In September, I had unexpectedly met Bill Wallace, owner of Bananafish Tours and gave me a 1996/1997 brochure and asked me to call him in a couple of weeks. I tried to arrange it in October but that was not possible so suggested a New Year's journey instead. With some with back-and-forth, I was finally set ten days out then the next morning before school, Anna Mandolin, my colleague at McFadden Intermediate, asked me what I was doing for Christmas. I told her of the Bananafish Copper Canyon trip and she asked if she could see the brochure so I lent it to her and and now had someone to accompany me.
12/26/1996 I drove us to Mexicali, although Anna had a cold. We parked at AA Parking, walked across the border and took a taxi to the Hotel Lucerna. Anna received her room but since I was not on the list this time, I paid the Bananafish rate. We settled into our rooms before walking up the street to the Constitutional Monument and later to dinner, where I chose Burger King and tried to explain what a plain hamburger was, which seemed impossible until a very cute Mexican girl with a nice smile told me the secret word was "solo". Anna went to El Pollo Loco and ordered a three-piece dinner but the man thought that she wanted three dinners and charged her that until she caught the mistake. Perhaps we should have learnt a little Spanish. We watched a period of the Tampa Bay Lightning/Carolina Panthers hockey game before calling it a night.
12/27/1996 The next morning we met out by the pool and Anna's cold was much worse and she could barely speak. We put our luggage into a pickup truck and Bill drove us in his van to the train station then added our luggage to the pile and the other six passengers besides Anna watched them as Bill and I drove over to his railroad cars in the yard since he wanted me to see the former Southern Pacific three-quarter dome car that he had just acquired. The security guard let me in and I toured it then upon our return to the station and after all of the locals had passed through Customs, it was now our turn. However, there was a new system which necessitated pressing a button and a green light meant you went through and a red light meant you were searched. I pressed green and had no problem but Anna pressed red and was briefly detained. The only thing I could think of is if you pressed the button lightly, it turned red and pressing it hard turned it green. It made no sense to me but it must work for the Mexican Customs officials.
Outside the building, Anna and I just had a good laugh about it as our cars were not even on the platform yet. There were only seventeen people in our group this time so only one sleeper was needed, the former Southern Railway 10-6 "Rapidan River", with a roomette removed, creating a lounge area. The two coaches' worth of regular passengers boarded then it went to the yard to pick up the sleeper and during that time, our group became better acquainted. At departure time, the train reversed into the station so we could board then departed fifteen minutes late as most of us were on the back platform waving goodbye to those in the station. I enjoyed the rear view as we passed through the former Ferrocarril Sonora–Baja California yard before returning to my room for a couple of cups of 7-Up's to celebrate the start of my first sober Copper Canyon train trip with Bananafish Tours. I thought of my previous trips with them, thinking briefly of Sandy, Michael, Sands and Isaac the dog and laughed at some of the most funny moments.
By the geothermal fields, I was back on the rear watching Baja California fade fast and we crossed the Colorado River and I entered Sonora, the first of the three Mexican states I was reclaiming for my sobriety, the purpose of this whole trip. I returned to the lounge section to get to know Bill's new wife, Laura, and her daughter Missy who was thirteen and a beautiful young lady. She was making her eleventh Copper Canyon journey and she distributed the meals as one of her chores. She had a really nice smile and got along with everyone. I returned to the lounge, first stopping by Anna's room to point out the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez, to her then at Puerto Penasco, I stepped off with Anna joining me to enjoy the warm Sonoran sun.
Upon departure, I sat in the lounge noticing how far east we had travelled but could still see the Sea of Cortez, after which we passed the Golden Spike Completion Monument but I was not quite quick enough to get it at the best angle. I took a folding chair to the rear vestibule watching the miles fade and sat there all the way to Benjamin Hill except to stretch my legs at Caborca while we met our westbound counterpart. I had not realized how straight the Sonora–Baja California tracks were and how few curves there were and counted the kilometers to Benjamin Hill, where we arrived ten minutes early. As the train from Nogales was not due for thirty minutes, I detrained and walked with Anna to the liquor store so she could get some coffee liqueur for her sore throat. We returned to the train, went straight to my room and drank a toast to our trip, Anna with her drink and me with my 7-Up. The train from Nogales then arrived and joined our two cars from the Mexicali section and off down the former Ferrocarril del Pacífico tracks we went.
I passed on dinner, having peanut butter sandwiches instead, and sat in my room with the lights out watching the countryside pass with the stars shining brightly overhead and listening to Elton John. Later, returning to the lounge section, I heard Bill telling Bananafish stories, some I had never heard before. We made great time down to Hermosillo and I detrained for some fresh air before putting my head on my pillow and falling asleep.
