Uniq. Eqpmt Sightings: Private Varnish (PV's), Charters, etc

From http://www.highirontravel.com/schedule.html:

2013 HIGH IRON TRIP PLANNING CALENDAR
ROCKY MOUNTAIN EXPLORERS Aug. 30-Sep’t. 9, 2013
We hope that this will be the final schedule for this trip. After being greatly disappointed by the railroads’ inability to permit us passage over the former D&RGW Craig, Somerset and Cane Creek branches, we were able to add the ex-UP Ashton, ID branch and the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific. Please note schedule changes.
Equipment: 4 cars: Caritas (open platform business car), Cimarron River (14rmte-4bdr sleeper), Big Dome (ex-Santa Fe) and Pacific Sands (10rmte-6bdr) sleeper.
Aug. 30: Caritas, dome and Cimarron River leave Chicago at 2PM on #5, the California Zephyr. Pacific Sands leaves Emeryville 9:10AM on #6.
Aug. 31: Arr. Salt Lake City. Meet up with Pacific Sands. Park at Salt Lake station.
Sep’t. 1: Free day in Salt Lake to ride TRAX, etc.
Sep’t. 2: Lv. Salt Lake 8AM. Proceed north to Idaho Falls, via Pocatello, ID, where we park overnight.
Sep’t. 3: Side trip on Eastern Idaho RR to Ashton, ID (former UP line to W. Yellowstone). Lv. 8AM; return 4PM. Explorer’s banquet in Idaho Falls.
Sep’t. 4: Lv. Idaho Falls 8AM. Continue north to Silver Bow. Turn train over to BA&P for run into Butte. Arrive 4PM. Park in Butte.
Sep’t. 5: Lv. Butte 8AM for run on BA&P to Anaconda; return to Silver Bow, proceed on BNSF to Garrison; turn train over to Montana Rail Link at Garrison and proceed to Livingston via Helena, arriving about 7PM.
Sep't. 6-7: Lv. Livingston 7AM and proceed east to Terry, MT (ex-NP); then on former CMStP&P to Aberdeen, SD. Park overnight on the 7th in Aberdeen. The night of the 6th will be somewhere en route depending on crew time.
Sep't 8: 8AM Lv.Aberdeen for Minneapolis/St. Paul via Bensen, MN and ex-GN main line via Willmar, arriving about 3PM.
Sep't. 9: Equipment moves to Chicago on Amtrak #8, scheduled to leave St. Paul at 7:50AM. Arrive Chicago 3:55PM.
Trip ends.

"Mount Vernon" laying over at Boston South Station on July 31st.
Thanks to Bill Hakkarinen for the photos.

http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo ... age=3&key=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo ... age=2&key=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

PV Cannon Ball was on train 80 Carolinian on Saturday from WAS to NYP.

chuchubob wrote:PV Cannon Ball was on train 80 Carolinian on Saturday from WAS to NYP.

CANNON BALL at the block of track 11, Washington Union Station, earlier on Saturday August 31st.

http://www.dominionrailvoyages.com/jhd/ ... all-01.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Private cars GREENWICH ESTATE and GREENWICH HARBOR are parked on track 30 at WAS; sorry, no photos of them today.

Norfolk Southern 3 CLAYTOR LAKE and Norfolk Southern 30 MARCO POLO are parked platform to platform on track 7 at WAS. While MARCO POLO has been parked there for years, this was the first time I have seen CLAYTOR LAKE parked on that track.

The EB Cardinal just left Alexandria with an FRA car positioned between the loco and the bag.

Looks like a special train with MILW 261's cars is running WAS-PIT, get out there with some cameras!

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 216&nseq=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 220&nseq=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also, what the heck did they do to the side of the cars? You can't read the lettering that says "Milwaukee Road" or "Cedar Rapids"... I don't recall seeing such adornment in historic photos, so I'm a bit confused.

Final thought - given that IRM had the guts, money, will, and manpower to let CB&Q 9955 loose on the original CB&Q main for a few fantrips in the last few years, I'd go crazy for a fantrip where IRM and Friends of 261 create a "return of the Olympian Hi" trip, feature CSS 803 and a string of 261's cars under NICTD catenary on a quiet Sunday. The CSS orange with maroon stripes is awfully similar to the MILW orange/maroon seen on the MILW fleet of Little Joes.

Tadman wrote:Looks like a special train with MILW 261's cars is running WAS-PIT, get out there with some cameras!

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 216&nseq=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 220&nseq=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also, what the heck did they do to the side of the cars? You can't read the lettering that says "Milwaukee Road" or "Cedar Rapids"... I don't recall seeing such adornment in historic photos, so I'm a bit confused.

Final thought - given that IRM had the guts, money, will, and manpower to let CB&Q 9955 loose on the original CB&Q main for a few fantrips in the last few years, I'd go crazy for a fantrip where IRM and Friends of 261 create a "return of the Olympian Hi" trip, feature CSS 803 and a string of 261's cars under NICTD catenary on a quiet Sunday. The CSS orange with maroon stripes is awfully similar to the MILW orange/maroon seen on the MILW fleet of Little Joes.

Yeah, this must have been the cars I saw last night on the way into DC and was able to get a few pictures of this morning from train 54.

http://www.stationtostation.com has more information about the reason, routing, and schedule.

PV photo opportunity: "INSPECTION CAR NAVY 118" on train 850 from CHI to IND on Sunday September 8.

Last week I posted pics of the 261 cars in DC, and I was a bit curious why the right side (facing front of train) on all cars had some stainless steel fluting. Turns out the left side has some broad black stripes. Anybody know what's going on?

pic: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 49&nseq=28" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maybe it's just how the sun is shining on them (or not)? I know sometimes stainless steal looks black sometimes..

Tadman wrote:Last week I posted pics of the 261 cars in DC, and I was a bit curious why the right side (facing front of train) on all cars had some stainless steel fluting. Turns out the left side has some broad black stripes. Anybody know what's going on?

pic: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 49&nseq=28" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I believe lirr415 has the right idea, but will confirm next time I see the cars at MSP. Don't recall seeing any black paint between the sill and the roof.

Come to think of it, I don't recall them adding the fluting either. The most recent photos on 261.com show the cars with no fluting (which looks better, in my opinion.) I'll ask some of my friends about the 261 crew's reasons, but did the MILW have similar cars in the 1940s and 1950s?

mtuandrew wrote:

Tadman wrote:Last week I posted pics of the 261 cars in DC, and I was a bit curious why the right side (facing front of train) on all cars had some stainless steel fluting. Turns out the left side has some broad black stripes. Anybody know what's going on?

pic: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 49&nseq=28" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I believe lirr415 has the right idea, but will confirm next time I see the cars at MSP. Don't recall seeing any black paint between the sill and the roof.

Come to think of it, I don't recall them adding the fluting either. The most recent photos on 261.com show the cars with no fluting (which looks better, in my opinion.) I'll ask some of my friends about the 261 crew's reasons, but did the MILW have similar cars in the 1940s and 1950s?

Now that is what I call a train!

Nice pic hi55, how many cars were on it?