North Shore Scenic Railroad 2019

Scenic Railroad

TwoRailroadAnniversaries

ByKenBuehler

It wasthe culmination of agreat American dream and the end of amegalithic constructionproject that connected sea to shining sea, the completion of the firstTranscontinental Railroad. May10, 1869 –after 16 years of exploration and planning, two years of fighting it through Congress, four years in the building and aCivil War, the 1,912milerailroad wascompleted with thepounding of the Golden SpikeatPromontory,Utah. The United StatesofAmerica werefinally united by steel rail. The Central Pacificand UnionPacific Railroads celebratedwithasurprisingly short ceremonythat wasalmostanticlimactic consideringthe great obstacles they had overcome in buildingthe line.

The original Golden SpikeCeremonywas held in Promontory,UtahonMay 10, 1869. The spikeweighed 14.05 ounces of 14 carat gold. At today’smarket it is worth $17,948. The original is on displayatStanfordUniversity in California. The school is named after Leland Stanfordone of the original investors in the Central Pacific and served as President of the Railroad and Governor of California. He pounded the golden spikeinto arailroad tie made froma laureltree. On his first swing he missed the spike. Photo courtesyofLibraryofCongress/PublicDomain,usedwithpermission

DELI, BAKERY &CATERING SERVICE

The builders conquered jagged mountain passes buried eachwinter in deep snow,tunnelsblasted through solid rock usingthe newestinvention, dynamite,hostile attacks fromNativeAmerican First Nation tribes not pleased with the arrival of the “iron horse” and long, desolate stretches of flat, unforgivingprairies. Therewas allthatand scandal.

It wasHellonWheels, self-dealing construction bids between the railroads and the companies they formed to actually buildthe line and bribery on amammoth scale. The final straw wasthe CreditMoblier fiasco that wastobethe disgrace of theGilded Ageresulting in the bankruptcy of the Union Pacific and financial and political ruin of manyunscrupulousinvestors.

Family

ANNIVERSARIES

continued from PAGE 2

Butthe linewas builtand so began the future of rail connections East to West and North to South: the Great Northern, Milwaukee Road, Northern Pacific, IllinoisCentral and Santa Fe wereeventually in coast to coast service. As welltheyshould. By 1879 the Transcontinental Railroad shipping$50 million ay worth of products an people alongits route. That would be $115 billion today.

The 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike Ceremony was commemor ated this spring with a recreation of the event featuring the return to serviceofUnion

Pacific (UP) #4014 theBIG BOY. It is the largest working steam locomotive on the planet andwas restored by the UP in honor of their sesquicentennial.

Another milestone in railroading is also being celebrated this year.Though one-fifth the duration, it is stillvery important TO is the 30th anniversary operation of the North ShoreScenic Railroadhere Duluth. It is the train youare riding on today. Thank youfor being a part of our 30th year of operation!

Thisspecial Collector’s Edition of our railroad’s history, the peoplewho dreamed it andbuilt it is yours to keep.We hope youenjoyour story.

The NorthShoreScenic Railroad staged itsown recreation of the original Golden SpikeCeremonyonMay 10, 2019 commemorating its30thAnniversary.The event took place along the Lakewalk portion of the NSSR tracks in Duluth. Our Golden Spikewas spray painted. PhotocourtesyofDaveSchauer

AllAboard&Welcome!

ByKenBuehler

There’s something happening here. People are telling stories and stories to be told at a later time are being made. That’s what happens on a train. You are remembering your first train ride, your romantic train ride, your memorable experience as a passenger, an employee or evoking a memory of a family member who was a former railroad worker. It’s all coming back to you now. For children and grandchildren this could be their first train ride. They are making the memories that will one day be shared in stories of their own.

As you travel with us today, look out your window and watch the beautiful landscape of Lake Superior pass by and imagine what that scenery looked like a hundredplus years ago. Duluth didn’t have a skyline, only a few buildings were over two stories tall. Tar paper shacks, clapboard homes, boarding houses and the bowery would have been some of the sights along our route. Canal Park was a dirty, hardworking industrial blight – not the tourist attraction it is today.

What hasn’t changed though is the beautiful splendor of Lake Superior, it’s rock and tree lined shore and the majestic Northwooods. Your ride today lets you see all of that from your window seat on our train and we’re proud to share it with you.

