March 16, 2024, Indianapolis Santa Fe Mini-Meet. 

Time 9 am to 5 pm.  Allisonville Christian Church, 7701 Allisonville Road, Indianapolis, IN  46250.

Clinics:

• James Brown, Sibley Bridge at the Missouri River
• Bruce McKeown, Updating an Older Santa Fe Gondola and Placing a Heavy Duty Flat Car into Service
• Steve Cigolle, The Last Decade of Santa Fe’s Seligman Sub
• Dan Goins, Old School Scenery, Ceiling Tile Rocks for Fantastic Santa Fe Western Scenery
• Denny Krausman, Santa Fe Built Cars of the 50s and 60s.

Help needed!

As reported in the Second Quarter 2023 Running Extra, the Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society and the Arizona State Railroad Museum Foundation & Center for Education (ASRMF&CE) are partnering to produce a manuscript by Garland Lamar Moore on the history of the Atlantic & Pacific, the Santa Fe Pacific, and then the Albuquerque Division once the Santa Fe merged the Santa Fe Pacific into the parent company.  Mr. Moore was the Chief Clerk of the Albuquerque Division and prepared his manuscript from original company documents, many of which are now missing.  As part of the manuscript, Mr. Moore included photographs that were taped into the manuscript.  Unfortunately, the original manuscript is missing so only poor quality photocopies of the original images remain.  It is our hope that Society members and interested members of the public may be able to identify the source of the original image so that arrangements can be made to produce a higher resolution image.

Two areas of help are needed:  (1) help finding images of some of the early officials supervising the Atlantic & Pacific’s construction and operation; and (2) specific images from Mr. Moore’s manuscript that ASRMF&CE archivist George Shaw has been unable to locate.  If you have sources for any of these materials, please contact providing your contact information and a note on what you would like to discuss:

ASRMF&CE contact
George Shaw, Archivist

Tel.  970.985.4935

SFRH&MS contact
Eric Hiser, Project Manager

Tel. 480.505.3900

George and/or Eric will be in touch to follow up with you as needed.

missing images for atlantic & pacific / santa fe pacific / santa fe albuquerque division history

The Society and ASRMF&CE are looking for images of the following individuals to include in the manuscript:

1. Frank J. Smith, A&P Superintendent, Construction period, 1880-1884
2. D.B. Robinson, A&P Superintendent, Post-Construction period, 1885-approximately 1890 (formerly general manager of the Mexican Central Railroad)
3. Arthur G. Wells, Santa Fe
4. Andrew J. Smith, Superintendent, Albuquerque and Arizona Divisions, appointed November 1, 1885
5. Thomas R. Gable, Secretary to D.B. Robinson (also formerly with the Mexican Central Railroad)
6. J.G. McCuen, Santa Fe (formerly with the Mexican Central Railroad) – if anyone knows Mr. McCuen’s official position, that would also be great to know!
7. Obituary notices/photos for Morgan T. Jones, Agent & Rules Examiner, died October 22, 1956
8. Obituary notices/photos for William F. Kraft, Agent, believed to have retired October 1, 1956.
9. William “Bill” Tolivar, Albuquerque Division Engineer
10. T.D. Mason, Albuquerque Division Engineer
11. R.G. “Tex” Garland, Albuquerque Division Engineer
12. James. B. Miller, Albuquerque Division Engineer
13. C.W. Henson, Assistant Albuquerque Division Engineer
14. C.L “Leon” Holman, Albuquerque Division Engineer
15. Superintendent Charles E. Rollins
16. Superintendent Oscar R. Hammit
17. Superintendent A.K. Johnson
18. Acting Superintendent Raymond M. Champion
19. Map of the railroads of Northern Arizona. We are looking for a cite to the original map or if someone has the original or a copy.

Low resolution scans of images are shown below to assist in identification of originals:

 

 

2022 convention:  The kansas city chief!  

