Steam Whistle Music Tracks Ahead Brought to you by: Rancho de Tia Rosa, three unique Mexican restaurants serving culinary delights since 1990.

Music Hi, I'm Spencer Christian.

On this episode of Tracks Ahead, we'll ride the route of the California Zephyr, look at a layout that uses some very special equipment in its operations, go to Dearborn, Michigan to visit the Henry Ford Museum and railroad, and ride through the scenic lakes region of New Hampshire.

In the 1940s and 50s, one of the most luxurious train trips in the United States was the California Zephyr.

As the primary means of transport between the Midwest and the west coast, the Zephyr was the darling of passenger travel.

The train is still around, but our trip will have a special twist.

Annc: During the golden age of American passenger trains, the California Zephyr was one of the finest.

The train's three day journey between the Midwest and the West Coast, symbolized service, speed, and luxury.

Starched tablecloths, fresh foods, and quiet sleeping compartments marked the travel experience.

Sometimes known by a simple acronym, the C Z traveled some of the most beautiful landscape the United States has to offer.

There were flowing plains, majestic mountains, deserts, rushing streams and deep canyons.

The scenic views were wonderfully displayed, by way of the Vista Dome, a glass topped passenger car developed especially for the route.

The Golden Age of passenger service ended in 1970.

But the name and route survived.

When Amtrak was formed, executives recognized that the California Zephyr still had plenty to offer.

While Amtrak's Zephyr has been upgraded to Superliners, several of the original California Zephyr cars still exist.

They've been rescued and refurbished by California Zephyr Railcar Charters to the condition of the Golden Age.

So starched tablecloths, quality dining and first class service are still a part of the experience.

Travelers are on board Pullman sleepers and the only domed observation car still operating.

But getting the cars rolling again wasn't an easy task.

Bert: These cars were in varying states of disrepair.

They were in 1970s Amtrak décor and had been cannibalized for parts in some cases.

The vista dome and rear observation windows in this car were missing.

As a result, there were mushrooms growing in the dome.

In fact, there was a tree growing in this dome.

In the Silver Lariat, the windows were largely intact, with the exception of one of the side windows which had been broken, and it had been briefly lived in by transients.

The Silver Rapids largely survived intact.

We hire our staff largely from railroad business car departments.

They know how to cater to people, they know how to make them feel pampered.

Our dining service is on fine china with stemware and real glassware, real silverware, starched linen tablecloths.

Our beds are made with pressed and starched sheets.

All the things that one would find, one would have found in the 40's and 50s when traveling on a train.

We tried to keep the decor of the cars, well updated, still if you wanted to call it that, railroady, to provide that feeling that you know, this is the way it used to be.

Annc: Personal service continues to be a hallmark of the California Railcars Charter experience.

The lead steward has a wealth of experience on which to draw.

George: First off when we first meet and greet our passengers, we establish a bond there.

And we try to continue that bond through the trip, letting them know that this is, you know, we give each passenger, we try to give each passenger personal service.

Sometimes, that not hard, that's not easy to do with the numbers that we have.

But we do try to ensure them that their needs will be met and that's why, that's what my job is all about.

Annc: Food service is just one of the highlights of the travel experience.

It's not simple to prepare gourmet meals while traveling down the rails.

Jeff: You have to brace pots of hot water so they don't fall over, burn you.

Everything moves.

When you put plates of food down on the table, you have to make sure there's tablecloth underneath to hold it.

Same within the kitchen.

Any food that you have out, has to be, has to have something underneath it so it doesn't slide off the counter.

So motion is a big factor.

The limited space is a factor.

It's a really small kitchen and you just have to be really organized.

Bert: Our business trades on nostalgia.

We attempted to keep a railroad feeling in all of the cars and not to make them something that they aren't.

We provide a high level of service that generally is not found on major passenger trains today.

And we cater to high level of service that generally is not found on major passenger trains today.

And we cater to smaller groups rather than the masses.

The trip that we're on today is an all sleeper trip.

There are no coach passengers among our guests.

So everybody enjoys Pullman service the way presumably it was administered in the late '40s and the Golden Age of the railroad.

And ah we provide an upgraded dining experience that's commensurate with the kind of travel that we've put together.

Annc: The trip on these cars is still the same scenic journey, with surprises at every turn.

Janet: The two most pleasant surprises on this trip, I think, have been the people, people have just been wonderful, and then of course, the scenery.

The scenery, to get to see part of the country like you've never seen it before.

And at some points we're in a canyon and there's mountain on one side, mountain on the other, and you're just traveling right through the middle, it's breathtaking.

