History of the Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- Hello and welcome to my video on the history of the Northern Pacific Railroad and its premier passenger train the North Coast Limited. I will also talk about the other trains that ran the line, such as the Mainstreeter as well as Amtrak's North Coast Hiawatha.
Rode the NP Mainstreeter many times as my grandparents lived in the State of Washington. Rode NYC 20th Century from Cleveland to Chicago, then NP to Pasco WA, my grandparents city. Many great memories, scenery, food on train, outstanding staff and services. NP route much better than current Empire Builder which I have riden. The decent into Butte Montana at night was so beautiful. Also remember trips thru Montana at below zero temps outside causing issues with heat into the cars.
You and I may have ridden a Mainstreeter and never knew it. Lived in St. Paul then, and took Trains 1 & 2 frequently to Staples, Glendive and other points father west. Last took the train in December 1970, I believe. Ken has a Lake Superior video about a fully restored NP coach used on the Mainstreeter (Car 517) elsewhere on this site.
I rode the Great Northern from Seattle to Bingen Washington and the Union Pacific from Seattle to The Dalles Oregon in the early 1960s. It was very beautiful along The Columbia River through The Columbia River Gorge. Always fun to work on my Grampas farm for the summer.
The North Coast Hiawatha lasted as long as Mike Mansfield was in the Senate. When he retired (in 1977) it was a dead man walking. Train was discontinued in 1979.
Under Jimmy Carter as president. This line never should have lost passenger service. Even if only four days a week, better than nothing. Imagine now a modern Amtrak Superliner or streamliner-equivalent traversing these tracks for a new generation of rail fans. Many are tired of squishy airline seats, FAA interference and endless cancellations for a small storm, and road ragers/tootleputters on the freeways. We have been going downhill since airlines and interstates were subsidized while rails received almost nothing to encourage passenger service between Chicago and Seattle-Portland and elsewhere. Loss of the first class mail contract in 1967 was the writing on the wall for many long-distance trains. Thanks.
Mmmm...the route of the NP parallels Interstate 94 pretty much from the Twin Cities into Montana, the parallels I-90 through Montana and Idaho. It's the GN that had no Interstate nearby.
and i believe it went through Snoqualmie pass and Stampede pass along Interstate 90 before reaching present-day Auburn, WA
good video
my very first train ride....on THIS train!
you lucky dude
Every time you mispronounce Washington place names I take psychic damage.
Puyallup is pronounced "Pee-allup" or "Pew-allup", Kalama is pronounced "Ka-lamb-a"
Really great video by the way!
I always heard it said Pew y'all up.
@@iannarita9816 Not bad.
right - I heard somewhere that it is the most frequently mispronounced place name by press, "pew" "Al" "up". And just to complicate things the actual native american pronunciation is different too, something like "poi" "all" "up".
By 1938 90 percent of intercity trips were by car so the interstates did not matter when it came to pasenger rail decline.
… of course WW2 and Rationing (gasoline) halted that trend.
In the 1950s, with returning veterans and economy, that trend continued
with jet air travel cutting into long-range (coast-to-coast) travel by 1960s.
The Milwaukee Road ran along I -N90 for a bit.. Remember seeing Milwaukee Road Trains along I-90.. They should have kept the Milwaukee line.. It is shorter then the B.N.SF line.. With better science views.
not shorter. longer and slower and more costly to run
What about the Black and Gold color ?? Here In Washington State I operate a F -9 Unit in the Northern Pacific Colors...
That would be the freight paint scheme.
My favorite NP livery is their white, green, and lime paint job, but their pine green and brown paint is a close second
👌🇺🇸
You speak too fast.
Love trains. Love their history. But trains are best for heavy FREIGHT transportation. Passenger service over long distances should be excursions - not scheduled Amtrak runs. If you have to be in Seattle on Wednesday, FLY, or start driving. There is no good reason for taxpayers to subsidise long distance passenger vacations.
Only if ya wanna burn more gas. I say ditch the plane and take the train
@FranzFerdinandVIII And if you are happy to spend 4 days to travel the distance that can be done in 6 hours.
@@carnakthemagnificent336 On a squishy, hostile, bottom-line plane with angry passengers and no leg room for taller gentlemen.
The reason why some Amtrak routes, like the Empire Builder, are subsidized, is because many people living in the region can't afford plane tickets or personal automobiles to travel to places along the route. Price a plane ticket from Grand Forks, ND to Shelby, Montana, for instance. It's cheaper to fly from Chicago to LA. Meanwhile, a cheap Amtrak ticket (on a Sunday - Monday) from Shelby to Spokane only cost me $67 in 2014 - less than gas in a economy car would have been. I've ridden the Empire Builder recently, and about half the people on board were actual travelers, not vacationers. And wake up - highways and airports are almost 100% subsidized by government.
@@scottb8175 You bet. Three things hurt passenger rail service: (1) interstate highways (convenient in good weather); (2) airline subsidies (faster) and (3) loss of the USPS mail contract in 1966-67 that provided enough income for railroads, such as the GN and NP, to justify keeping the passenger train services going.
The arrogant, Wall Street-driven airline industry has forgotten the fact that unless you have a taxpayer subsidized airport to land at, you can't land DE PLANE!
May I strongly suggest that when you are narrating your videos, that you slow your speech down because it Sounds to me, like you were mumbling your words in this video, and some of your narration was almost impossible to understand.
Agree! Great facts here, but his tempo makes it terrible to absorb.