12/28/1996 Sober in SinaloaI awoke sober in Sinaloa for the first time with just one more Mexican state to reclaim for my sobriety and I stayed around the yard while Anna went off on a morning run. The first class train passed while we sat in the interchange track between the former Ferrocarril del Pacífico and the Chihuahua al Pacífico Railroad. The yard was full of Mexican hobos waiting for an opportunity to leave on the next northbound freight train. Our second class train arrived a few minutes later with the open car and the gondola, which was now stored in Los Mochis, so just our car was attached to the rear of the train ahead of the open car and the caboose.
Upon leaving Sufragio, I gave the rear brakeman in the caboose a Union Pacific timetable and a pair of railroad postcards and he then invited me back into the caboose after we left San Blas and said goodbye to the Ferrocarril del Pacífico tracks which had brought us here. The caboose was full of drums, amplifiers and instruments which were being taken to San Rafael but I climbed into the cupola and for the next hour-and-a-half, was in heaven since I really love riding in the top of a caboose. Passing through the countryside, I noticed more burros than I had seen before and they were everywhere. Since this second class train made all the stops, it gave me an opportunity to become reacquainted with those and passing the cement plant at Loreto, I noticed that they even had a small switcher. Ampas trees with their lavender flowers were absolutely beautiful and made the landscape most impressive. We stopped at Loreto and Anna joined us in the open car then Laura gave us all candy to pass out to the children there. I choose four, a boy and girl around eight and two little ones and when the older two arrived, they made sure I gave some to the little ones. To me, that is how it was supposed to be, the older children looking out for the younger ones. Upon departure, Laura started talking of a trip when they had to reverse to Los Mochis and the next day went directly to Creel because of a rock slide and I was asked when we became stuck in the canyon and since I had my mileage book with me, was able to report that it was on this date six years ago. We crossed the El Fuerte River as I described what had happened.
Continuing our upward climb, we were twisting and a turning through the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains and I mentioned that these trains had been hit by bandits over the last few years. At Los Pozos, we stopped to let a few passengers detrain and noticed a man boarding the front steps of the caboose. Out of the train came a gentleman wearing a sidearm and a badge who reached into the boarding man's jacket and pulled out a pistol which he then unloaded. He escorted the man (bandit?) inside the train.
We plunged into the El Descanso Tunnel, the first of the eighty-six on the line, and enjoyed the 1,637 feet of darkness in the longest tunnel on the railroad. Upon exiting, I noticed a lake down in the canyon and learnt that three years ago, a dam had been built on the Chinipas River and when we reached the bridge across it, which is not as impressive as before, the view up the canyon was still as awe-inspiring as ever. We passed the abandoned station at Jesus Cruz and entered Chihuahua and my Mexican reclaiming of states was complete and I enjoyed more of my favourite train trip in North America. It was now the beginning of the tunnel, view, tunnel territory and after a brief stop at Santa Ninño, the furthest we reached six years ago, we continued northeastward into the mountains. Lunch was served and I again opted for peanut butter then afterwards, I took Anna back to the caboose and let her enjoy a few minutes of cupola-riding experience. I asked if this is what she expected and her response was that she did not know what to expect.
As we approached Temoris, I was as excited as I had been on my first visit here on January 1st, 1987.
We curved and crossed the Santa Barbara bridge, crossed another smaller bridge with the waterfall flowing nicely, then went under the two monuments, one of which commemorates the completion of the building of the railroad and the other, 25 years since the completion, and stopped at Temoris station. Everyone was in the open car for their first time and Bill gave the history of the railroad and the area. We then departed, ascending the middle level from where we had come from far below before entering the La Pera Tunnel, where we reversed directions inside and came out on the upper level, gaining an even higher view of the canyon below. We plunged into Tunnel 48, passed between the two monuments and entered the succession of tunnels.
Chihuahua al Pacífico Railroad H16-44 524, built by Fairbanks-Morse in 1963 on permanent display. Bill led a group of us through the train to the locomotive with Anna and Missy not enjoying the smells from the sealed second class coach but to me it was just the normal second class Mexican train. We walked out onto the second locomotive and into the cab where we found a second engineer and armed guard with a rifle then enjoyed about fifteen minutes of riding there before returning to the open car for some well-deserved fresh air and I told Missy the story of the walk on my first train trip in Mexico and we had a good laugh.
We stopped at Irigoyen, another now-closed station then made a horseshoe curve to gain elevation. The countryside turned more arid as we entered ranching country before reaching timber country at Bahuichivo. Further up the line we stopped at Cuiteco then crossed the La Mora bridge and I talked with Stu about railroading over the smaller bridges, through the tunnels and across the La Laja bridge before we reached San Rafael. Here we cut off our musical caboose and picked up two others as we waited for our westbound counterpart to arrive then it was a quick journey to Posada Barrancas where we detrained, although my luggage continued to Divisidero, where I would spend the night in "Rapidan River".
