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The Heartland Flyer to Oklahoma 8/28-9/4/1999

Upon finishing the Canadian portion of my North American Rail Pass 1999, I had added a short trip, by my standards at least, to Oklahoma City to see my good and dear friend Bonnie Isbill, a colleague of mine from the Learning Centre at Santa Ana College, as well as to ride the new Heartland Flyer, which started in May. The running joke between the two of us was that I would only come and visit her state if passenger rail service started. When the Fort Worth-to- Oklahoma City service commenced, I then had no choice but to make the trip and besides, it would be the 49th state in which I would ride a train.

Having spent just three nights in my own bed, I was back at the Santa Ana station waiting for San Diegan 585 to take me to Los Angeles and I had an uneventful journey with an on-time arrival. I went into Union Station, received my boarding pass and started the queue for the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle.

I boarded the rear coach just ahead of the sleeper in the through-car section of the Sunset Limited which would be added to the Texas Eagle in San Antonio. This meant that I was a long way from the lounge and dining cars but it would be good exercise. We waited for a late-running Coast Starlight so departed fifty-two minutes late and proceeded east into the night and with the lateness of the hour, I fell right asleep.

8/29/1999

Morning light came just east of Yuma, Arizona and I ate breakfast while the train passed through miles of Saguaro cacti, the trademark of this route. We arrived at Tucson for servicing and left town fifty-two minutes late and it was a nice relaxing trip on the Sunset with no delays for a change. Steve, a friend, was the lounge car attendant and I have an excellent dining car crew. For a change, I ate lunch in the dining car as we sped across the Continental Divide at seventy miles an hour. Without a single delay from Tucson, we arrived at El Paso, Texas early, with time for an extended walk, then I enjoyed a steak dinner, watched "George of the Jungle" in the lounge car before calling it a night.

8/30/1999 I awoke in San Antonio after all the switching was done and was amazed how well I sleep in coach on a train.

Our train next to Texas and New Orleans 2-8-2 794 built by American Locomotive Company in 1916. We departed San Antonio with the regular reverse move before making our way north on the former Missouri Pacific tracks, now Union Pacific. I enjoyed another excellent breakfast as the Eagle made all of its stops on time.

Just before Temple, TX we switched onto BNSF tracks then stopped at Temple station, where the Temple Railroad Museum is adjacent and I managed to photograph Santa Fe HH-600 2301, built by American Locomotive Company in 1937. It is the oldest surviving Santa Fe diesel and nearly identical to the railroad's first diesel locomotive, 2300, bought in 1934. After retiring in 1964, 2301 was sold to Palo Duro Grain and by 1970, it was working for Tulia Grain at Tulia, Texas, on the Santa fe line from Lubbock to Amarillo, still painted in its zebra stripe paint scheme, although all Santa Fe markings had been painted.

We continued our on-time running, even crossing at Tower 55 with no delays, something that I had not experienced before, then arrived at Fort Worth early and I detrained to wait for my connecting train to Oklahoma. It had been a perfect trip on both the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle and I could not have asked for more.

This is a daily passenger train that follows a 206 mile route between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth and is operated by Amtrak and jointly funded by the States of Oklahoma and Texas. The train's daily round-trip begins in Oklahoma City in the morning and reaches Fort Worth in the early afternoon then leaves Fort Worth during the afternoon rush for an evening return to Oklahoma City.

The rail corridor utilized by the Heartland Flyer was built in 1887 by the Santa Fe to join its Texas-based Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe subsidiary to the main Santa Fe network. The railroad consisted of two segments: one built south from Arkansas City, Kansas and one built north from Fort Worth; the two segments met in modern-day Purcell, Oklahoma. The Land Rush of 1889 followed shortly after, causing many of the railroad stations in Oklahoma to become the centerpieces of permanent settlements; Oklahoma City is a notable example.

The corridor saw use by the Santa Fe for both freight, particularly the movement of cattle, and for passenger rail. Of the passenger routes that used the corridor, the most notable was the Texas Chief, which travelled from Chicago to Galveston. In 1971, following the Rail Passenger Service Act, the Texas Chief was transferred to the newly-formed Amtrak. The route (renamed to the Lone Star in 1974) remained in service until 1979, when budget cuts at Amtrak caused the route to close. The closure of the Lone Star ended passenger rail service in the state of Oklahoma.