Nearly 200 Santa Fe historians, modelers and fans gathered at the DoubleTree Hotel in Overland Park, Kansas on June 14-19, 2022  to celebrate the enduring legacy of the Santa Fe.   There were many highlights at this year’s Convention over and above the excitement of getting back together in person after a two year hiatus.  Special features included:

A Friday Night Talk on the ATSF 5704 Restoration Story by Stephen Priest and Mike Brusky.  Steve and Mike talked about the great cooperation from the BNSF Railway in agreeing to preserve the locomotive, prepping it for movement and then getting it to the shop for restoration; the commitment by the Southern California Railroad Museum to serve as a permanent home, which encouraged the BNSF Railway to make the donation, and the countless hours put in by both professionals and volunteers to restore 5704 to its full Bicentennial glory.  And what a success it was!

Clinics at the Convention covered a wide range, including:

• John Barry, Modeling Duryea underframe boxcars
• Sammy Carlile, Building the Hereford Sub
• Stuart Forsyth, Cajon at War: Helpers
• Eric Goodman, Building MKM “Bandits”
• Chuck Hitchcock, The Ottawa Junction Railway
• Keith Jordan, Modeling the Redlands Branch in P:48
• Denny Krausman, Modeling The ATSF Built Cars Of The 50’s And 60’s
• Kevin Looff, Giving Your Structures a Stucco Exterior
• Mike Martin, Santa Fe Business Cars I Have Known
• Keel Middleton, Dealing with the Weather on the BNSF Transcon
• Dan Munson, Argentine Yard Operations
• Ramon Rhodes, Modeling the Modern BNSF
• Bob Roth, The White Train
• Karl Schoettlin, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
• Bob Walz, Argentine Yard History

An added benefit was Andrew Bobis and his Santa Fe All the Way! modules that was set up and operating at the Convention Hotel Thursday through Saturday.  Great modeling and details in a modular format.

Extra Fares:

Extra Fares that many attendees took advantage of included:

Tuesday, June 14, 2022: LaPlata/Marceline Adventure

Attendees took Amtrak #4 to LaPlata, Missouri and enjoyed train watching from the platform.  After a pleasant time, everyone boarded buses and went to Marceline for lunch and  a tour of the Disney Museum.  An exciting addition was seeing some Santa Fe equipment still in livery.

Wednesday, June 15, 2022:  Ottawa/Topeka/Lawrence Adventure

The destination was the Santa Fe depot and Harvey House museum in Ottawa and they did not disappoint.  Lunch at Ward Meade Park in Topeka followed by a visit to the restored Pauline depot and caboose. Attendees then went down to the Topeka depot and a view of the “returned merchandise warehouse” scheduled for demolition. A definite highlight of this trip was a trip around the BNSF Shops and visit Eastfield Yard. On the way back to Kansas City, the buses stopped for a much appreciated visit to the restored Santa Fe depot in Lawrence.

Thursday, June 16, 2022:  Argentine/Logistics Park Adventure

Thursday promised to be a big day with both a bus tour through historic Argentine Yard – in many ways one of the beating hearts of the Santa Fe system guided by former employees.  Historic sites were pointed out, changes discussed, and application of the retarders on the hump studied in detail before everyone reluctantly agreed to move on to Logistics Park.  Logistics Park, the last of the Santa Fe’s big new facilities was phenomenal with all the accoutrements of modern intermodal railroading, of which the Santa Fe was a major pioneer.  It was great to see that BNSF Railway is keeping up the spirit with heavy traffic, even bigger cranes, and an intriguing new automation system.

Spouse Days Out:

Designed for spouses, but we won’t say anything if a few attendees found them irresistable as well!  Two trips great trips were available.  The first a tour of Leavenworth, Kansas visiting the Harvey House Museum, followed by lunch at the Old Santa Fe Depot Diner, and then some time to spend in the pleasant Leavenworth historic downtown.  The second trip was a bus to the iconic Kansas City Union Station.  Everyone checked out the Harvey Girls tour.  The tour was followed by a pleasant time shopping or lunching at Crown Center.

Thanks to Convention Chair Mike Tomei and his committee for a great convention!