We bussed over to the Mansion Tarahumara while Laura and Missy freshened up and Bill and I caught up on several items then I visited with Anna before we went to a group dinner then I was driven back to the train at Divisidero where Ismael let me onto the "Rapidan River" and I started to write about this trip then spent some time in the open car enjoying the stars in all of their glory before falling fast asleep in the peace and quiet of the sleeping car.
12/29/1996 I awoke up at 8:30 AM and had a cup of tea before walking to the hotel to have a breakfast of breads after a thirty minute wait. Divisidero was deserted so I walked the rim of the canyon trail to enjoy the view of Urique Canyon and followed it around for several different perspectives. Back at the platform area, I bought a small hand-woven basket for my mother before returning to the "Rapidan River" to read yesterday's newspaper and listened to John Cougar then joined Ismael outside and we waited for the group to return on the bus. I really had enjoyed my first stay in Divisidero with the peace and quiet.
The group returned with Anna making a beeline for the canyon while Bill and I went to see the Mexican railroad's business sars. I then caught up with Anna and we went to the rim of the canyon trail as I had done earlier and saw some Tarahumara dwellings and walked a trail out to the point of the canyon. We passed a cave hearing an infant Tarahumara crying and walked all the way out to the point for an excellent view of Divisidero. I was glad that she was able to experience all of this. We continued on a trail and found goats and sheep in a pen then took an unmarked trail back to the platform where she bought some baskets and I bought a rock for my colleague at McFadden Intermediate, Maureen Angle, the best science teacher I know, who was a petrologist. The westbound first class train arrived and picked up the business cars carrying a Mexican Senator and the switching move delayed our train's arrival.
We left our open car at Divisidero and were coupled right behind the locomotive. We passed through Pitorrel, circled El Lazo, passed through Sanchez and at the penultimate horseshoe curve into Creel, Bill joined me for the ride where "Rapidan River" was set out.
Creel
Bananafish Tours 10-6 sleeper "Rapidan River", ex. Amtrak 2864 "Rapiada River", nee Southern 10-6 sleeper 2010 "Rapidan River" built by Pullman-Standard in 1949. PPCX 800263. The group checked into the Hotel Neuvo and I returned to the sleeping car to write then started to read "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown before I walked up to the hotel to pick up Anna so we could go to the group dinner at the Parador via a bus. The service was extremely slow and my T-bone steak was a challenge to eat but at least it came with French Fries. Anna and I returned to the hotel and we said our goodbyes and she thanked me for such a special trip before I went back to the sleeping car, listened to Queen's "Night at the Opera", read a little more and fell into a good night's slumber in my portable hotel.
12/30/1996 Waking up early, I went to the Hotel Neuvo for breakfast of hot cakes, bacon and juice. This stopover featured the usual tours of Tarahumara cave, the lake and Mission Cuscari and this time, the bus broke down but was fixed, only to have the fan belt blow off and be replaced. While the tours were underwway, I shopped for white bread, which was impossible to find, and bought somepost cards which I mailed then as the passenger cars were added to the early train, we departed Creel that much earlier and I was glad to be back on the move.
The ReturnI continued my book but after fifty minutes of reading, Felipe from Chile came to my room since he had been out on the engine but could not get inside the cab so came back for my assistance. It opened for me with no problem and I gave Felipe the engineer's seat and explained how the control stand operated, then took the fireman's seat and we had a nice conversation about life and trains before we reached Divisidero.
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico GP40-2 2314, nee Sonora–Baja California 2314, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1982, leading our train. During our stop, I bought Maureen some more assorted Chihuahua rocks while Anna bought more baskets. While we were there, the open car was added to our consist, although it would only be until San Rafael, but I was glad to have it back if only for of a short time. Since we departed Creel, our train had eight cars, ours on the front, the Mexican coaches and a sleeping car from the Roaring Fork Railroad on the rear. At Divisidero, the open car was added in front of ours and the cars of the Sierra Madre Express on the rear, thus making us a long fourteen-car train.
It was a quick journey to San Rafael, including an excellent view of the Maison Tarahumara as we passed. Anna bought more baskets from the Indians and I nicknamed her the "Basket Lady". Then came the news that the open car would be continuing on with us so as we proceeded west, it seemed an entirely different trip because of the afternoon light. After Chihuahuita, we exited a tunnel and crossed a bridge where a brush fire was burning along the tracks but we never slowed. At Bahuichivo, we dropped off the Sierra Madre cars, which made the locomotives work a little more easily. It was early enough that we would reach Temoris with plenty of daylight and as we descended through the tunnels, people were fled inside to avoid the diesel exhaust, but I loved it. We popped out above Temoris and the entire group was in the open car enjoying the descent to the station.
