Remembering the George Bush Locomotive



My only encounter with the Union Pacific Railroad locomotive painted in Presidential blue and white to commemorate the "George Bush Presidential Library," was on October 31, 2008. The day turned out to be quite an adventure!

Intermodal train KSGAP2 28 (Intermodal, Global Gateway South, American President Lines, Second Section, Date of Departure) left Los Angeles, California October 28, running the Sunset Route to El Paso, Texas and up the Golden State Route to Kansas City, then via trackage rights on competitor BNSF Railway’s Marceline and Chillicothe Subs to the Edelstein Connection where the train returned to home rails (Union Pacific's Peoria Subdivision).

Unfortunately, a wheel slip problem on the UP 1988 (Missouri-Kansas-Texas heritage unit) forced the train to stop at Milepost 145, near North Rice Road, a few miles short of the connection. After assessing the situation, the train crew crept up to the crossing so a BNSF maintenance crew could get to the Katy unit and cut out debris from a gear casing failure, freeing the wheel. The train then limped at 10mph through the crossover and then onto the connection.

UP 4141, UP 1996 and UP 4512 resumed their journey to the Chicago area with 76 platforms. Video starts with the crew setting out UP 1988 at Broadmoor's old elevator track.

- David P. Jordan

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bartlett Grain Co. LP to Build Elevator on UP Peoria Sub!

Image
Bartlett Grain Co. LP's Bureau County facility will be similar to its Canadian Pacific Kansas City-served South Jacksonville, Illinois facility, shown May 2, 2020.  Bartlett Grain Co. LP is planning to build a $50 million grain loading facility in Bureau County, Illinois. Media reports here and here  tells us Bartlett Grain will build on 155 acres east of Rt. 40 and north of Interstate 80 between County Roads 1700 and 1745 East. The complex, complete with a rail loop capable of loading up to 120 cars, will employ 25 to 30.  Rail service will be provided by the Union Pacific on its Peoria Subdivision, which runs from Nelson south to Barr. Grain will be shipped to Mexico.  - David P. Jordan
Read more

Black Band Distillery Expands to ex-Cat Tire!

Image
Black Band Distillery, presently operating at 1000 SW Adams Street, is planning to expand to the vacant property at 2400 SW Washington Street. That is according to WCBU News .  Although the article omits it, this property has a long history with the local distilling industry. National Cooperage & Woodenware Co. constructed a plant there in 1900, though a predecessor apparently had begun barrel making operations there c. 1885. This firm survived Prohibition (1920-1933) because the barrels could also be used for packing corn syrup, condensed milk, cider, vinegar, liquid chemicals, flavoring extracts, etc. Hiram Walker & Sons, which purchased one-third to one-half of its production, gained control of National Cooperage in 1946. A new four-story expansion began in the fall of 1964 only to be destroyed by a tornado on September 14, 1965. Operations resumed at the start of 1966 and the entire plant was replaced in 1967-1968.  Changing economics led to closure in 1972. Caterpillar Tra
Read more

PIA - A History: Chicago & Southern Airlines Crash Oct. 21, 1971

Image
The only fatal Peoria-area plane crash involving a scheduled air carrier occurred October 21, 1971 when Chicago & Southern Airlines Flight #804 went down while attempting to land in poor weather conditions. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident report can be viewed here , but I'll summarize the crash, what led up to it and the aftermath.  ILL-FATED FLIGHT #804 Chicago & Southern Airlines began flying between Peoria and Chicago's Meigs Field on July 7, 1969. Beech 18S and DHC-6 "Twin Otter" aircraft were used for its flights, the former type at Peoria. In 1970, C&S introduced an aircraft known as the ATECO Westwind II. It was a Beech 18S with heavy modifications including a seven-foot fuselage extension, two turboprop engines and a tri-cycle landing gear. An ATECO Westwind II operated ill-fated C&S Flight #804. It departed Meigs Field at 11:20 a. m. October 21, 1971 for Peoria and Springfield with 14 passengers. Airline pres
Read more