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The Janesville Jaunt 6/18-25/2000

My life following the journey to Vancouver Island became one of family crisis as first my father's prostate swelled, blocking off his urine flow and had to be catheterized. After waiting for three weeks for his Health Maintenance Organization to get their act together, he finally had his prostate removed. All of this made my mother cancel their cruise on the Baltic Sea. Next, as he was recovering at home, his leg swelled and was told the cause was retention of water, which did not seem right to me. About a week later, it swelled even more so my mother rushed him to the emergency room and a different doctor discovered four blood clots, two in his leg and two in his lungs. He was given blood thinning medicine and was still on it when I started this trip.

At Fullerton Railroad Days in May, I picked up a new Amtrak national timetable and started to put ideas together for a short one-week trip, riding the new Amtrak Lake Country Limited to Janesville, Wisconsin as a goal. Marti, my night-time agent at Santa Ana, played with dates and came up with a winner, namely east on the Southwest Chief and west on the Texas Eagle, with new westbound miles between Texarkana and Big Sandy, plus Fox Lake to Janesville on the route of the Lake Country Limited.

All I had to do was finish the school year at McFadden Intermediate and continue my daily train riding until the day of departure, including riding our new Pacific Surfliner trainset, as well as staying sober, which was the most important thing in my life.

This was a new name for the San Diegan Service and the entire corridor would have new cars within a year-and-a-half. I boarded this train an hour-and-a-half after stepping off the first new Pacific Surfliner set and climbed onto an old set of Horizon cars for the ride to Los Angeles. I will not miss these cars when they are gone. It was almost too quick a journey, where down in the station, I learned the westbound Southwest Chief had arrived five hours late and it mades me wonder how late we would be arriving in Chicago. I started the line to board the train at the closed gate and later led the "guests" down to Track 11, where the westbound train was still on Track 12 and our express cars were on Track 13. I already saw a problem as I boarded.

Departure time came and went as we sat in Los Angeles. My seatmate, Max, reeked of alcohol and smoke so I wondered what God had in store for me. Train 3 was finally pulled out of Track 12 and we now had access to Track 13 so departed from the platform forty-seven minutes late and proceeded to pick up the waiting nine cars of express. A thought crossed my mind - since it was Sunday and there were no Metrolink trains in the station, the crew could have put that westbound Train 3 on any other track. I settled in and read about seventy pages of "I Am Jackie Chan, My Life in Action" abfore calling it a night near San Bernardino. I slept off and on, my usual first night-out pattern as the train left California for Arizona.

6/19/2000 I awoke just short of the new stop at Williams Junction where there was a shuttle van connection to the Grand Canyon Railway station. I spent the rest of the morning reading, with my only interruption being the many freight trains we met on the fly. We arrived at Albuquerque about ten minutes late and I was off for an ice cream then browsed the Indian jewellery before reboarding with the "all-aboard" announcement. We sat for an inumerable amount of time before an announcement was made regarding a problem with the locomotives and all passengers were allowed off until it was solved. It was sun tanning time with the occasional joke like "At this rate we will still be here when they open the new station!" At this point, the building was still in the steel frame stage. After the crew shuffled the engines, we finally departed two hours and five minutes late.

Rounding the Chappelle S curves. We made it as far as Nueva where switches were thrown by hand to meet our westbound counterpart, followed by having to inspect the next bridge due to a high water alert. When we arrived there, the stream was bone dry. Apache Canyon was gorgeous in the light as we passed through and later, I had an excellent steak dinner and ice cream Turtle cake for dessert. Joe, who was our dining car steward, was once a Lead Service Attendant on the San Diegans. We arrived at Raton when it was announced that our engines would be refuelled here, as the fuelling station in Albuquerque was damaged by a construction accident. During the nearly hour-long delay in Raton, I added this depot to the ones I have been inside and also tried to catch what the score of the final NBA Championship game on my small radio. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers. I could not pick it up, but did manage to get a third period score with Indiana ahead by eight. (I learned in Kansas City the Lakers won Game Six and were the 2000 NBA champions). We departed Raton in the dark and by Trinidad, I was fast asleep.