We are honored that you chose to be our guests today. A dedicated staff and hundreds of volunteers who donate tens of thousands of hours a year of their time and talent keep our Railroad and the Lake Superior Railroad Museum going.

Volunteers are why the Lake Superior Railroad Museum was voted by USA Today as the “BEST Transportation Museum in America.” They are why Better Homes and Gardens ranked our Railroad as one of the “Top 10 Family Friendly Scenic Train Rides in North America.” These are honors we strive to live up to everyday. As Executive Director of the Museum and General Manager of the Railroad, Thank You for riding with us today. If you have comments, please let me know.

Happy Railroad Memories!

Ken Buehler, kenbuehler@duluthdepot.org

ThisistheRailroad’sSpecialAnniversaryPublicationproducedbyourpartner, theDuluthNewsTribune.Pleasetakethiscopyasasouvenir.

NorthShoreScenicRailroad30thAnniversary-Howabout133rd?

ByKenBuehler

While the North ShoreScenic Railroad is celebrating its30thanniversary,the Lakefront lineyour trainisrunning on wasbuilt by the Duluth &IronRangeRailway 133 years ago,just 17 years afterthe Transcontinental Railroad.

These tracks wereanafterthought forD&IR. In 1884 the railroad openedits line fromTwo Harbors up to Minnesota’sfirst iron oremine in Tower Sudan on theVermilion Range. Similar to the Transcontinental, the railroadheld aland grant earning the companyaportion of adjacent propertyfor each mile of track laid.

However,there weredisagreements among the earlyowners of theD&IR.Out of spite more than anything, the ones who lost that argument –and the railroad –convinced the government to holdoff giving the D&IR itslanduntil tracks werelaid, but not necessarilyneeded, between TwoHarbors to Duluth. Putting “Duluth” in the Duluth &IronRangeRRwas done in 1886, 133 years ago.

Most of the traffic on the linewas lumber shipped down fromKnifeRiver offthe Duluth &

Northern Minnesota, acommon carrier owned by theAlger Smith lumbercompany. There waspassenger traffic up until 1961 and the last commercial freightwent by here in 1982.

One of the mostunique rides offeredbythe D&IR wasthe Fisherman’sTrain. It ranon Sundaymornings, after church, and would drop anglers offatnorth shorestreams,thenpick them up later in the day. In the middle of July those trains also carried women and children who wouldpick an abundance of blueberries, which grew wide alongthe right-of-way.

Theflagstop at Larsmont wasalso unique.An unscheduled stop at alocation without aregular station, wherea flagishoistedtotellthe train to pick up passengers, is called aflag stop.Such an arrangement existed at the tinyNorthShore community of Larsmont. Butitwasn’tpeople thatgotonthetrain. Larsmontwasafishing village and when the flag wasupthe train crew knew therewerebarrels of freshly caught laketrout and herring on ice that needed to be transported to Duluth forsale.

Todaythe North ShoreScenic Railroad operatesontheLakefrontlinewithregulartourist train serviceincluding tripstoTwo Harbors, ourpopular Music and Pizza Trains, Elegant Dinner Trains,mirth, mayhem andmurder on our who-done-itMurder Mystery Trains, abeer train, Pumpkin Patch Trains, and our very own Christmas CityExpress.

Allour trains areavailable by going to www. duluthtrains.com or by calling our ticket agents at 800-423-1273 or locally at 218-722-1273.

In thewaning years of passenger trains on the Lakefront Line, beforethe introduction of BUDD car service, this was one of the last trains to run out of the Duluth Depot. It is DM&IR #402, aPacific type locomotive, apassenger/RPO/ Baggage carand Solarium coach/loungecar.The trainis bound forTwo Harborsand theEast Range. March 1957 photocourtesyoftheW.C.Olsencollection,usedwithpermission

Here’sHowItHappened

ByJohnOngaro LakeSuperiorRailroadMuseum BoardofDirectors

Iwas thereatthe beginning.

The North ShoreScenic Railroad operatestodayon tracks once owned by the Duluth Missabe&Iron Range Railway,asuccessor of the D&IR, which built theLakefront line. After the last freight trainran on it in 1982, the DM&IR sought to abandon the tracks and tear up the rails and ties.

