BACK IN TRAINING!

SUNFUN Gets Steamed Up About Trains

Welcome Aboard, Fellow Passengers...
     It's hard for us to imagine how people in the last century
saw railroad engineers.  Back then, the guys who ran locomotives
were viewed in much the same way we see "Top Gun" fighter pilots;
having a dangerous job commanding the fastest and most powerful
machinery in the world.  But unlike fighter pilots, they were
approachable.  They didn't fly over a few miles above and out of
sight, they were right there in your town at ground level to wave
and even to stop at the local station.  Many people of the time
considered them heroes.  As gratifying as that must have been, it
probably didn't make up for the low pay, long hours and dirty,
brutal working conditions they endured.
     The high water mark of railroad engineer hero worship is
probably the aura surrounding Casey Jones, the engineer who, as
the famous song says, "...rode his locomotive to the promised
land."  According to the story, Casey stayed at his post to save
the passengers at the cost of his own life.  People still
remember the name "Casey Jones," even in a age where we are
suspicious of heros.  But most folks assume that the story in the
song is just rhyming fiction.  It isn't, and Engineer John Luther
("Casey") Jones really did stay at the controls of his Illinois
Central Train #1 as it slammed into a stalled freight train north
of the station in Vaughan, Mississippi.  That was just before
4AM, exactly one hundred years ago today (April 30, 1900).
     But that was then.  By the 1960's, a great many people would
have taken bets that there would be no railroads in the U.S. by
the turn of this century.  We had largely given up on railroad
passenger service, even as countries like Japan and France were
perfecting really high-speed trains that can compete with
airlines.  Trucks and superhighways looked like the answer to
everything.  Then, a funny thing happened on the way to the 21st
Century...  The railroad business didn't die.  People have
started to realize that they would have to pave all of North
America to have room for all the trucks that would be needed.  So
the railroads are still making money -- at least in the freight
business.  Even Amtrak, America's attempt at a nationalized
passenger rail line, has announced plans for new and expanded
service.  The new trains will make U.S. passenger service almost
as fast as the trains in Russia.  And nearly as fast as the
trains here were in the 1930's.  Even so, it is nice to know that
we will still have steel wheels on steel rails for a few more
decades.
     Thanks and Greetings this week to the following folks from
the extra board: Jan Michalski, Jack Gervais, Len Garver, R.J.
Tulley, Yasmin Leischer, Brian Siegl, Mark Becwar, Alison Becwar,
Carol J. Becwar, Ellen Peterson, Kerry Miller, Joshua Brink,
Peter J. Adler, Chuck Maray, Anna Macareno, Bruce Gonzo, John J.
Wallner, Tim McChain, Derek Hardin, Laura Hong Li, Beth Butler,
and Fumiko Umino.  Here's hoping that all of your journeys are
fun ones...
     Have A Great Week,


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TAKE THE 7:10, EVERY DAY...
------------------------
     Most people recognize the name of Casey Jones.  And all true
railfans will know the names Harriman, Stevenson, Vanderbilt and
Beebe.  But few of even the most hard core railfans are likely to
recognize the name of F. S. Lathorp, though much of modern rail
travel in cities worldwide owes a debt to him.
     So, who was this guy?  Though people had been traveling by
rail for a few years by the time he came along, the Madison, New
Jersey native was the first to hit on the idea of a multiple ride
ticket.  In 1841, he convinced the Morris & Essex Railroad to
give him a special price on a year's worth of rides from Madison
to Newark for the bargain price of $100.  You could say that made
him the world's first commuter. 
          [ The historical record is a little weak on
          this, but he may also have been the first
          commuter to sleep past his stop, too. ]


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     "What can be more palpably absurd than the prospect
     held out of locomotives traveling twice as fast as
     stagecoaches?"
                            - The Quarterly Review, England
                              (March 1825)