6/20/2000 The next morning I awoke to rain as we had just departed Newton, Kansas and walked to the dining car for a breakfast of hot cakes and sausage, which really hit the spot. I returned to my seat, finished the very interesting Jackie Chan book then sat back and enjoying the rainy morning. My seatmate Max passed me on my return from breakfast and was on his way to the lounge car, travelling to Kansas City then on to St Louis. However, as we arrived at Kansas City, there were no signs of him. I detrained and went into the station to buy a USA Today, learning the Lakers won last night, then reboarded and was sitting in my seat reading the newspaper to a lady when my coach attendant came and asked if I was going to Kansas City only. I said "Max is the one going to Kansas City and his cigarettes are still here so he has to be on the train", so the attendant went to look for him.

I went back outside as the Centennial Postal Train was on display behind a fence and I met the owner of the private car "Scottish Thistle", which was on the rear of the Postal Train. I then walked the train in search of Max and when I returned to my coach, I found out that our attendant did not find him either. We left Kansas City three hours and four minutes late.

A major change had occurred since my last journey through here. BNSF now has a flyover over every major railroad junction they used to contend with, so the Southwest Chief departs Kansas City uninterrupted. We crossed the Missouri River at Sibley and after a while, I went to the lounge car to get lunch and found Max sitting there. With his limited English, he could not tell me what happened. That great mystery may always remain just that. At Galesburg, he was taken off, taken by a van to Normal, Illinois and put on the Texas Eagle, arriving in St. Louis two hours later than he would have if he had detrained in Kansas City. Let's hope I do not find him on the Texas Eagle three days from now!

For the rest of the trip to Chicago, I just sat back, listened to music and enjoyed the passing scenery. The sky was alive with the mid-level clouds racing northeast, while their high cloud brothers stood still above, which made me think about how long I stood still on this trip. We made our way through the outbound Metra fleet and finally reversed into Chicago Union Station two hours and twenty-five minutes late. I went up to the food court, bought two Char Dogs to go and went to the north waiting area to wait for my train to Janesville.

The Lake Country Limited was a short-lived Amtrak route which connected Chicago, Illinois with Janesville, Wisconsin. The route was part of Amtrak's Network Growth Strategy, which envisioned an expanded role for mail and express business. The Lake Country Limited would have exchanged goods with a new Chicago–Philadelphia train named the Skyline Connection, which in the end never began operation. The previous time when there was interstate train service along the route was the era immediately before Amtrak (April 30, 1971) when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad operated the Sioux and the Varsity trains.

Trains originated at Chicago's Union Station and ran north over the tracks of Metra's Milwaukee District North Line. Northwest of Fox Lake, Illinois, it ran over tracks owned by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad and the state of Wisconsin to a temporary platform outside of Janesville. The poor condition of the Fox Lake–Janesville stretch limited trains to 30 miles per hour and the total journey time was two-and-a-half hours.

The initial route was Chicago–Glenview–Janesville; on June 15, 2000, an additional stop was added at Zenda, Wisconsin to serve Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, a popular resort community. The train consisted of one diesel engine, one coach car and one non-powered control unit.

I boarded a two-car train, a rebuilt Horizon coach and an express car and all thirteen passengers aboard were going to Janesville. Once underway, and following the collection of tickets, the conductor turned out the lights so the passengers could better enjoy the darkened countryside. We ran fast out to Fox Lake over Metra tracks and after a brief stop there, continued onto the Wisconsin Southern tracks and new mileage. The train rocked and swayed at about thirty miles an hour. We paused at the new stop at Zenda before going into the siding at Avalon for a one hundred-car Wisconsin Southern freight train then arrived at the Janesville Amtrak stop, which was a dirt parking lot, an asphalt ramp leading up to the tracks, portable lights and no phone in the middle of nowhere. Once more, I had completed riding the entire Amtrak system.

Thank heaven for Gene Poon's article in Rail Travel News that advised people to call the hotel from Chicago, which I did, so I was picked up by a car from the Baymont Inn, my hotel for the next two nights, and had a welcome arrival shower. This way, I had an opportunity to look around town instead of just leaving on the morning train without seeing anything after I came all the way here.