Don Shank wasthe just retired vice president and general manager of the DM&IR and recognized the potential of operating tourist trains along the shore of the greatest of the Great Lakes. With help from Leo McDonnell, whowithMr. Shank, FrankKing, Wayne Olson and Shirley Swain wereinstrumental in founding the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and the preservation of the historic Union Depot, they nowset out to save thetracks to.

To do that something new had to be invented. It wasMS398A.01, legislation allowing countiesin Minnesota to createRegional Rail Authoritiesto save tracks frombeing tornup. Both St. Louisand Lakecountiesimmediately filed to form aJoint Powers Boardand become the state’sfirst RRA. Immediately thereafter,1986, Iwas appointed as acting director of the St. Louis &LakeCounties Regional Rail Authority.Myfirst task wasgetting the money to buythe line fromthe DM&IR.

We had TwoHarbors State RepresentativeDavid Battaglia as chief author of the bill.David worked his way through collegeasaGandy Dancer,a person who does track work on the railroad.

A year later, with support fromDuluth State Senator Sam Solon, the legislatureapproved$1.7million to buythe 26 miles of track. Butyou know nothing is that easy.

The DM&IR sent their top real estate person from Pittsburgh to Duluthtowringthe most money possibleout of the property. His name wasDrew

Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich (in the plaid shirt) signed the enabling legislation authorizing the state’s first Regional Rail Authority to buythe Lakefront Line. He used the track foranold fashioned re-election whistle stop tour aboardthe private car Dolly Madison and won! The man to the farleft, in the white, short-sleeved shirt wasPaul, a campaign aid forthe governor who would becomeU.S.Senator Paul Wellstone.

Here’sHowItHappened

TheRailroadGivesDuluthitsLakewalk

ByKenBuehler

Even though theline wasnow owned by the St. Louis &LakeCounties Regional Rail Authority, train operations weredelayeduntil construction wasfinished on the extensionofI-35 through Duluth. The work disrupted the lineinseveral locations resulting in the first fivemiles being rebuiltbyMNDOT.Italso allowed something wonderful to happen.

Usingthe Railroad’s100-foot right-of-way alongthe shoreofLakeSuperior as acorridor,

theCityofDuluthwas abletobuilda Lakewalk between the train tracks and the water’s edge. The7.25miles of pavedpathway stretches fromthe corner of LakeSuperior allthe way out to Brighton Beach. It would not have been possible hadthe railroad not been saved. Todaythe two popular attractions run side by side separatedbya safetyfence.

Duluth’sLakewalk andScenic Railroad corridor have been touted as one of the finest rail and trail initiatives in the nation. Onceyou ride the train or walk the walk, you’ll agree.

BEGINNING

continued from PAGE 6

Armstrong. He wasahardnosed attorney with little concernfor historic preservation, railroad museums, tourist trains or puppies. An impassesoon arose betweenthe two sides in the negotiations that seemed moreformidable than the Great Wall of China and awider chasm than the Grand Canyon. Enter the “negotiator,” St. Louis CountyCommissioner Jerry Janezich.

BesidesbeingontheCountyBoardJerrywasalso on theRail Authority and he knew people because he owned the most popular bar in Chisholm, Tom&Jerry’s.Janezichand Armstrong wereboth avid joggers and most of their discussionsweredonewhile running.A friendship developed andthe Art of the Deal wasstruck. The price issue wassettled.

Therewas one morehurdle and that was ahearing beforea keylegislativehouse committee. It wastoapprove the final fate of theLakefrontlineappropriation. Mr.Shankwent down to testifyand as usual didanexemplary job.Atone-pointRep.Wally SparbyofThief RiverFalls began adifficultlineofquestioning. Every time Rep. Sparby askedaquestion, Shank would properly and respectfully respond with “RepresentativeSparky,the answer to your question is……”

By the fourthorfifth “Sparky” response, the membersofthe committee wereall laughing so hard, Iknew we had their affirmativevote nailed. And we did. The lineyou’reriding on todaywas saved.

TodaytheNSSRright-of-wayisshared by Duluth’svery popular Lakewalk.

Construction of the North Shore Scenic Railroad along the I-35 extension through theEndianareaoftown. Thislocation wasoncea yard,depot andengine facility along the D&IR Lakefront line. PhotocourtesyofJ.Fuhr,circa1990

DonShankalwayssaid,‘There’dbea RailroadMuseuminDuluth’

By

It didn’t hurt that he wastalland charismatic. Don Shankwas the kind of man that if he told youintwo years and aday from now you’d be working in Pittsburghfor U.S. Steel youshould be packed and ready to go.Hewas that kind of person. Don didn’tthink about next weekorthe endofthe month, he planned foryears,and as it turns out, decades ahead.