Crossing over the Santa Barbara bridge, Anna was taking pictures as I enjoyed my favourite location on any railway I had ridden. The group had their dinner, as I enjoyed my peanut butter, along with a few private moments in the open car. The sun's rays were on the upper canyon walls so I knew we should pass the Descanso Tunnel in twilight then we descended through the upper reaches of the Amapas trees and crossed the Chinipas bridge. Only four of us rode in the open car through the tunnel then we passed Los Pozos, after which the train hit a cow which went under the train and broke an air hose on "Rapidan River", which Bill retrieved to fix the problem. Darkness took hold and I spotted the first star then we passed a freight train at Aquacalienta before crossing the El Fuerte River with the stars out in force and I had never seen so many before. Felipe and I saw a satellite and then a curious area in the western sky where we could not see any stars. There were no clouds so we thought it must be a ray of the sun blocking the view. After Loreto, that feature faded and no constellations could be seen because of the stars. I went inside and told the group of the incredible sky, who followed me out then one by one, they all returned inside, leaving Felipe and myself.
The lights and exhaust from the cement plant at Hornillos blocked out the stars until we escaped their effects, after which Felipe went inside, leaving the open car to me and the stars and it became the most intense feeling being so close to the universe. At El Fuerte, the Roaring Fork Railroad sleeping car was cut off and Felipe rejoined me for the rest of the trip to Sufragio. We were cut off by Ferrocarril del Pacifico 553 then I said good night to Anna before retiring for the night.
12/31/1996 I awoke on the rough tracks of the former Pacifico about forty minutes from Empalme and joined Ismael for a cup of tea on my thirty-ninth birthday and to let him know it was my birthday, I showed him my driver's license. Anna joined me for the last twenty minutes into Empalme then enjoyed the morning air until our new engineer finally arrived, then upon departure, we passed the shops with the lines of locomotives waiting their turns inside. Turning north, the Gulf of California came into view, as did the steam locomotive on display near the wye. I returned to my room, listened to some music, did some word fill-in puzzles and just watched the Sonora countryside pass since it was the final day of the trip and I always rest. Before I knew it, we were at Hermosillo so I rode in the vestibule into town and the Sonora–Baja California superintendent, whose caboose (office car) had been on the rear of the train since Empalme, saw my FCP T-shirt and wanted to know where he could get one.
After about fifteen minutes, we continued north and the rear brakeman had a FNM timetable which I wanted but could not communicate that to him, and I tried money but had no luck. At Selva, we met southbound number four arriving in the siding and we proceeded north with only a minute delay thanks to our delay at Empalme. Felipe came out and as he was from Chile and spoke Spanish, I told him what I wanted and he delivered the message to the rear brakeman, who gave me his timetable and I gave him two railroad postcards. We shook hands and he said that there was a big box in Hermosillo where he could get another and was honoured to give it to me, one railroader to another. I guess I had just made a new friend.
We passed a nice stone station at Carbo with not a speck of trash anywhere then entering Benjamin Hill, Anna and I detrained prior to the switching to run over to the liquor store to get some gifts for people at work. We walked back to our train past the soldiers looking for drugs and drug runners and drank a toast to our final portion of railroad for this trip before I returned to my music. Our car was switched behind the engines for our trip up the former Sonora-Baja California. With the two locomotives, we made great time but I lost my MacArthur Intermediate hat, but I had an extra one. At El Sahuro, we passed train number two holding down the mainline and went through the siding without stopping, thanks to the crew on Train 2.
We had been approaching a weather front all day and our arrival into Puerto Penasco was greeted with wet streets and a rare occurrence of rain for the Altar Desert. Everyone stretched their legs here we left about the same time as the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum's excursions but this time, I was sober and loving it. Earlier, Laura came by to settle the on-board expenses and my total was a mere five dollars, much cheaper than it used to be. I braved the dust of the Altar for a twilight view of The Crosses and returned to my room for "Songs from the Wood" by Jethro Tull with the line "Dust you down from tip to toe."
Once out of the Altar, we stopped at Coahulia, crossed the Colorado River and re-entered Baja California where Anna and I drank a toast to our first train trip together with our usual drinks. I felt absolutely wonderful and was so glad that Anna had accompanied me. We arrived at the station in Mexicali then shared a taxi cab back to the Hotel Lucerna and I did some writing before we went to the New Year's Eve party. "Happy Birthday" was sung to me twice then we celebrated the ringing in of the New Year before retiring for the night.
1/1/1997 We taxied across the border the next morning before 5:30 AM and the US Customs official never asked Anna nor I any questions, only interested in when the cab driver was be returning to Mexico, then returned to my car drove home. With absolutely no traffic the entire journey and only passing one car on California Highway 111 along the Salton Sea, it was clear sailing and before 9:00 AM, I dropped Anna off and drove home.
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