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THE FRENCH WAY...
--------------
     There have been long-standing complaints that the smell in
the Paris Metro is virtually indistinguishable from the smell in
the Paris sewers.  In response, the French capital's subway
operators have hit on a plan to replace the existing stench with
one of their own choosing.
     You heard right -- the existing smells of decaying food,
arcing electricity and various human odors are giving way to a
specially developed perfume blended just for the Paris
underground.  The scent is called 'Madeleine,' named after one of
the stinkiest stations in the Paris subway system.  The current
plan is to add up to 1.5 tons of the smelly stuff yearly to
cleaning products used in the Metro.
     "The search for the right product has lasted years," said
Pierre Pichat, research director at France's National Center for
Scientific Research (CNRS).
     The malodorous environment in the Metro has been a problem
since the system opened its first line in 1900.  And this perfume
approach is not exactly a new idea, either; a variety of scents
have been tried on the system since the 1920's, including
"Francine" which was tested in 1993 and 1994.  But Francine's
odor of lavender, eucalyptus and mint ended up generating more
passenger complaints than praise, by making the subway smell like
a badly formulated deodorant soap.  (Reuters)
          [ Subway service may still stink, but at
          least now it's supposed to be that way. ]


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ONE HUNDRED PERCENT ON TIME
---------------------------
     It is famously difficult to run a commuter service on time. 
The Japanese manage it by often having people stationed on the
platforms to push people into the trains.  But now one British
rail firm has come up with it's own unique idea for keeping the
trains on schedule.
     After complaints about poor on-time performance, the company
running the trains between Ramsgate and London promised that the
service was going to improve.  The company set up a special day
and drafted extra staff to be sure that the trains would stay to
schedule - at least for that one day.  Not that it would help the
hapless commuters very much.
     In order to keep to time, the company decided, any train in
danger of running late would skip the remaining stations on its
route.  Which sounds perfectly reasonable until you realize that
it also means that the "on time" trains would arrive nearly
empty.
     And that is exactly what happened when a delayed train
breezed through many of the stations on its route, leaving
hundreds of passengers stranded.
     "It is a standard operational decision taken to avoid longer
delays to more passengers," said a company spokesman.
     "We couldn't believe it," said Sally Leaver, one of 15
commuters stranded at Wye station.  "There's no point in running
trains if you don't pick up passengers."  (Reuters)
          [ The company said that commuters would get
          there on time or not at all.  Who knew that
          those were the only two choices? ]


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          "In Bavaria, the Royal College of Doctors, having
     been consulted, declared that railroads, if they were
     constructed, would cause the greatest deterioration in
     the health of the public, because such rapid movement
     would cause brain trouble among travelers, and vertigo
     among those who looked at moving trains.
          "For this last reason it was recommended that all
     tracks be enclosed by high board fences raised above
     the height of the cars and engines.
          ... "Rail travel at high speed is not possible
     because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of
     asphyxia."
                            - Dr. Dionysus Lardner (1793-1859),
                              Professor of Natural Philosophy and
                              Astronomy at University College,
                              London.
          [ Oh.  THAT's why the trains can't run on
          time! ]


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POETRY IN MOTION...
----------------
     While they may not always get there on time, British Rail
has introduced one service unique in all the world.  They have
become the first rail company with an official performance artist
in residence.
     "Our first poetry train sets off from Shipley (in northern
England) ...  with a moving performance by Ian McMillan.  He will
do a 10-day residency, going round stations, writing poems and
giving performances whilst on his travels," Howard Keal,
spokesman for the Northern Spirit rail network announced.
(Reuters)
     [ How about: "You're late! / You're late! / For a very
     important date. / No time to say "Hello" Goodbye. /
     You're late, you're late, you're late. ]


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MOST EMBARRASSING RAILROAD VIDEOS...
---------------------------------
     June 13th, 1994 was a memorable day on the Chicago Transit
Authority's "El" system.  On that day, hundreds of politicians,
dignitaries and guests gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to
open a newly constructed shop building at the north end of the
Evanston line in the suburb of Wilmette, Illinois.
     But as the first train rolled up to enter the new building,
it became obvious that some small detail had been overlooked. 
Depending on how you choose to view it, either the door was a
foot (1/3 meter) too low, or the train was a foot too high.
     James Arnold, President of Schwendener Construction, made it
clear that the shop had been built exactly to the CTA's
architect's design and that the mistake would cost about $20,000
to fix.
     "However you phrase it," one CTA official said, "somebody
goofed."


