Please note, the store will
open at 1:30 on Wednesday, July 28th.
Welcome to the July 18, 2010, edition of:
THE HOCKLEY EXPRESS
It’s mid-July and everybody has plans for holidays, visiting, and just
doing what seems right in July. Hockley Valley Railroad has the same idea, with
lots of stock on the shelves, ready to be part of your next project. Outdoor
railways are always fun and you’ll find lots of stock from G scale all
the way to Z scale. Drop in and have a look, we’re just south of Alliston.
Check us on the web at www.hvrr.ca, and use our no charge phone number, 1 888
942 9900. We ship everywhere!
We have just received new product from Athearn, in both HO and N scales. Check
the HO 50 foot box cars in Youngstown and USEX/Canfor. These are available in
different road numbers at $18.50. Also from Athearn see the 1955 Ford F100 panel
truck, in CPR, at $12.50.
We have more structures from Atlas, including a built up passenger station,
and a built up station platform. These sell at $32.60 and $18.60 each. Noch
has sent us some great scenery material including spring and summer grass tufts.
Take your choice, or take them both, they are $17.00 each. There’s also
a package of 10 reeds at $20.50.
Woodland Scenics has a huge selection of scenery supplies too, and Hockley Valley
Railroad has lots in stock to choose from. Check the cool shade trees, 5 to
6 inches tall; standing timber, 7 to 8 inches tall; Water’s Edge and Harvest
Blaze; Snow Dusted; Blue Needle and Forever Green. These are priced from $9.00
to $12.00. There are two kinds of hedge row too at $21.50 and $22.50.
We have a C&S livestock car from LGB. This one sells at $135.00.
If N scale is on your list, check the PS-2 and GTW covered hoppers from Athearn.
Get them in different road numbers at $22.50 each. Athearn has also sent us
several versions of the 33.9 thousand gallon tank cars. You’ll find them
in early and late versions, wearing the Procor name. These are also in three
road numbers each. Take your pick at $22.50 each.
Classic Metal Works has sent us a very nice 1954 F700 Ford Shell Oil delivery
truck. Park this one on your layout at $13.00. Atlas has a pack of 24 truck
pins selling at $3.90 and a code 80 standard remote Wye is $21.80.
Train Trivia
Train Trivia is looking at named trains throughout 2010. This time around, you
really have to hang on to your seat because speed and distance are what this
train is all about. We’ll travel over two thousand miles, reaching speeds
of 90 miles an hour. No, this isn’t speeding through Europe, across Asia
or even South America. Take your seat and be ready for some spectacular scenery
about the Southwest Chief!
The Southwest Chief, formerly the Southwest Limited, is a passenger train operated
by Amtrak along the 2256-mile BNSF Southern Transcon through the Midwestern
and Southwestern United States. It runs from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles,
California, passing through Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New
Mexico, Arizona, and California.
The Southwest Chief is the successor to the Super Chief, a train operated by
the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway until 1971 and later by Amtrak until
March 1974 when the Santa Fe forced Amtrak to stop using the name because of
a perceived decline in quality after Amtrak took over the Santa Fe's passenger
trains. After subsequent improvements in service, the Santa Fe allowed Amtrak
to change the name of the Southwest Limited to the Southwest Chief on October
28, 1984.
The train currently consists of two P42 locomotives, one baggage car, one Superliner
transition dorm, two Superliner sleeping cars, a Superliner dining car, a Superliner
lounge car, and three Superliner coach cars. A third Superliner sleeping car
and a fourth Superliner coach may be added during peak travel periods.
Unique among all long distance Superliner trains, the Southwest Chief is permitted
to run up to a maximum of 90 miles per hour along significant portions of the
route. Given Amtrak's own projected 40 hour travel time, the average speed is
still in excess of 55 miles per hour, including stops.
During the spring and summer months, Volunteer Rangers from the National Park
Service travel onboard and provide a narrative between La Junta and Albuquerque.
During the months of June, July and August the Southwest Chief is used by thousands
of Boy Scouts traveling to and from Philmont Scout Ranch via the Raton Amtrak
Station. During those months Raton station is occupied by Amtrak employees and
handles checked baggage.
The train itself is entirely non-smoking, but several stops of sufficient duration
to smoke a cigarette are scheduled each day. Most are extremely short, perhaps
five minutes on the platform of a train station, but the Southwest Chief stops
for longer periods in Kansas City, over 30 minutes and Albuquerque, nearly an
hour. Snacks and beverages are available on the train. A Safeway grocery store
is located less than a block south of the station in La Junta, and the Albuquerque
stop is sufficient to buy food from local vendors.
It departs Los Angeles Union Station in downtown LA, at 6:45 PM local time.
As the sun fades in the west, the train slowly makes its way through suburban
Fullerton, Riverside, and San Bernardino, California. After climbing through
Cajon Pass, the train enters the Mojave Desert and stops in the cities of Victorville,
Barstow and Needles, California.
The Southwest Chief speeds across Arizona with short stops in Kingman, Williams
Junction with a connection to Grand Canyon Railway, Flagstaff and Winslow, Arizona.
Entering New Mexico around 8:00 AM, local time, and the train stops briefly
in Gallup before crossing the Rio Grande River and entering Albuquerque for
an extended stop.
The rest of the afternoon is spent slowly traversing NE New Mexico's desert
highlands, with stops in Lamy, Las Vegas, and Raton, New Mexico. The train then
crosses the Raton Pass, entering Colorado slowly before stopping in Trinidad.
At this point, the Southwest Chief is on the open plains, and begins running
at high speed again, with a handful of stops before reaching Kansas City, Missouri
early the next morning.
After a long stop in KC, the train stops once more in Missouri, at La Plata,
and at Fort Madison, Iowa. Crossing the Mississippi River before Noon, the Southwest
Chief stops at the Illinois rail towns of Galesburg, Princeton, and Mendota.
The final leg of the trip goes through the suburbs of Chicago, such as Naperville,
Illinois. The train arrives at Chicago Union Station at 3:20 PM, local time,
offering spectacular views of the Chicago skyline, including the famed Willis
Tower, previously known as the Sears Tower, before heading underground to the
station platform.
Jeff Norgate
Hockley Valley Railroad