In late 1998, Oklahoma and Kansas state officials began meeting in an effort to restore passenger service along the corridor and initial plans called for a train from Fort Worth to Kansas City, though this was eventually pared down to the current route for budgetary reasons. On May 18, 1999, Amtrak began taking reservations for the route, tentatively named "The New Train". Senator Don Nickles sponsored a "Name the Train" contest, encouraging Oklahoma school children to pick a name for the new route. The winning name was submitted by 11-year-old Katie Moore of Del City, who christened the new train on its first run. The Heartland Flyer was inaugurated on June 14, 1999, with a demonstration trip from Fort Worth to Oklahoma City, which carried state officials, Amtrak board members and mayors for the serviced cities. Regular service began the next day, ending a 20-year absence of passenger rail in Oklahoma and North Texas. First-year ticket sales totaled 71,400 passengers, more than triple Amtrak's projection of 20,000 riders.

Amtrak F40PHR 374 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1974 was on the point of my Heartland Flywer. I was boarded in a Superliner snack coach before moving into an former Santa Fe high-level car which had been rebuilt for this service. We departed on time with a friendly 'welcome aboard' and a warning about freight train interference and with slow orders for track work. Leaving town, the Flyer travelled on a fill above the Union Pacific line before paralleling it across the Trinity River then passed through BNSF's Saginaw Yard after going by Fort Worth Airport. There was a Union Pacific freight waiting at Saginaw Crossing which was dwarfed by the immensely large grain elevators. Within minutes, the Heartland Flyer entered the gentle rolling North Texas countryside having escaped from the urban sprawl of Fort Worth then passed BNSF's Alliance Yard before returning to the agricultural lands.

At Ponder, Texas, the tracks turned from a northwest direction to a more northerly trek and I thought it a pity that we did not stop so I could ponder in Ponder. We continued to cross the nice North Texas scenery to our next and only stop in Texas at Gainesville then crossed the Red River and with that crossing, I entered Oklahoma and now had ridden a train in 49 of the 50 states. I drank a Mug Root beer to celebrate and my mind started to think of riding a train on the Hawaiian Railway in Ewa Beach in Oahu, Hawaii as we continued into new territory while the sun sank lower in the Oklahoma sky. It looked larger than normal as the shadows enlarged but was really was a sunset of little interest, just watching a big ball disappear, although it was my first Oklahoma sunset.

It was twilight as we arrived in Ardmore, the first stop in Oklahoma then it became completely dark but I learned from the assistant conductor that after Pauls Valley south on my way back, was the really scenic part of the line as the train passes through the Arbuckle Mountains along the Washita River and to sit on the left side of the train. It was a night ride the rest of the way to Oklahoma City on a nice peaceful train and it made me think of the train to Grand Rapids, Michigan, the darkness on the way but daylight back to Chicago, just as my southbound run going back would also be in total daylight. I was listening to the new Jethro Tull "J-Tull.com" as we arrived at Pauls Valley after passing a brightly-lit refinery. Purcell and Norman were both quick stops in the night before we arrived at Oklahoma City, twenty-five minutes late. I met Bonnie and following a walk through the hulk of the former Santa Fe depot which was in a state of repair, I started my Oklahoma visit.

On my first day after a good night's rest, we drove out to Shawnee and went to the museum in the old stone Santa Fe depot Santa Fe built in 1902 then drove south to Tecumseh where we went through the Indian Museum there.

Returning to Oklahoma City via Norman, we pulled off Interstate 35 to visit the area damaged by the EF5 tornado that had hit the southern part of Oklahoma City in May. After seeing what a tornado could do, I would take the earthquakes back in California any day. In an earthquake, shaking occurs for maybe a minute and then there may be aftershocks, but with tornadoes, it is now you see it, now you do not. Where a house was, there is only a driveway now. That house, all of its landscaping and even the grass was ripped away from the earth; total destruction in seconds while a house next door stands totally unharmed. I stood in awe of nature's complete power. We returned to Bonnie's for an evening watching TV Land and KFC for dinner where I told her of KFC being PKG in Canada. At least, I had mashed potatoes rather than chips, as in Canada.

9/1/1999 On my second full day in Oklahoma, Bonnie took me around the northwest part of the city and I learned that Oklahoma has no natural lakes. The tour ended at the Federal Courthouse bombing site and I was very touched by all the teddy bears on the fence. That afternoon, we went to the Mall and saw "Dudley Do-Rite" then in the evening, Bonnie and her friend George drove me to Edmonds where we ate at Jammals, an excellent steakhouse and I had a Kansas City strip steak which was the largest I had ever eaten. Returning to the house on a very full stomach, I went to bed thinking about what an interesting and informative time I had.

After saying my goodbyes to Bonnie at her house, George drove me back to the station down the expressway which allowed me to see more of the city. The train came from its overnight storage area about fifteen minutes before departure and I was back aboard the former Santa Fe high-level coach. They had blue carpeting and Amfleet seats with no leg rest but foot rests on the seats in front. The windows had dark blue curtains with the walls a light gray. Downstairs there are bicycle racks, three bathrooms and a handicapped seating area. These cars were rebuilt for the State of Oklahoma service and are a good use of these historic cars.