Sleeping in late, and after a breakfast at Denny's, I embarked on a walk of about two miles into town where I found the General Motors plant and walked back via the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. This is a thousand-mile trail that travels through some of Wisconsin's most beautiful natural areas. It highlights landscape features created by the glacier that covered a portion of Wisconsin more than 12,000 years ago and is one of only eleven National Scenic Trails. The City of Janesville has more miles of Ice Age Trail located within the city limits than any other Wisconsin community. Janesville's portion of the trail makes up a large part of the Janesville Trail System, and marks the southern- most point of the Ice Age Trail.

I returned to my room and rested until the late afternoon then after looking at a map, went off on about a four mile walk and found the Wisconsin Southern roundhouse with a nice assortment of locomotives.

Bangor and Aroostook BL2 56, nee Bangor and Aroostook 556 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1949. The locomotive was intended for use on branch lines, lending to their "BL" designation. Only 59 units were built for a handful of railroads with seven being preserved.

I used the Ice Age Trail both ways and although I do a lot of walking at home, my body was reeling in pain, so much so that I used the hotel's sauna for some pain relief which helped temporarily. It felt like a hip pointer and during the night, I awoke in severe pain. A quick prayer and I slept the rest of the night until the wakeup call came.

After being driven down to the train, which was the same equipment, as well as two Road Railers on the rear, we departed on time on this bright sunny morning across a low rolling landscape with water in every low spot. It was just as one envisions Wisconsin - red barns and silos. Only a few of the twelve passengers were enjoying the sights while most were sleeping. I was in my 'rolling along' mood, very happy to be going thirty miles and hour, a speed at which I would not miss anything thing and the scenery in from Fox Lake reminded me of when I was here previously. We went into the siding at Grayslake for twenty minutes to wait for a Metra train then once on the move again, it was a fast trip to Chicago, picking up one passenger at Glenview and arriving at Chicago Union Station four minutes early. My trip to Janesville was really special and I enjoyed my first overnight visit to a small American town.

With my hip hurting, I stored my bags in a locker for the day then stopped by the needing-assistance-in-boarding area to sign up to be assisted when boarding the Texas Eagle tonight, something I had never needed to do before. I walked east on Madison Street until I found Metra's Randolph Street station and my new Metra rides would be on two of the electric lines. I started by riding Metra Electric Train 317 to South Chicago and this was my first time on a bi-level electric car. It was a quick trip which allowed me to see another part of Chicago and I detrained long enough for a picture and to purchase a return ticket from the machine. It amazed me that I could get a ticket out of a machine never having used them, yet the local people cannot and are buying theirs from the conductor.

I took the return Train 320 only as far as 59th Street, where I walked across the platform to Train 120 from University Park, an express train back to Randolph Street Station. After a short break, I rode Train 121 to University Park which followed the route of the City of New Orleans for most of the way and enjoyed the route at a much slower pace than that train's race in from Homewood in the morning. I returned to Chicago on Train 126 and walked back to Union Station for a Char Dog, my bags and to wait for a mechanically-delayed Texas Eagle.

I waited in the need-to-be-assisted area and was the first one called. The Red Cap carried both my bags to his cart and after doing the same thing for three other passengers, we were all driven out to the train past eight Road Railers on the rear of the train. He stopped at my car first, carried my bags upstairs, let me select my seat and I gave him a tip for his outstanding service. We departed forty minutes late and lost more time on the way to Joliet. I had a sub-par prime rib dinner with a Texas Turtle, the same Turtle dessert on the other trains, which improved the meal substantially. There were no salt and pepper shakers to be found anywhere in the dining car. Thank you, Chicago commissary. I enjoyed the sunset on the longest day of the year before listening to music and started reading "Star Wars, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace" and called it a night after Springfield on the way to St. Louis.

