still has the original platform and overpass from the C&NW in place. 

Picture of above street platform from original structure, taken from Clinton side, looking at Randolph overpass. 

The station itself though is very modern and geared toward the thousands of commuters who pass through daily with grab and go shopping and food court

Ogilvie Station

Grand Central Station on the other hand is totally gone and nothing but a vacant lot remain, sadly it was ripped down in

1969, and has no surviving lagacy. 

Lasalle Station like Ogilvie exists but has been modernized with original parts of the structure ripped down and replaced for the lucrative air rights in 1981. So don't go looking for where Cary Grant shaved in North by Northwest that part is long gone. But the station survives and is operated by Metra for its Rock Island district. 

Lasalle Street Station as it now looks

So of the six stations from the golden era only one stands as is and is functional, one stands but no longer as a station, one is totally gone, two stand in their original spots but rebuilt and modernized, and one is gone but had its place taken elsewhere. But that also means Chicago has four train stations that see thousands of passengers a day, three which operate in the same spots they did long ago. 

If you want to see living history, and the legacy of what once was Metra can accommodate you at Union, Ogilvie, LaSalle and Millenium Station, and Amtrak can too at Union Station. If your  visiting Chicago as a Route 66 follower and/or a railfan be sure to check at least one of these stations out, and if possible take a short ride on one of Metra's trains. 

Winslow, Arizona - Transportation Hub of the Western U.S.?

When you hear Winslow, Arizona it is very hard to not hear the song "Take it Easy" by the Eagles running through your head. If your anything like me you imagine them referring to some tiny desert town, with a few houses and stores, and tumbleweed blowing down the street. When you actually see Winslow though you find it's a lot different then you had expected. 

Winslow has the honor of not only being a Route 66 town, but also the district headquarters of the Santa Fe, now BNSF. This meant that Winslow was not only visited by Route 66 travelers, but had such iconic Santa Fe trains as The Super Chief, and El Capitan pass through daily. One could only imagine that in the 1940's through early 60's between Route 66 and the daily precession of Santa Fe passenger trains, Winslow was a busseling travel mecca. 

But did you know Winslow also has passenger aviation history as well? This fact was bought to public intetest thanks to a traveling exhibit that the Smithsonian, in conjunction with the Winslow Old Trails Museum, and La Posada Hotel, bought to Winslow last week as part of its "Journey Stories" tour. One of the exhibits and lectures made the world  aware of this forgotten part of Winslow's and avaitions history. The TAT or Transcontinental Air Transport airline came to being in 1928, flying its first flights in 1929 offering a hybrid of air and rail transport to deliver passengers from New York to LA or San Francisco in 48 hours. 

Winslow was a fueling stop on the second air leg of the westbound trip. But by no means was Winslow nothing more then a runway and a fuel tank. The airport itself was state of the art at the time designed by Charles Lindbergh, giving the airport part of its name Winslow-Lindbergh. 

Sadly, the TAT was short lived and after an accident a few months after the first flights TAT was forced to emerge with other airlines that would eventually became TWA. By the mid-1930's non-stop passenger travel also became more prevalent, especially with the development of the sturdy DC-3 by Douglas in the late 1930's. This meant that Winslow not being a major city was bypassed by most major airlines, however the airport lived on serving the military in World War 2 as a USAAF Transport base. The airport still serves general aviation, US Forest Service fire planes, and occasionally some military. 

It's interesting to note that between Route 66, Santa Fe's operations, and the potential of the TAT Winslow was in fact a Western travel hub in 1929. I would have to suggest definitely spending time in Winslow if you can, make sure to stop by and see the Old Trails Museum, and the La Posada which is worth staying and/or eating at. I would have to suggest seeing both since you can learn all about Winslows place in transportation history from both places,since they work hand and hand with each other to present a complete picture. If you in to train watching or your kids are, Winslow has a lot to offer as well. 

 TAT Ford Tri-motor flown by Charles Lindbergh. 

I'll cover the TAT more in future blog postings

Boron a Town of Ghosts & Legacy's: Part 1 - Legacy of The Chief

A small Mojave Desert town witnesses the legacy of American transportation history. 

40 miles West of Barstow is the town of Boron, CA. In late summer through early fall the nights are beautiful. The temps stay in about the mid-70's, the gentle desert breeze creates music in the windchimes, and there are no Mosquitos for several hundred miles. The nights are perfect for sitting outside and having a great conversation over a few glasses of wine, or just gazing at the stars. 

The only thing that interupts these quiet nights are the sounds of BNSF frieght trains pushing through town a few times an hour. After a while even that becomes part of that ambient environment, and the rumble of trains seem natural and missed  after they pass. 