He along with LeoMcDonnell, FrankKing, Wayne Olsonand Shirley Swain savedthe Northern Pacific’sUnion Depot and established the St. LouisCountyHeritage &ArtsCenter. Support forthe Depot would come frombuilding aworld class Railroad Museum and eventually establishing the North ShoreScenic Railroad, one of Duluth’sbiggest touristattraction. Allwere Shank’svision.

As vice president and general manager of the Duluth Missabe&IronRange Railroad, aU.S. Steelsubsidiary,hehad the resources and contacts to make thathappen. Early members of the Museum’sBoardofDirectorsincluded captains of industry and railroad presidents and vicepresidents of Burlington Northern, Chicago Northwestern, the SOO Lineand the EL&S.

When the Lakefront lineopened forbusiness therewereseveral contractors who applied to run it.The RRAchose Shank’sDuluth &IronRange Companyasthe first operator.Train service started on June29, 1990 with the BUDDRDC car purchased fromthe Blue Mountain and Reading Railway,#9169, the same unitstillinservice today. Other equipment came fromthe Lake Superior Railroad Museum.First year ridership beat expectations at 37,000 guest/passengers.

Healthissues forced Shank to giveupthe operation afterjust one season. He passed away in 1993. Hislegacy is his family, his wife Millie left us in 2009, the Duluth Depot and Train Museum along with 29 miles of working railroad on the scenicNorthShore of the greatestofthe great lakes.

Don Shankalwayssaid there’d be aRailroad Museum in Duluth.

DonShank grew up in Proctor,Minn., and became vicepresident and general manager of his hometown railroad, the DM&IR.

Photo courtesy of Basgen/DM&IR from LSRM collection, used with permission

KenBuehlerand inspiredbythemanyfriends ofDonShank

ByJoshMiller

The railroads have a long history of delivering a first-class experience for their passengers. Throughout the generations, guests have been treated to fine dining, deluxe sleeping accommodations, and exquisite service. At the North Shore Scenic Railroad, I’m proud that we can offer at least a small taste of this legacy from the golden-age, first class experiences.

We are excited to be offering first class services on our daily trains starting this summer. This includes ourDomeCarseating,loungespace, and some extra service options for those interested in paying just a little more for a unique experience. Later in August, guests can ride “first class” on the evening train and have a fine dining four-course meal prepared by the best chefs Duluth has to offer. The Elegant Dinner Train runs Fridays and Saturdays

FirstClassByRail

throughout late summer into fall and gives guests a unique dining experience found nowhere else in the Twin Ports.

ShiptoShore–RailMeetsSail

The Goldfine Family owned the popular Vista Cruise line on sea and the E&J Railway on land. COMBO tickets were available for both attractions and were the inspiration for the current MUST SEE DULUTH pass good for a boat ride, a railroad excursion and admission to the popular Great Lakes Aquarium. Go to www.mustseeduluth.com. Photo courtesy of E&J Railway from LSRM collection, used withpermission

ByKenBuehler,JohnGoldfine andEllenGoldfine-Troeltzsch

Soft Touch Irv and Easy Mark Monnie learned the people business from their parents, Abe and Fannie. They owned the Trading Post, one of historic Duluth’s most unique retail, wholesale, barter, rent, loan and credit establishments. It evolved into Goldfine’s by the Bridge – “Of Course!” – one of the original discount chain stores. The brothers also invested in tourism.

ZMC Hotels owned or managed over half the rooms in Duluth/Superior and many

other hotels across the country. They sailed the Chattanooga River Boat and Duluth’s Vista Fleet, the tour boats that operate on the harbor and are one of the city’s signature attractions.

After Mr. Shank it was E&J Railway that ran the North Shore Scenic Railroad. Ellen and John Goldfine, third generation descendants of Abe and Fannie, took over and instead of using equipment from the Museum they ran their own train set of BUDD built RDCs.

NSSR engine #652 was an EMD from the Missouri – Kansas – Texas RR, The

Katy, GP7. The story is that in trying to come up with a number for the engine the shop crew suggested using the year Ellen Goldfine was born. That idea was summarily rejected and instead the build date of the engine was used, June of 1952.