Jim: I liked the service, the gentlemen who did the drinks and the dinner, just being in the cars themselves.

They're neat to see inside.

You forget that transportation, everything is close in, the cars are beautiful, have been restored beautiful, they are exactly what they looked like back then.

Dave & Terri: Everybody is so friendly, and we're pretty much first time train riders and almost all the people on board have gone on many, many rides before.

And ah, they're just so friendly and helpful in trying to educate us on the fun part of train travel.

Mary Ann: I love the nostalgic part of this trip, riding in the old cars, seeing how people traveled a long time ago and the service that's provided.

And it's been all I expected and more.

Annc: The trip takes passengers through areas that are unattainable by anything other than the railroad.

Leaving the Bay area, you ride along the Truckee River though the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

From the high desert of Utah, the sights of Ruby Canyon come into view just you enter Colorado.

Glenwood Canyon is next, followed by the run through Moffat Tunnel and over the Rockies, and the Continental Divide.

Then it's the plains of the Midwest, crossing the Mississippi at Burlington, Iowa.

And finally into the industry of Chicago, our final destination Bert: People take the trip here because of the spectacular scenery that is to be had.

They come back to me, I believe, as repeat customers, because they feel well treated.

They feel that they've gotten good value for their travel dollar.

Annc: For a nostalgic look, pampered journey, and unbeatable scenery, ride the California Zephyr Railcars, through what has been called the most scenic route in America.

While the California Zephyr is still a regularly scheduled train, private charters are available through a number of tour companies.

Now we're off to visit a man who was so enchanted with the original railroad signaling systems, that he decided to make them a part of his layout.

Annc: The Clifton Forge Division Railroad is a huge game board, created and built by Mike Burgett.

It's like a big chess game, except there is only one team playing.

Mike: Having all these different people that have to interact; the fun comes in at how close do we get at the end of the night to perfection if you will.

We probably fall short of that goal, but everybody walks away with a smile on their face.

We tend to get a little bit better, a little bit better, as times goes on, and it's fun.

Annc: On any given Thursday night, the team is transported back in time to August, 1965 to the C and O's Railroad's Clifton Forge Division.

The dispatcher hands out the assignments and the railroad comes to life.

Mike: What we are trying to do is recreate a day on the railroad as it would have been in 1965.

Trying to use the same sorts of procedures, and practices.

So the modeling of that time and that place that I was never to actually able to experience; is my way of being able to experience it in a three dimensional form.

We run a 2 to 1 fast clock, so one hour of real time is actually two hours model time.

We have a system built by Gene Lewis, the clocks on the railroad, the clock here in the dispatcher's office is actually set to that.

The dispatcher is responsible for coordinating opposing train traffic, and locals needing time to work industries.

All of the main track on the layout is shown on the board, and where ever a train would appear there is a track indication light that will illuminate to inform the dispatcher that the train is in that section of track.

In this particular system that is called centralized traffic control; which was developed in the late 1920's.

He can control switches and signals to route the trains into sidings, and hold them at any specific point to make meets with other trains.

So the train crew may not really know who they are meeting, or where they are going to meet them at.

That is the responsibility of the dispatcher.

The crew's responsibility is to obey the signals, and take appropriate action per what the signals tell them.

Should there actually have to be verbal communications between the crew and the train dispatcher he can do a couple of things.

He can hold them at a stop signal, and the rules require that if no conflicting movement is apparent, and the reason for the stop is not obvious, you are supposed to get off of the engine and go to a phone box and call the train dispatcher.

We also have what are called maintainer call lights which are a white light which illuminates out in the field on the side of an instrument house, and the rule says that any crew member observing that light lit should immediately contact that train dispatcher.

Engineer: This is train number 63, lead engine number 5751.

I have 10 cars, and would like to get clearance west.

Annc: Even when designing his electrical system, Mike wanted to incorporate a bit of the past.

Mike: Originally I had intended to go all original electronics with a 514 - 506 system, but the weight, and the amount of equipment was astronomical.

So I devised a method where I could blend the two types of systems and still get the end result that I wanted to.

The reason for the blending is these machines were not quiet, this stuff wasn't what we think of electronics today where it is just a green circuit board that just sits there makes no noise and maybe has a little flashing LED on it.

Electrical equipment back in the 40's, 50's, and into the early 60's was very much so electro-mechanical.

You could hear you could see exactly what the equipment was doing.

Back to trying to indulge myself in this time and place that I was never able to experience.

Every piece of detail from the sound that this machine made to the color of the machine, to the checkerboard light green - dark green linoleum tile and the canvas green window shade is all for myself an effort to try to really truly make it, if you will, my little time machine.