From the porch of my wife's childhood home, one can look accross a 1/2 mile of desert and see the trains pass. Sometimes as you sit there, especially at night, your imagination allows you to hear what these tracks where 60 plus years before as steam locomotives made their way down these stretches. You can hear the whistles blow, and the chuffs of steam, and see the glow of the fireboxes in the still desert night. You can imagine the outline of a 2-10-4 Texas, pulling an endless stream of box cars in your minds eye. 

You see as middle of nowhere and as far from civilization and history this little desert town may seem, the town itself has many stories to tell. This little nowhere town has a history that in many ways should make it well known, yet it lies forgotten. You see in Boron, the roads, the tracks, and the sky all have a story to tell. Boron is a town of ghosts and legacy's in 20th century American history. 

The tracks running through Boron have a particularly captivating history. Currently these tracks serve a very busy BNSF route between the Barstow Yards and the Bay Area, as well as serving a lively spur to US Borax mining operations nearby. But the interesting facts about these tracks is that until 1971 these tracks saw Santa Fe passenger operations. 

Such trains as the San Francisco Chief, The Navajo, and The Grand Canyon all traveled this route on their way North through the Tehachapis and on to the San Francisco Bay Area. I can only imagine what it must have been like to pass through the tunnels and grades of thr Tehachapi mountains, and than the famous Tehachapi Loop as a passenger on one of these trains. 

Although the bulk of Santa Fe's passenger trains headed to Los Angeles, Santa Fe knew that the San Francisco market was competitive, and lucrative. Passenger service to San Francisco gave Santa Fe access to the surrounding cities of the Bay Area and Northern California beyond. The San Francisco Chief was Santa Fe's luxury answer to the City of San Francisco a luxury liner jointly opetated by the Union Pacific, Chicago Northwestern  and Southern Pacific, and the jointly operated California Zypher shared between the CB&Q, Western Pacific, and D&RG. Santa Fe was obviously hoping the brand value of The Super Chief would carry over to the name on the San Francisco Chief when the luanched the service in 1954, which obviously it did since the train discontinued service in 1971 with all other Santa Fe passenger operations.

The Navajo was meant to serve a similar role as the El Capitan did on the Los Angeles route as an all coach consist, and The Grand Canyon was to serve a mixed consist aimed at Grand Canyon tourism and the Santa Fe/Fred Harvey operations nearby. 

As in the cases of most passenger trains the town of Boron probably saw each of these trains twice a day, one Eastbound, the other Westbound. I try to imagine what it must have been like for this small town to see the Warbonnet livery, and gleaming consist of silver stainless steel passenger cars flying through the town. You have to ask what stories could be told, and if and when the trains made flag-stops to pick up town residents. 

I could only imagine what a thrill it would have been to stand on the porch of my wife's childhood home, or from the patio of Domingo's Restaurant in town and see these trains go by. To see the desert sun shining off the cars and thier windows, and watching the train disappear accross the flat desert beyond. 

To its residents of Boron the mere fact that these silver luxury liners passed through town every day must have made them feel like the center of the world at that time. Today though there are no reminders of that era, no connection to those gleaming daily visitors. What are left behind are the ghosts of Santa Fe's passenger train heydays, and the legacy of its operations in today's BNSF traffic through the town. 

But remember I said the roads and sky had a story to tell here too, and I will tell them in postings to come. 

Connecting the Rails with the Road

In the  Spring 2005 issue of Route 66 Magazine railroad photographer and enthusiast Louis R Saillard published an article called "Tracks by the Road". The article which is only three pages long and half dedicated to photos and other exhibits, is a brief personal narrative of the writers encounter with the last of the Super Chiefs on Route 66 near Winslow, AZ in 1971. 

The article was as fleeting as the encounter, and having quickly read the three pages I wanted more. Somehow I hoped the writer was going to mention that the article was and excerpt from and upcoming book on the subjects, but the article just ended quickly. Now I can't fault Route 66 Magazine for that since obviously we know by the title the magazines subject, and a long Super Chief article or series would be a capricious digression from the magazines subject matter. 

To say the least though Mr. Saillards article was like an restaurant appitizer put before a hungry man. It was good to have the small portion but it only made me hungry for more. It was at this point I realized that my own knowledge of the subject, and personal library gave me the ability to research the subject on my own, and pass on my knowledge in this blog. 

I would like to encourage my readers to share their knowledge, stories, and opinions. 

The Super Chief & Route 66: Icons of American Transportation - 2 Rivals, 1 Shared Death

The Train of the Stars

The Santa Fe Super Chief was the epitome of luxury travel in its heyday. It was surpassed only by the "Orient Express" in lavishness and worldwide fame. It was the way to travel in the golden era, a moving 4-Star hotel and restaurant inhabited by movie stars, musicians, politicians, and other notables of that long past era of glamour and class. 