While Mr. Shank started the railroad, it was E&J that turned it into a tourist attraction.

There were now dinner trains, pizza trains, party trains and a Christmas Santa

ShiptoShore–RailMeetsSail

SHIP TO SHORE

continued from PAGE 10

Expressfeaturing the reading of the “brand new” Polar Express. Their fresh marketing featured Rail &Sail tickets foraland and sea excursion, the latter aboard their Vista Fleet. This evolved into today’spopularMUST SEE DULUTH pass, which givespurchasers atrain ride,acruiseand admissiontothe Great Lakes Aquarium forone low price. This extremely popular,money savingoption has itsroots in the innovativemarketing done by the Goldfine family.

Running anytourist attraction is difficult. A railroad just makes it worse. Havingto purchaseequipmentand paypeople put astrain on E&J.The currentnonprofit operation run by the Lake Superior Railroad Museum uses allvolunteers, which is much morecost efficient.

Then therewereother options, Ellen got married. After fiveyears E&J decided not to renew their contract to operate the railroad. Theirhardwork and innovations solidly set thestage forthe railroad’snext chapter and current operation by theLakeSuperior Railroad Museum.

E&J management followed atraditional family business heritage that treated people right. It went allthe wayback to the Trading Post run by grandparents Fannie& Abe Goldfine. Moral and camaraderie among the train crew wasalwayshigh. PhotocourtesyofE&J Railway from LSRMcollection,usedwithpermission

River Completeyour

TwoHarbors’GuidingLight

ByJMBuehler

The motto of apopular group of motels is “we’ll leave the light on foryou.” The same slogan is true of the city of TwoHarbors, but fora different reason.

In 1884,the first6,000 tons of iron orewas shipped out of Agate Bay, nowTwo Harbors.The Duluth and IronRangeRailway wasfinished that same year to connect Minnesota’sfirst iron mine with the docks on LakeSuperior wherethe ore wastrans loadedfromtrain to boat. One year later the tonnage goingthrough TwoHarbors had increasedto225,000 tons.

The increased amount of ship traffic prompted the Vessel Owners Association and the United States LighthouseService to securea federalgrant of $16,000 to build alighthouse on aspitofrock protruding outinto the lakeatthe entranceof Agate Bay. Construction commencedin1891. The light station included keeper’s residence, an oil shed forlamp fuel and afog signalhouse.The light waslit forthe first time on the night of April 14,1892.

Sixhundred tonsofrockwereblasted fromthe rocky pointofland to create the foundation upon

TwoHarbors light station in 1893. The lamp wastended by ateam of three keepers who lived on the property. The first man to be in charge of the light wasCharles Lederle. PhotocourtesyofLakeCountyHistoricalSociety,usedwithpermission

GUIDING LIGHT

continued from PAGE 14

which the49-1/2-foot tall, square tower of redbrick waserected. The wallsofthe keeper’s home wereconstructed of two courses of redbricksand the tower had three courses, therebyprotecting both structures fromdestruction by an oftenangry lake.

The lamp’sbeacon flashed every 20 seconds through aFresnel lens that cast abeam of white light seventeen miles out over thelake. The foghorn wasa set of steam whistles.

The light station wasmodernized over the years. In 1921 the light waselectrified andthe fogwhistle

Businessesandrestaurantsin downtownTwoHarborsand along7thAvenueandHighway61 areeasilyaccessiblebywalking ortakingthefreeshuttlebus providedbytherailroad. You’llenjoythewonderful hospitalityofthisrailroadtown thatisalsoabeautifulNorth Shoredestination.

wasconverted to ahornthatplayed an octave of sounds. Aradiosignal wasadded in 1921 enabling ships to determine the distance to the harbor in allconditions of weather.

GUIDING LIGHT continued on PAGE 16

Thoughdecommissioned in 1981 and turned over to the careofthe LakeCountyHistorical Society, the lightstillshinestodayand is the oldest working lighthouse on the Minnesota shore of LakeSuperior.Itisalso abeautifullycomfortable Bed&Breakfast operatedbythe Society. Toursof the lightstation areoffered by volunteers.