I am actually sitting at Clifton Forge in the dispatcher's office in August of 1965, and other then no cigar smoke this is as real as it can get.

Annc: Mike's motivation for this beautiful layout is simple.

Mike: Some people play poker, other people golf, we play trains.

It is a great hobby because I can take all of the time to do all of this sort of detail work, and the pride of being to hold something that looked what I have created, but yet I can invite all of my friends over and they can enjoy it as much as I enjoyed building it.

I'm certain that the railroads would be pleased to see some of their past equipment still in service today.

In a moment, we're off to Lake Winnipesaukee.

That's where we'll find two railroads operating in the scenic beauty of New Hampshire's White Mountains.

Before we go, let's look in on the Henry Ford Museum at Michigan's Greenfield Village.

It's there we'll find a steam railroad running the same engine that Thomas Edison gave to Henry Ford.

Annc: No visit to Michigan would be complete without a stop at Greenfield Village which is part of the Henry Ford.

Located in Dearborn, very near Detroit, visitors will find a testament to America's past and ingenuity.

Of course, they'll also find a railroad.

John: The Henry Ford consists of five venues.

The one we're in this morning is Greenfield Village, which is 200 acres, 84 historic structures and really presents American history and traditions, 300 years of American history.

And it's really the centerpiece of the Henry Ford.

Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village was founded in 1929.

Henry Ford began collecting the materials, really of everyday life in the 19 teens and 1920's.

And he had a vision for this place really as an educational institution, and that's what it was founded as.

Where we're standing in this morning at the roundhouse in Greenfield Village.

This is actually a structure that was reconstructed here in 2000.

And it has components from an 1884 roundhouse in Marshall, Michigan.

So it's here at the Detroit, Toledo and Milwaukee Railroad roundhouse in Greenfield Village that me maintain our fleet of locomotives and other railroad rolling stock to allow us to bring those stories to life every day.

Annc: The rail road trip is the perfect way to see the village - and you'll learn a lot along the way./ Tom: Greenfield Village railroad, takes visitors a 2 and a half mile trip around Greenfield Village.

It's got three stops and it takes you through 80 acres of Greenfield Village.

So many visitors kind of hop on that train right at the beginning, get the overview, figure out what they're going to want to see later on.

And that's the way to see Greenfield Village.

Cause you can spend a couple of days here.

Annc: There are static displays here, But it's the roundhouse that is home to the operating side of the railroad collection.

This equipment ranges from an authenic 1800s steam train, to a relatively new diesel electric Tom: Greenfield Village has three operating locomotives.

And the train pulling out in Greenfield Village today, the locomotive pulling out there today, is our Edison locomotive.

Which was actually a gift from Thomas Edison to Henry Ford celebrating a certain style of rain that he liked.

And our other steam locomotive that we use is an example of how the Henry Ford continues Henry Ford's vision.

Henry Ford saw William Mason, a train builder from Connecticut as sort of, particularly innovation and resourceful, ah, a sort of a bare bones designer of locomotives, and always wanted to collect one.

Well in the 1960s, we found one, way up north, in northern Michigan that was working on the mines.

And we acquired the Torch Lake which continues today to be one of the oldest operating steam locomotives in the world.

Our final engine that we use from time to time now out in Greenfield Village, shows a different style of technology.

And how better to sort of tell the story of innovation than tracking technology through time.

That's a General Electric diesel electric that was actually built in 1942 and worked in a naval yard.

So ah we tell a lot of different stories here, and ah again, the whole place is about innovation.

The trains that operate out in Greenfield Village, they're all maintained in our roundhouse.

We have a staff of 8 folks that well for every hour that they're out on the rails, there needs to be another hour of maintenance to make sure that those trains are up and ready and running and ready to go.. A lot of people look at trains today and say, "Oh, they're old fashioned bits of technology."

You've got to remember, that in the 19th century when locomotive service starts coming around, I mean from Detroit, from here to Detroit to New York, you're looking at a 2 week trip.

And you can boil that down to 2 days after the railroad is installed.

So that really shrinks the world, much like technology that we know is new today is continuing to do so.

So it's really part of this big story of innovation.

Henry Ford Museum houses one of the largest and most diverse train collections really in the world.

The biggest example of course is quite possibly the largest train ever built, which is the C&O 1601 or the Mighty Allegheny as we call it.

That just sort of surprises people to be inside.

We put that next to a replica that was built for the 1898 Worlds Fair called the DeWitt Clinton, which is the beginning of steam power.

Annc: Most students of history agree that it's important to learn from our past, but no book can take the place of experiencing it yourself.