But, sadly the Super Chief was born into an era that had already foreseen the benefits of alternative forms of travel. In many ways the Super Chief was conceived much in the same way a child is to parents trying to save a marriage, as a last ditch effort to fight an inevitable end.

 In 1937 Santa Fe hoped that the first class service, glamour, and opulence of the train would attract passengers who might travel by the as of yet, fledgling and uncomfortable airlines, or across country by automobile or bus. The strategy did work, but passenger railway service continued to erode, even as Santa Fe introduced additional trains in the Super Chiefs shadow, and other railways developed luxury trains of their own. 

America's Mainstreet

One of the biggest detractors from Santa Fe passenger service was Route 66. The route which also traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles, meets up with the Santa Fe Super Chief tracks in New Mexico, and follows it very closely all the way to Los Angeles. Introduced as part of the US Route highways system in 1926. Route 66 was one of many paved cross country routes being built by the government to encourage commerce and cross country travel. 

By 1926 and in the years to come automobiles where becoming more and more advanced, and Americans had a wide variety of vehicles to choose from. Matched with paved roads automobiles of the late 20's and early 30's could travel long distances easily and at higher rates of speed covering the 2000 miles from Chicago to LA in 3 days to a week. 

Route 66 quickly became a favorite of drivers because the route left Chicago and the Midwest and headed Southwest to milder climates, through relatively flat terrain. This meant that Route 66 was for the most part, a year round East-West route. Meaning the route also attracted trucks, and buses as well. Route 66 coupled with the more modern cars of the era quickly became a competitor of the Santa Fe Railway. Automobile travel after all allowed people to travel at their own pace, stay where they want, and see things they want to. It also allowed them to do this in the comfort of there own automobiles, and considerably cheaper then train tickets. 

Another option that Route 66 gave cross country travelers was bus. In the 1930's and 1940's bus travel didn't have the negative implications it does now. Look at movies like "It Happened One Night", and the song "We Fell in Love on a Grayhound Bus", as examples of the eras view of cross country bus travel. Bus travel was significantly cheaper then train travel, and gave passengers access to more towns along the way. 

Airborne Revalution 

The future of both Route 66 and the Super Chief would soon be intertwined. By 1935 two years before the Super Chiefs development, and 9 years after US 66's development Douglas Aircraft would come out with the DC-3. The twin engine airliner wasn't the worlds first airliner, but it was the first to offer an airframe sturdy enough to fly longer, and in adverse conditions within reason, while keeping passengers comfortable. The sturdy airframe also gave that airlines more utility since the DC-3 could take on some of the more primitive runways at the time, allowing the airlines access to medium and small cities, and giving passengers more options. 

By World War II the DC-3's legacy had spread into the next generation of four engine airliners. Douglas, as well as Boeing, Convair, Lockheed, and others where all building long range transport aircraft, not only to hopefully snag lucrative government contracts, but to help claim market share with the airlines after the war ended. By the late 1940's air travel became more prevalent then ever, and the airlines of that era became synanomous with the aircraft they used, TWA had is Constellations, and United its Stratoliners, and Pan Am its DC-6's.  

But the railways lucked out breifly due to the fact that in the minds of most Americans air travel was either still unsafe  and/or meant only for overseas travel. Trains like the Super Chief also benefited from the fact that domestic airline traffic was considered to lack the glamour and comfort of rail travel. In the film "North by Northwest", there id a scene that takes place on New York Centrals luxury liner the 20th Century Limited, in which Eva Marie Saints character Eve Kendall, mentions that she discussed rail versus air travel this with Cary Grant's character Roger Thornhill when she is questioned by police about her meeting with him in the dining car. Meaning such opinions about rail and air travel permiated pop culture even into the late 50's.

Super Slab

As challenging as the 1940's would be on railroad passenger operations, and to a lesser extent Route 66, the 50's would prove to be even harder on both. Aviation and a new Federal Highway act would both deal hard blows to the legendary pair before the decade was out. 

In 1956 the Federal Aid Highway Act was passed, as part of the Eisenhower Interstate Commerce System. Eisenhower was a participant of General Pershings Army expidetion down the Lincoln Highway in 1919 and became aware of the value of paved roads in increasing military mobility. Not to mention President Eisenhower was as many returning vets where, impressed with the Autobahn system they saw in Germany and elsewhere in Europe during World War II. The large flat and straight sections of highway, without stops, and toll booths would in Eisenhowers mind as a former general, be of strategic military value in moving men and equipment accross country quickly. It also had the benefit of increasing interstate commerce with trucks, and moving people quickly and safely in buses and cars. 