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WHY THE PULLMAN COMPANY WENT OUT OF BUSINESS...
--------------------------------------------
     A traveler informed a Pullman agent that he wanted a Pullman
berth. "Upper or lower?" said the agent.  "What's the
difference?" the customer asked.
     "The difference is two dollars," the agent replied.  "The
lower is higher than the upper.  The lower price is for the
upper.  If you want the lower, you'll have to go higher.  See, we
sell the upper lower than the lower.  In other words, the higher
the lower.  Most people don't like the upper, although it is
lower, because of being higher.  When you occupy an upper you
have to get up to go to bed and get down to get up.  But you can
have the lower if you pay higher.  The upper is lower than the
lower because it is higher.  If you are willing to go higher, it
will be lower."
     At this point, the customer walked away and took a cab to
the airport. 
                            - from "The Railroad Passenger Car
                              Alliance Newsletter," Feb/March,
                              1997.


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A SORRY STATE OF AFFAIRS...
------------------------
     One of the lost skills of our modern age is how to receive a
compliment graciously.
     That skill is certainly lost on the British company "Virgin
Trains," run by transportation entrepenuer Richard Branson.  When
recent passenger Stevan Walton wrote to express appreciation for
a good journey, they sent him a letter of apology, along with a
refund.
     Stranger still, they then sent him a second letter
apologizing that it had taken the company so long to deal with
his "complaint" by sending him the first letter.
     "This was an administrative mistake," a spokesperson for the
Virgin group told The Daily Telegraph newspaper, blaming the
mistake on a temp in the customer relations department. 
(Reuters)
          [ Any bets that they sent him ANOTHER apology
          letter, apologizing for the first two
          apologies? ]


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YOU KNOW YOU'RE A TRUE RAILFAN, IF... 
----------------------------------

   - You shop for a house by the railroad tracks instead of away
     from them.

   - You can tell what railroad line you are crossing by the
     color of the stone ballast.

   - Helping a friend to back into a parking place, you say, "two
     cars ... One car ... That'll do."

   - You tell your wife you are going down to the corner bar to
     have a few drinks with the guys, however, you really go to
     your favorite train watching spot to take a few (more)
     photos.

   - You're in your car and you come up to a railroad crossing.
     The crossing lights are not flashing and no trains are
     coming, but you slow and look both ways anyway in hope of
     seeing a train.

   - While watching a movie you say things like, "New York?  How
     can they be in New York when there's a Southern Pacific
     freight going by?"

   - When driving through an intersection, you sound a "long long
     short long" on your horn.

   - Attending a concert at the philharmonic, the orchestra hits
     a certain chord and you are immediately certain that you
     hear a Nathan 6 chamber steam chime.

   - Everytime you see a steam locomotive on TV or in a movie,
     you know immediately which one it is and where the sequence
     was shot.

   - You enjoy being stopped at a grade crossing while a long
     freight is passing, while those around you fume impatiently.

   - Train crews know you by name.

   - You're reading a book about choo-choos' to your kid and you
     stop to explain that they've got the locomotive's valve gear
     drawn all wrong.

   - You can find the rail yard in a strange city within 5
     minutes of leaving the main highway.

   - You can spot the difference between virtually identical
     locomotives based on such esoteric details as the placement
     of marker lights or the shape of the windows.  Worse than
     that, you wonder why other folks can't.

   - Your relatives immediately think of you when they see a
     train.


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