TwoHarbors

LIGHT continued From PAGE 16

You can makearrangements to takethe North Shore ScenicRailroadtoaweekend stayatthe Lighthouse B&B ridingthe train up and back. Contact the LakeCountyHistoricalSociety for

details about booking astay. You’ll also want to visittheir historic Depot Museum and gift shop on anyofthe NSSR’s TwoHarbors excursions.

Businesses andrestaurantsinDowntown Two Harbors and along 7th Avenueand Highway61 areeasilyaccessiblebywalking or taking the free shuttle bus provided by the railroad. You’ll enjoy thewonderful hospitalityofthis railroad town that is also abeautiful NorthShoredestination.

Signature Menu Items

• Chicago Beef

• Mediterranean Chicken Salad

• Battered Walleye Sandwich

• Korean Pork Slider

• Pulled Pork Tacos

• Fish Tacos

• Drunken Lucy

• GrouchyLucy

• Hand Cut Sirloin and Ribeye

• Prime Rib Cheese Steak Sandwich

Burgers&Sandwiches

Signature10oz. Steak Burgers 9tochoose from Salmon Club Smoked salmon with lettuce, tomato, mayo,and bacon

Black Bean Burger Vegetarian grilled black bean &quinoa patty, topped with fresh lettuce, tomato and onion on atoasted onion bun

Walleye Melt Walleye with onion, celery,mayo&swiss cheese

Wild Rice Burger In house made wild rice patty (surprise!) a perfect vegan option

Breakfast

Basic Breakfasts, Plus

Breakfast Bowls Eggs on abed of hashbrowns topped with Hollandaise

Chicken Fried Steak Hand cut sirloin, tenderized, lightly coated and fried. Served with choice of eggs and hash browns.

Eggs Benedict Basted Eggs, Ham, English Muffin, topped with Hollandaise

Scotch Eggs Served on abed of hashbrowns topped with gravyora sideofHollandaise

Corned BeefHash Our slowroasted corned beefgrilled w/hash browns, onions, and peppers. Served w/2eggs of your choice.

Appetizers

Scotch Eggs Hard-boiled eggs wrapped with sausage and lightly breaded

Breaded Mushrooms Giantmushrooms breaded and deep-fried

Homemade Onion Rings Served with spicygarlic ranch or bleu cheese dipping sauce

Castle Cream Brussel Sprouts Thinly sliced brussel sprouts steamed with TwoHarbors’own Castle Cream Ale and topped with bleu cheese or bacon.

Poutine Beer-battered fries topped with cheddar cheese curds and gravy

Open daily: Monday- Thursday11am -11pm Open forBreakfast: Friday- Sunday8am -1pm

RestaurantOpen: 11am -11pm Sun -Thur;

-midnightFriday& Saturday

ChristmasCityExpresstoDuluth!

Proud

ByJoshMiller

Returning to Duluth this year,the Christmas City Express storybook and train ride experience will onceagain delight passengers from across the country when they maketheir visits to Duluth, Minnesota.

At the North Shore Scenic Railroad andLake Superior RailroadMuseum, guests aretreated to astorybook reading of the instantly classic tale of ayoung girl traveling to her grandparent’s house on atrain that becomes stuck in awinter storm.

“Wewerevery excited to offerthisall new completely local version of aholidaystory,” said Cheryl Skafte, one of the book’sauthors. “It is

funtowatch family traditions begin, and many continueknowing that it willberememberedby the kids foryears to come.”

Thisuniqueexperienceincludesaliveperformance of the story,carolers, time with Santa and afestive nighttime train ride. Along the waythe train will pass by the BentleyvilleTour of Lights, one of the largest holidaydisplaylightsinthe entire world.

Don’tmiss the Christmas City Express coming this holidayseason at the NorthShore Scenic Railroad.

Across

1) Never walk nearorclimb on what?

2) What tells yourailroad tracks arenear?

3) Theyare only wide enough forthe train.

Down

4) Never driveorwalk around them, when they aredown

5) What can youexpect to see on anyrailroad track?