We held our Indianapolis Santa Fe Mini Meet on Saturday, March 12, 2022 at the Allisonville Christian Church on the city’s Northeast side.  After having a two-year hiatus due to COVID it was great to have the opportunity to get together again this year.  Despite an unseasonably cold and windy day 48 people braved the elements to attend the Mini Meet.  It was particularly special to have Santa Fe Master Modeler #1, Jurgen Dietrichkeit, with us all the way from Munich Germany.

The program featured five informative and interesting presentations covering both prototype information as well as modeling information.

There were also 11 participants offering items for sale at the Swap Meet.

The first presentation of the day was by Keith Jordan who talked about the Santa Fe’s Redland Loop history and operation; and then his current efforts to model a Southern California Branchline featuring the Redlands Loop in O Scale.  Keith closed with a moving tribute to the late Warren Scholl.

Keith was followed by Ramon Rhodes’ presentation on the Santa Fe Railway operations in Chicago in the 1990s that featured a pictorial review of operations and equipment in and around the greater Chicago area.

After a break for lunch, Bruce McKeown, Santa Fe Master Modeler #6, presented “You Can Still Make Railroad Models for Model Railroads! Part Two” was an update on his efforts to kitbashing available cars into creditable models of Santa Fe rolling stock and structures.  Bruce discussed how building a model of a Santa Fe scale car also led him to build a model of a scale house for his layout.

Next John DePaemelaere talked about his career on the Santa Fe, “From Switchman to Road Foreman, And All the Time in Between (San Diego and the 4^th District)”.  John showed a number of slides of the San Diego area.  He talked about his early career on the Santa Fe including several humorous events he was part of during the early years.  For a primarily Midwestern audience this was a fascinating topic about part of the railroad many in the audience had never seen.

The final speaker of the day was James Brown presenting the “ATSF History of Chillicothe, Illinois with Edelstein Hill”.  James’s conducted extensive research for his book on the Illinois Division and used much of the information he gathered through interviews and record research to develop this presentation of the how the railroad impacted the development of Chillicothe.  James closed with a video tribute to the late Paul Nash.

We are very appreciative to all of the presenters and the Santa Fe fans that came from Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Kansas and Germany.

Thanks to member Thomas Cain for this report on the 2022 Indianapolis Minimeet!

 

Rapido Trains has announced a Santa Fe Class Rr-56 reefer in HO scale. The prototype cars first appeared in 1955. The Rr-56 were classed as “all purpose” mechanical temperature control (MTC) cars by the Santa Fe.  200 cars were built, numbered 2100 to 2188 and 2500 to 2510.  Delivered in SFRD, they were changed in 1963 to SRFP with the same numbers.  Even today some of these cars serve on the Burlington Northern as buffer cars and M-O-W cars, a role they also had on the Santa Fe.
These cars overlap the ice bunker refrigerator car era by twenty years and these mechanical reefers could be seen trains mixed in with the ice bunker cars.

The model is based upon original blueprints and drawings with artwork from original drawings and photos.  Separate door posts, door latches and coupler cut levers, fully detailed underframe, including piping and mechanical equipment, Kadee #158 whisker couplers, roof hatch can be open or closed.  Includes a model Trane diesel generator with an optional sound unit.  Ordering information available at https://rapidotrains.com/products/ho-scale/freight-cars/ho-scale-atsf-rr-56-mechanical-reefer

Bob Chaparro, John B. Moore, Greg Silva, and Keith Jordan, all of whom were a wealth of knowledge, resources and suggestions, and were quick to respond to Rapido’s questions and needs. Later on, Steve Sandifer and John Signor also contributed to this project.

Thanks to member Bob Chaparro for the note and comments; images courtesy of Rapido Trains website.

WalthersProto has announced a limited run release of HO scale EMD locomotives, F7 Phase II units 306LAB-314LAB from the Santa Fe’s last order for passenger-service F7s delivered in the 1952-1953 period and used into the 1970s.  See graphic above for details.  Preorders due August 31, 2020.