6/23/2000 I woke up on my brother Jon's birthday prior to passing the North Little Rock shops of the Union Pacific Railroad and moments later, detrained at the Little Rock station for a newspaper and a quick look around the depot. It occurred to me that this was my first sober southbound trip on the Texas Eagle so it would all be seen through my sober eyes! We departed about an hour late and had meets with seventeen freight trains, but only two delayed us, which was not bad considering we were running against the northbound traffic on the former Missouri Pacific main line, while the formter Cotton Belt is the southbound main line. It is akin to driving the wrong way on the freeway, so between Little Rock and Texarkana, we were going the wrong way on Union Pacific's directional main line system. Thank you to the dispatcher for getting us across it with very few delays.

I went to the lounge car for a hot dog but there was no ketchup and I had to go to the dining car to get some. Thank you Chicago commissary, again! At Texarkana, we had to go over hand-thrown switches to enter the former Cotton Belt line and my new mileage to Big Sandy. Bill Compton and I railfanned this line years ago so I was familiar with it and my memory came right back with a view from the train, not the highway as before. I remembered all the towns and was especially interested in Pittsburg, where the Kansas City Southern line crossed ours. There had been talk of a Crescent/Star service from Meridian to Dallas off the Crescent's route and if that ever comes to fruition, I will be back here, but riding on the KCS line for new mileage.

We proceeded at a good pace but were delayed at Gilmer, Texas then stopped at Eagle Transfer, which is really just a grade crossing in Gilmer and the passengers with "EA x" on their hat checks detrained. This was the stop for Longview and Marshall, since they are not on the westbound route anymore, nor was Shreveport. We curved back onto the former Missouri Pacific line at Big Sandy and ran delay-free to Dallas, where I received a seatmate, David, from Downey, California, who was also going to Los Angeles.

David and I hit it off right away. His eastbound train was seventeen hours late and did not leave Los Angeles until 7:00 AM and the Sunset Limited was so badly delayed that they were rerouted from Sierra Blanca to Fort Worth over the former Missouri Pacific (Texas and Pacific). which would be the future route of the Sunset Limited if Amtrak made Fort Worth a hub for its southwest service. We talked sports, ball parks, music and concerts until Fort Worth, where we both detrained to look at the damaged high rise windows from the tornado which hit town earlier this year. Upon departure, it became dinner time and we dined with Valerie from New York and Bob from St. Louis. I had catfish with a Turtle for dessert then watched the film "The Muse" and dozed before San Antonio, where the fireworks started after the conductor announced the westbound Sunset Limited would not arrive in San Antonio until 8:00 AM. That news set off a couple of passengers who ranted all the way to San Antonio and went on after we had arrived and I went to sleep just wanting a good night's rest.

Most of the passengers detrained and our attendant Charles woke me up to tell me the train would not be here until 11:00 and alternate transportation (a bus) was being made available. I told him that I would stay with the train! David and I made plans to explore San Antonio and we found a seat at the end of the car and both attempted to get some rest. One of the men who had been complaining exploded again and an old man exploded as well. All of the complainers detrained for the bus and silence returned to the car; their actions sentenced themselves to a long bus ride, a fitting punishment for their crimes. I was laughing inside with just the thought of them being on a bus. Any wait on a train is always better than being on a bus. I went back to sleep and a while later, Charles woke me up again to ask if I wanted to take the alternative transportation and I gave the same answer, "I will stay with the train!"

The few of us left were sound asleep but at 4:00 AM, Charles decided to turn all of the seats so they would be in the correct direction upon departure. What on God's green earth was this man thinking, waking us all up to do this? To accomplish this task quickly, some of us helped him turn seats and all but fifteen were turned before a mechanic turned the rest, including the one in front of me. Everyone went back to sleep, only to be woken up again this time at 5:00 AM to the sound of a vacuum cleaner as Charles now was vacuuming the car. I think this attendant had truly lost it. He finished and we all tried to get some more sleep then at 6:30 AM, David and I walked over to the Alamo, which opened at 9:00 AM, and the Riverwalk which we would see later. Back at the train the free breakfast was Mexican, so we walked to Denny's for an all-American breakfast then returned to the train to retrieve a few items before walking a different route to the Alamo.