We departed Oklahoma City on time to start my daylight trip back to Fort Worth and towards home and the Flyer crossed the North Canadian River before proceeding into the southern suburbs, passed through BNSF's Flynn Yard prior to crossing the path of the tornado's damage and made our first stop of the morning at Norman, home of the Oklahoma Sooners. The train ran across the rolling hills and past the occasional oil well on the way towards the next stop at Purcell, which happened about ten minutes after traversing the South Canadian River; the stop is located in the river's bottom with the town on the bluff above. South of town, I spotted three deer, which were more than I saw in Canada on the first part of that trip. We crossed the Washita River just before Pauls Valley, where Santa Fe 2-8-0 1951 and a St. Louis-San Francisco caboose 893 was on display, then passed through the large refinery and I must say that refineries look much better lit up at night. From here to Gene Autry siding was the line's scenic highlight, the passing through the Arbuckle Mountains following the Washita River.

I rode downstairs with the assistant conductor with the top dutch door open so I could photograph and enjoy the fresh air. It was a beautiful trip through the canyon and only a higher water level in the river could have improved it by making the rapids more wild. The canyon was such a distinct difference to the typical Oklahoma scenery that I will long remember it.

Coming into Ardmore, the train passed another refinery prior to sprinting the final miles of Oklahoma before we crossed the Red River back into Texas with a stop at Gainsville. I was wearing my Jethro Tull Roots to Branches T-shirt and after receiving the usual great comments about what a great shirt it was, a woman was trying to draw it from memory after seeing me walk by. I stopped and posed for her so she would walk off the train with a perfect drawing. For the rest of the miles to Fort Worth, I just sat back and enjoyed the North Texas scenery as the train ran slowly through the work areas of three different track gangs before we arrived back at Fort Worth twenty-nine minutes late, thus ending a most enjoyable train ride on Amtrak's newest route.

The Heartland Flyer at rest at Fort Worth.

Learning from the Amtrak agent that the Texas Eagle would be three hours late, I stashed my bags and went out into the city to find a movie theater but received conflicting directions, I managed to find one about three-quarters-of- a mile from the station and saw "Mickey Blue Eyes" then upon returning, learnt that the Eagle was stuck behind a freight train whose lead engine had caught fire. The best guess would be a 6:30 PM arrival, later revised to 8:30 PM if all went according to plan. At 6:30, the station agent came around the lobby giving out non-revenue soft drinks, chips and cookies and everyone took the delay in stride as I played Solitaire, did word fill-in puzzles and read USA Today and listened to Tull.

The evening temperature was pleasant on this star-filled night as I waited outside for the Eagle's arrival, which finally took place at 9:30 PM and I quickly boarding, choosing my usual right hand window seat and after my ticket was taken, went to the dining car which had stayed open for us and had a nice steak dinner then returned to my seat and turned in for the night after a very interesting day.

9/3/1999 I awoke the next morning in a darkened car with no power at San Antonio then ventured into the station to use the bathroom and to inquire about the Sunset Limited. About 7:00 AM, the Sunset arrived and a switcher added our two through cars to its rear then I helped our attendant turn the seats so that they would all be facing in the direction of travel. We departed at 8:00 AM for a long day across West Texas as I enjoyed music, puzzles and the scenery.

As the train neared Alpine, a passenger inquired about getting a room, which the conductor said he had a few. When they were done, I asked about a room and was upgraded to a standard room for the last night of my North American Rail Pass to do it correctly. At 3:00 PM, there was a wine and cheese party in the dining car for all sleeping car passengers so I went and had a soda-tasting party then ate dinner with the same dining car crew I had going east, who had gone to Florida while I went to Oklahoma. They were the happiest dining car crew I had encountered in all my miles of train travel. I then visited with Steve in the lounge car before El Paso where I went for a nice after- dinner walk. Once into New Mexico, there was a brilliant thunderstorm over old Mexico as we raced toward Deming, then I made my bed and slept peacefully all the way to California.

9/4/1999 I awoke to the sight of the sand dunes near Glamis and had a nice breakfast along the Salton Sea then detrained for fresh air at Palm Springs before the Sunset made fast work of the remaining miles to Los Angeles, where we arrived at 10:45 AM. San Diegan Train 574 was waiting two tracks over and Conductor Lawrence Dixon greeted me aboard and home. Within fifty minutes, I was stepping off the train at Santa Ana, thus ending my first North American Rail Pass, my 49th state and the longest trip I had taken, at least so far.

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