 

WalthersProto has released a late 1960s Combined Super Chief / El Capitan in HO scale.  The train consists of 11 cars in all, a mix of Hi-Level and conventional, including 11 Double-Bedroom Sleerps and a steam Generator Car.  All cars come fully assembled with prototypically tinted windows as appropriate, factory-installed grab irons, factory-printed names and numbers, or decals for easy customizing and modeler-installed extended drawbars for 22″ radius curves. Walthers will also offer new versions of popular Santa Fe models past and present that include the Hi-Level 72-Seat Coach, Big Dome Bar Lounge, and plated, unlettered versions of other equipment. Based on units #306LAB through #314LAB as they appeared in the late 1960s, WalthersProto EMD F7s in classic Warbonnet colors will be available separately with LokSound 5 Sound and DCC for DCC and DC layouts, and in Standard DC versions. For a complete list of models and delivery dates, please see the enclosed, or visit www.walthers.com/super-chief-el-capitan.

Fully assembled and ready for operation or display, two Deluxe Edition 11-car combined consists, and an all-new three-car version of
the La Junta, Denver Connection, which served through 1971 will be offered. Production of these limited edition consists, sold only in sets, will be strictly limited to the number of preorders received by August 31, 2020. These unique replicas include factory-installed
LED interior lighting and Preiser passenger and crew figures throughout the train where appropriate, plus unique names and numbers in each set.

The announced set options are as follows:

920-825 Super Chief / El Capitan Deluxe Edition Set #1 $1460.00 each

• Baggage Car #3918*
• Baggage-Dorm Transition Car #3477
• 68-Seat Step-Down Coach (forward seats) #532
• 68-Seat Step-Down Coach (reverse seats) #528
• 10-6 Sleeper Pine Pass
• 36-Seat Diner #601
• Pleasure Dome Bar Lounge #500
• 4-4-2 Sleeper Regal Crown
• 11 Double-Bedroom Sleeper Indian Lake
• Hi-Level Diner #651
• Hi-Level Sky Lounge #577

980-826 Super Chief / El Capitan Deluxe Edition Set #2 $1460.00 each

• Baggage Car #3857*
• Baggage-Dorm Transition Car #3479
• 68-Seat Step-Down Coach (forward seats) #535
• 68-Seat Step-Down Coach (reverse seats) #530
• 10-6 Sleeper Pine Grove
• 36-Seat Diner #605
• Pleasure Dome Bar Lounge #502
• 4-4-2 Sleeper Regal River
• 11 Double-Bedroom Sleeper Indian Scout
• Hi-Level Diner #655
• Hi-Level Sky Lounge #580

920-827 The Denver Connection Set $305 each

Connecting train for combined Super Chief/El Capitan between La Junta, and Denver, Colorado, through 1971
• NEWLY TOOLED! Steam Generator Car #134*
• Baggage Car #3817 (gray, white)*
• 46-Seat Coach #2842

Reservations are due by August 31, 2020 to guarantee availability.  For more information visit www.walthers.com/super-chief-el-capitan

2017 Southern California Mini-Meet Report

Despite all the rain that has been falling in California this year, Saturday, February 4, was a dry and beautiful day, and a great day for the Mini-Meet. The event was attended by 110 enthusiastic individuals, most from throughout California. Five came from Arizona. One individual in Howland, Ohio, learned of the event and was fortunate to be in Los Angeles on business that week and was able to attend.

For the second consecutive year, the Mini Meet was held at the Christ Lutheran Church of West Covina. Attendees miss seeing the passing trains at the San Bernardino Depot where the Mini-Meet was previously held, but they strongly favor the comfort that the facilities at the West Covina location has to offer.

The day was filled with five clinics.

• “The L.A. Terminal in the 1930’s & 40″s, by John Signor, Society editor and California rail historian;
• “Modeling Southern California in the 1960s,” also by John Signor;
• “Modeling the California Citrus Industry,” by Bob Chaparro, a local railfan/modeler and citrus industry expert;
• “Railroading in the Steam Era” was a panel discussion moderated by Keith Jordan that included five former Santa Fe employees and Stan Kistler, the noted steam historian, in a roundtable discussion;
• “Cajon, Tehachapi, Arizona & New Mexico in the 1970s & 80s,” by Charles Lang.