The restored Spanish colonial chapel. The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar. About one hundred Texians were garrisoned at the mission at the time, with around a hundred subsequent reinforcements led by eventual Alamo co-commanders James Bowie and William B. Travis. On February 23, approximately 1,500 Mexicans marched into San Antonio de Béxar as the first step in a campaign to retake Texas. In the early morning hours of March 6, the Mexican Army advanced on the Alamo. After repelling two attacks, the Texians were unable to fend off a third attack. As Mexican soldiers scaled the walls, most of the Texian fighters withdrew into interior buildings. Those who were unable to reach these points were slain by the Mexican cavalry as they attempted to escape. Almost all of the Texian inhabitants were killed.

The grounds were most impressive and the buildings themselves hold a lot of historical materials. Being there made me feel as though I was living history. At the gift shop, I bought an Alamo cup with my name on and some stones for Maureen Angle, my most wonderful science teacher I work with at McFadden Intermediate. I always keep an eye out for stones, minerals and rocks for her when I travel. We stopped briefly at the Hyatt for David to get some bottled water before enjoying a stroll along the Riverwalk. You really do not feel as though you are in the city when you are along the water's edge with all the trees and cafés. We walked over to the Tower of America and for three dollars, I went up 579 feet in an elevator in a minute's time to a spectacular view of the city. The view looking down at the train station with our two through cars sitting there made me realize just how lucky I was to be delayed here.

I called the Amtrak agent at Solana Beach and talked to Eunice, asking her to check the status of the Sunset Limited, learning it departed New Orleans at 1:00 AM. It would have been nice had someone here told the truth to the passengers. I spotted a route over to the Alamo Dome and once reunited with David, we walked over to it and with a little good luck, found an open door and entered this huge building as there was a Christian Youth Meeting with 15,000 people occurring and one of the leader's closing prayers had special meaning to me. It was as though God wanted me there to hear that message. We walked around the outside of the Dome, spotting Bill Millers BBQ, which just happened to be what they were serving for lunch. By chance, I met two former San Diegan Lead Service Attendants, Edwin Byrd and Shirley Robinson, who both just happened to be working the Sunset Limited back to Los Angeles. We then found a store where I had an ice cream before helping to distribute sack lunches to the passengers on the train.

Texas and New Orleans 2-8-2 794 built by Alco's Brooks Locomotive Works in 1916. It hauled freight and passenger trains in and around San Antonio, routinely making trips to Houston, McAllen and Laredo then was retired in 1956 and donated to the City of San Antonio the following year. The locomotive was on display in Maverick Park until it was relocated to the Sunset Station in 1999.

Our train arrived at 1:40 PM, almost eleven hours late and our fourteen-hour San Antonio experience was over. I was glad that I had lived it all! I had never visited this city before and thanks to Amtrak, was given the opportunity.

The Sunset departed ten hours and forty-two minutes late and a lady came back from the Sunset section of the train and told me the whole story. It started with track work at Sanford, Florida, which delayed the train two hours then west of Atmore, Alabama, a further five hours was lost as the CSX freight train in front of them had a broken wheel. An additional hour-and-a-half delay east of Mobile was encountered waiting for a CSX freight train. Thirty more minutes were lost at Mobile as they had to restock the train then at New Orleans, a coach with electrical problems and the lounge car both had to be replaced, so it all kept adding up. All of these factors led to our extended stay in San Antonio, which I will never forget.

We sped out of town, not stopping again until Del Rio. What was really nice was seeing all of the usual scenery in a different light of day, since it was now late afternoon. West of Del Rio, the Rio Grande River was much more pronounced than in the early morning, as was the Amistad Dam and reservoir. I had barbecue ribs for dinner and chocolate cake for dessert before settling in for an early summer's day of train riding. The countryside and the Pecos River High Bridge's crossing were more spectacular in the late afternoon light and I spent the rest of the daylight enjoying the countryside, listening to music and reading my book. After Sanderson, the Sunset Limited proceeded west into the night after a brilliant orange and red sunset. Sunrise should be in Arizona if all goes according to plan during the night.

It had been a very good day but prior to calling it a night, I detrained at Alpine for fresh air before a carload of Boy Scouts detrained, who all forgot the third law of Scouting; which is to be courteous. I saw the interior of the station before reboarding and going to sleep.