Tom: Without the railroad, Greenfield Village would be a little quieter, I can tell you that much.

But I think it would miss partly a great way to see Greenfield Village in an overview, and you would be missing ah, part of the personality of what goes into all of the experiences that we offer that collectively become known as Greenfield Village.

It's a really unique site and that would pull just a little bit of that uniqueness out.

Music Annc: Welcome to New Hampshire.

In the center of the White Mountains, you'll find green hills and sparkling lakes, And of course, you'll find a railroad.

Ben: This railroad began back in the mid 1980s.

It was started by my mother and father soon after the Lincoln paper mill had closed down.

The mill, of course, was the prime purpose for the railroad to exist.

And ah, we took this historic asset that had been a part of the communities fabric since the late 1800s and breathed a little new life into it with the tourism concern.

And the Hobo Railroad began.

Annc: Ben actually owns and operates two railroads here - the Hobo and the Winnipesaukee Scenic.

Ben: The Winnipesaukee is a real jewel of New Hampshire's Lake Region.

It's a trip along New Hampshire's largest lake by and large along the shoreline on the entire journey.

And it's a wonderful way for people to see a little bit of Lake Winnipesaukee from the shore.

Annc: There is a year round approach to the railroad's business model.

This has helped both the line, and it's employees.

Ben: The Hobo Railroad is unique in a variety of ways.

What we do here to serve the public during the tourism season is of course very important, we're a tourism community, we're a tourism destination, and then in the off season, we also as the Hobo Railroad have a repair facility that we operate, serving commuter railroads, freight railroads, and other tourism railroad concerns, as well as a consulting arm as well.

A seasonal business is tricky here in New Hampshire's White Mountains for sure.

You have a hundred days of summer, as we say, to make enough revenue to last those twelve months of the year.

And we had an opportunity a number of years ago to branch out into the repair, restoration and consulting business.

And that kind of gave us a chance to level out the cash flow scenario, and also give the chance for the employees to maintain their jobs on a year round basis.

The locomotives and coaches you'll be riding on today were built between the 1930s and the 1950s.

The locomotives primarily that we operate were produced by the American Locomotive Company.

These are what we call Alco S series switchers.

And the coaches are a combination of Budd built rail diesel cars that have been depowered and serve now as diesel hauled coaches, and commuter coaches built for the Delaware Lackawanna Road in the 1930s.

Annc: Railroads need a lot of maintenance, and for the experts at the Hobo, this translated into additional revenue.

Brian: We had done a lot of restoration work to our own equipment through the years, and as time went on we would contract ourselves out with other private owners.

And eventually we built a reputation in the area as railcar renovators, and locomotive renovators.

The restoration is important to us because it gives us added work through the winter when the tourist industry itself swings from railroading and other activities to skiing.

So it means year round employment for several of our crew.

We've restored an historical train called The Roger Williams, which was a New Haven train.

We did some restoration work on it, the three cars of it that are left, and also some Budd cars from the New Haven and the Baltimore and Ohio as well as several privately owned cabooses.

Annc: Of course, the Hobo Railroad needs, well, a Hobo.

And it has one, in the form of a former railroader named Archie.

Archie: About five years ago in Florida, I was doing a lot of things we live in a park, you know how it is, and its a community, I got there, I went to the post office and there was a sign on the billboard that says Clown School starting January 1st.

And I says, Oh my gosh, I says, clown school.

A Hobo Railroad, a Hobo Clown, that's what I should do.

I went to the school.

And called Ben, all excited, and says when I get back, you're going to have a hobo clown.

And that's how it started.

I just love being with people and I just like to make people laugh.

I love kids and its all about the kids.

If I could make a balloon, and the kids really seem to take to this kind of entertainment.

Ben: I think I enjoy the people the most.

You have a chance to see a lot of people, who over the years have enjoyed trains and railroading and an opportunity to learn a lot from them in the process.

Sometimes I say we learn as much from the old railroad men about life as we do about running trains.

Annc: to industry, the Hobo Railroad brings full time jobs and rail consulting, to visitors, the Hobo brings a lovely ride through the White Mountains and lakes of central New Hampshire.

Both railroads offer seasonal runs such as fall foliage and Santa trains.

That's it for this episode.

Be sure to join us next time for more, Tracks Ahead.

Tracks Ahead Brought to you by Rancho de Tia Rosa, three unique Mexican restaurants serving culinary delights since 1990.

Walthers, manufacturer and supplier of model railroading products; serving the hobby since 1932.

Trains and Travel International, providing quality tourist and rail fan travel since 1984.

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