6) What youshould do if redlights areflashingata crossing

7) If your car stops on the tracks, youshoulddo this andrun away

8) Trains can’tstopquickly,sonever do this around track

Take

“Expecta trainatany time on anytrack, and always watch outfor asecond train.” ~OperationLifesaver

Thomas&PercyLoveDuluth

ByJoshMiller

Each summerinDuluth, two special guests make theirway to Duluth fromthe magical island of Sodor.What manykids and parents think is only acartoon they watch on Saturdaymornings, comestolifehereinDuluth. Thomas theTank Engine returns again this year forthe DayOut with Thomas held in the middleofthe summer. Startinga fewyears ago,Thomas’ best buddy Percycomes each year too foranoptional second ride that guests can takebehind the little greenengine.

Manykids lineup at the gates to watch Thomas as he chugs intothe station– he tootshis whistle and even talks to them!

The event is designed to be funfor the whole family,but is focused on thejunior engineers of the family–givingthemthe opportunity to takearide with their favorite tank engine, meet the railway controller Sir Topham Hatt,have funinImagination Station, explorethe Railroad Museum, takearide with Thomas’ friend Percy, and much more. Get ready forThe SteamTeam Tour when Thomas brings his best buddy Percy with him to Duluth, Minnesota this summer.

ThemagicoftheHoliday Seasonridesonthe ChristmasCityExpress

TrainsrunfromtheDepot NOVEMBER29TH-DECEMBER22ND

It’sthestoryofayounggirltravelingbytraintovisit hergrandparentsinDuluthonChristmasEve.The storyisperformedintheRailroadMuseumatthe Depotstartingwithlivemusicandcarolersagainsta backdropofdecoratedtrainsandstorefronts.Thentake atrainridepastthelightsofBentleyvilleandalongthe edgeofLakeSuperiorwithhotcocoaandcookies. Aspecialguestwillvisitandhave amagicalgiftforeverypassenger!

Chosen one of the “BESTChristmas Train Rides in America”byMSN www.duluthtrains.com for tickets or call 722-1273

Sponsored by:

EndlessLifeofHistoricTrains?

Thepastfewyearshaveseenplentyofmechanical problems on the railroad. At no faultofour own, the people who built ourhistoricequipmentsimply neverdesignedthemtobeusedaslongasweare attempting to use them for. Or didthey?

Allacross the country,railroad museums and tourist railroads like theones in Duluth, restore and operate their historic railroadequipment. Some of the equipment has held up better than others, but forthe most part, the heritage railroad industry has some really great restoration work accomplished, and the historic railroad equipment keeps rollin’ on. Butwhy?

ByJoshMiller

Think what they would sayifyou wereable to go back in timeand tellthe builders of the railcars youare riding on, such as Ralph Budd, Pullman, or Lowey,thatover70years in the future, people would still be using the same traincars they built, forfun,scenicrailroad excursions?They would

probably tellyou “they’llnever last that long,” and wouldprobably add some profanity in there somewhere. It is atruetestament to the hard working, mostly volunteer,maintenance crews who keep ours and manyofthe heritage railroads operating as wellaswedo.

Through the restoration projectsofmuseums like this one, atinypiece of Americanhistoryisnot onlypreserved, butpresented AND interpretedfor the public. Experiencing rail travel andtransport as it waswhenour countrywas youngand was just being builtisafantastic waytohonor many people who came before us and hoped foryour better futurethantheir own.

•Designer Kidwearuptosize 12 Books• Infant Toys •Dolls

•Madame Alexander •Steiff

•Building Sets •Games

•Puzzles •Jim Shore Santas

•Calico Critters •Tractors

•Breyer •Thomas•Brio

•Muffy •Playmobil

The C

the finest chocolate cargo. Exploring chocolate merchants from around theworld, we search for purityofingredients, artistry of the chocolatier and commitment to thechocolate trade.

HOCOLATE SHIP sails theseasinsearch of

HISTORIC TRAIN continued on PAGE 24

PhotocourtesyofDaveSchauer,usedwithpermission

Congratulations to e Dep &North Shore Scenic Railroad

from PAGE 23

This summer, members and volunteers of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum will finish some very significant rehabilitation and restoration projects; Steam Locomotive #28/#332 will be pulling passengers again, the Silver Club Dome Car is in service, and coach #33 has been completely renovated to celebrate its 101st birthday. Meanwhile, fresh paint has been applied to the W24 and Rainier Club cars, and the Steam locomotive NP #2435 Engine has been cosmetically restored for preservation in the museum. Hopefully projects like these, among many others across the country will continue into the foreseeable future.

PhotocourtesyofJeffTerry,usedwithpermission

HISTORIC TRAIN continued