6/25/2000 I awoke after Cochise, Arizona and went to the lounge car to enjoy the trip across the Dragoon Mountains, then down to Benson and up and over the Mescal Divide to Tucson. We departed there eleven hours late, which was just fine with me as the rest of the journey to Los Angeles should be in daylight. We had had not been delayed by the dispatchers so far, so it would be interesting to see how long we can go without a delay. At Casa Grande, a crew change point, it took longer than normal as some supplies were brought onboard for the dining car staff's use. The climb up the Shawmut grade is always interesting due to the Saguaro cacti that inhabit the area. We passed through Gila Bend and I saw the rails of the former Tucson, Cornelia and Gila Bend Railroad diverging off into the desert, where mixed trains used to run as late as the 1970s.

We ran fast across the desert and passed many freight trains, especially around the Gila River Narrows then just before Yuma, we incurred a delay as there were not enough tracks for all of the trains. At Yuma station, I detrained to enjoy the noon-hour heat befoe reboarding and continuing our westward journey, crossing the Colorado River so I was now back in California. The wind was blowing really hard and there was a sandstorm as we neared the Glamis sand dunes and whitecaps were visibleon the Salton Sea. The sky was overcast with occasional drizzle from the monsoon moisture that flowed from the Sea of Cortez. We reached Thermal and had another large delay as we had to enter the siding to let two freights pass before we reversedout onto the main line to continue. We made it to Palm Springs, where I detrained along with the smokers and this particular Sunset Limited did not have a smoking area, so it must have been left in New Orleans as we had been making smoking stops along the whole route.

We zig-zagged freight trains as far as Cabazon, where we encountered another delay then zig-zagged our way up and over Beaumont Hill, even passing a westbound sugar beet train. We made it across Colton Crossing and through West Colton Yard without any delay and I detrained at Ontario, a double stop, where I called home to request a pick-up and a meal waiting when I arrived.

Since San Antonio, the end door of our coach did not shut so David, Darcy and I made a game out of closing it, each taking turns. I made the game even funnier as I used my body parts to close, it much to the amazement of our car's passengers. It was highly amusing when I tried to close it with my bottom and my shorts just slid off the door but I came up with a solution and it shut the door just fine. David and I had the biggest laugh when the woman who wrote the note to keep the door shut, started not doing it. Our biggest point getter was a tiny black child who closed it every single time without ever being asked to. Why can a child do something simple when an adult cannot? Even the conductor who stopped and read the note could not follow the note's simple instructions.

We sprinted to Pomona and had no more delays until we reached El Monte, where we did not switch onto the Metrolink route, but stayed on the traditional Southern Pacific Sunset Route via San Gabriel into Los Angeles Union Station, arriving at 7:04 PM, twelve hours and fifty-four minutes late, a new late record for me. Even with all of this, it was still one of the most interesting rail adventures I had ever had! Janesville was great and the surprise stay in San Antonio really made the trip. I hopped off, walked down the platform, down the tunnel, turned right and went up the stairs to Pacific Surfliner 584 for a quick trip to Santa Ana, after we waited for some late Bakersfield busses, or so I thought.

As we waited on board for the late bus, a gangbanger was trying to start a fight with another passenger of his type. The assistant conductor, John Kennedy, was very polite with this person on two occasions, telling him to move to another car and not to return to this car. If he did this, he would make it to his destination. Well, of course, he could not do this so on his third attempt to start something, he was asked to leave the train. As he was leaving, he picked up someone's suitcase and threw it outside then followed it out and started pounding on the side of the train. John, the platform manager, one of the nicest and most helpful people, came up to him to see what was wrong. The man turned around, swung and hit John right in the nose, breaking it and sending blood everywhere. All of the passengers in the car were watching this through the windows. A group of them jumped the man, held him down and the crew went to get some duct tape with which to bind his hands and feet.

We departed Los Angeles an hour and ten minutes late then fifty minutes later, I was stepping off the train, about twelve hours later than I should have if I had been on time and connected with Pacific Surfliner 568. This ended my unique adventure called the Janesville Jaunt.

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