The Interstates where far superior to the US highway system in place already. Route 66 was getting a reputation for being dangerous as "Bloody 66" for accidents, and for being a bottle neck through some towns. Planned interstates such as I-40 wouldn't enter towns, and being flat and four lanes would greatly reduce accidents. One of the first sections of Interstate to be constructed would be I-44 in Missouri a section of interstate built to replace Route 66 in Missouri, and later Eastern Oklahoma all the way to Oklahoma City. For Route 66 it's future was becoming clear.

For Santa Fe and the Super Chief it meant road travel would cut even deeper into passenger operations. The super slab interstates where fast and could delivery cars and trucks anywhere in the nation quickly. Trucking in the world of interstates posed a major danger to Santa Fe's frieght operations. With the government awarding mail contracts to trucking companies, railways across the country began to panic, and it would soon be time to cut losses.

Supersonic Dreams

In 1958 passenger aviation was revolutionized once again when Boeing introduced the 707. The 707 ushered in a new era of commercial aviation, that is still with us to this day. The 707 replaced prop driven and first generation jet airliners that took 8 or more hours to go from Chicago to LA, with a trip of 4 or less hours at high altitude above turbulence, and near the speed of sound. Passenger aviation was now more comfortable and quicker then it had ever been. 

The 707 was also able to sway public opinion on aviation thanks in part to pop culture embracing the "Jet Age" at that time. An era in which even cars where being made to look like jet fighters and spaceships, and Americans became obsessed with space flight, technology, and science fiction. People began to connect glamour with the "Jet Set", and train travel became outdated and slow in public opinion. 

With only two weeks of vacation a year why would a family want to spend days of it on a train when they could reach there designation in a few hours? This also applied to the concept if driving across country, why waste 3 days driving down Route 66 when you could be there in 4 hours, and rent a car at the airport? 

The 707 and its Lockheed, and Douglas clones soon to come, spelled certain doom for both Route 66 and the Super Chief. 

2 Rivals, 1 Death

The 1960's bought more jet liners and more completed interstates. The railroads realizing they had to save themselves began to cut passenger operations, and/or merge with other railways. For Santa Fe the all sleeper Super Chief, would be combined with the all coach El Capitan. The combined train would operate as the Super Chief but its glamour days where gone. Movie stars traveled first class on commercial airlines or in first generation private jets. The glitz of places like Dearborn and Union Stations had been replaced with O'Hare, and LAX. 

Initially the 60's where easy on Route 66 and bought very little change since the interstates where still under construction, but traffic slowly but surely began to decline. By the late 60's and early 70's this would change competely. I-44 would see sections completed in both Missouri and Oklahoma but the early to late 60's both detracting from, and even eating up sections of Route 66. I-40 would see construction starting in Oklahoma as early as 1959, and Texas as early as 1962. Sections completed in New Mexico by 1960, and many in Arizona by 1968, and various sections completed in California during the same time frame. In Illinois I-55 would eat up many parts of Route 66, by 1970. 

The 70's saw the death of both Route 66 and the Super Chief. The jet age and interstates had taken their final toll on the geographically intermingled pair, and passengers dried up on the Santa Fe's passenger services, and traffic dried up through Route 66 towns. 

On May 1st, 1971 Santa Fe turned the train over to Amtrak, ending the railways operation of the famous passenger train. By 1974 Santa Fe pulled the Super Chief name from Amtrak, placing the final nail in the coffin of what was once the epitome of style, glamour, and class known as The Super Chief, and ending an era. It would be 1984 before a Chief or Amtraks Southwest Chief would ride the rails again, having been known as the Southwest Limited between 1974 and 84. But the Super Chief and all of Santa Fe's famous passenger trains where now gone. 

In the late 70's Santa Fe and many other railroads would struggle to survive and make thier freight operations competitive against interstate trucking. Santa Fe would survive and blossom with a "if you can't beat them, join them" philosophy. The railway would introduce a train known as the Super C, an all TOFC or Trailer on Flatcar train that rain between Chicago and LA. This train would be the first of the intermodal transports that would become highly lucrative in years to come. 

But as 1984 saw the mere spark of the Chief's return the rails under Amtrak, it also saw the final end to Route 66. The last sections of the old Route would be decommissioned near Williams, Arizona. Decertifing Route 66 as a US Highway. In effect Route 66's death certificate had been signed. 

1984 was a year of finality for US Route 66 and the Santa Fe Super Chief. Even though both would leave legacy's that to this day are remembered, commemorated, and loved that year would be that final goodbye for both.