During the breaks between clinics, those attending spent time at the 14 vendor tables and the very large modular layout presented by the California Free-Mo layout group. Of special note is the fact that the modular layout was operating on Sunday for the church members and their families to view, and on Monday for the more than 230 elementary grade students who attend the Lutheran school adjacent to the church. The older children especially enjoyed seeing the model trains being operated. Hopefully some of them will someday be railfans and modelers.

In addition to the above, something else happened at the Mini Meet. Its something that happens at every other Mini Meet, convention and event associated with our Society. It’s the interaction among attendees: meeting new friends, renewing old friendships, exchanging information and learning about subjects relating to modeling and/or the Santa Fe Railway. It cannot be precisely described or measured, but it happened at this Mini Meet as it does at all such events.

Gene Rutledge and I thank all those who attended the meet as well as those who assisted in any way in presenting it. Planing for the 2018 Mini Meet is underway.

–Charlie Schultz

2016 Kansas City Mini-Meet Report

The 29th annual Kansas City Mini Meet was held on November 12 at Hope Lutheran Church in Shawnee, Kansas. Over eighty fans and vendors attended and enjoyed four presentations and a video on the 2017 national convention in Tulsa, followed by layout tours in the afternoon and evening.

The first presentation was by Eric Goodman on his Emporia-sub., model railroad. Eric was to give this clinic at the 2016 Wichita convention, but had to be canceled. He provided great insight into how to build a large layout the “right” way.

The next clinic was Illinois memories by the well know author and Santa Fe Modeler Roger Ziegenhorn. Roger shared many slides from his collection and did a great job of documenting scenes around Chillicothe, Illinois and the Pekin branch.

Bob Walz, a director for the society give an update on Society activities and emphasized the features of the new website. The new site was on display for all to see.

The first half of the meet ended with a stirring video by Marc Montray promoting the 2017 convention in Tulsa. Marc set the video to music and featured the country swing song “Take Me Back to Tulsa”. The video received a great reception and all in attendance were ready to get to Tulsa ASAP!

The afternoon clinic was by Jack White, retired ATSF conductor from Marceline, Missouri. Jack regaled the audience with numerous tales from forty years on the Santa Fe. His nicknames were fascinating and fun, but nothing could top his memories of working the Henrietta to Saint Joseph branch.

The final clinic was by James Brown of Chicago. James is the author of the new Illinois Division book and was able to sign a number of books for attendees. James presented a detailed clinic on operations at Dearborn Station in Chicago. His clinic featured the extensive passenger operations of the Santa Fe and provided many details that were new to most in attendance.

The entire event was video taped by Jeremy Janzen of the Saint Louis area and DVD’s may be ordered for $10.00 including shipping, by contacting Jeremy Janzen at:    314-503-0981

Final thanks go to Warren Scholl (alias Chico) who was our Master of Ceremonies, to Roger Ziegenhorn co-producer, and Karl Schoettlin who was our host a Hope Lutheran.

Respectfully submitted,

Jeff Needham

 

2019 Kansas city mini-meet short report

The 32nd Annual Kansas City Mini-Meet was held on November 23, 2019 at Hope Lutheran Church in Shawnee, Kansas.  Speakers included:

• Mike Martin – Santa Fe Business Cars I’ve Known
• Denny Krausman – Building ATSF Resin Kits
• Keith Jordan – Warren Scholl Tribute
• Chuck Hitchcock and Mark Davidson – The Ottawa Junction Railway
• Dan Munson – BNSF – Yardmaster 101

by: Bill Van der Meer

On March 28th and 29th, 2003 an East Coast contingent of the SFRH&MS met in Fort Washington, PA. The meet was hosted by the GATSME Model RR Club, whose expansive and highly detailed model railroad has been featured in Model Railroader Magazine. About 30 enthusiasts enjoyed operating sessions, displays, seminars and not to mention, each other’s company. This core group of extremely motivated Santa Fe modelers has conducted meets for many years throughout the mid Atlantic region as well as in New England. This event has traditionally been open to members and non-members alike, having drawn the curious from as far west as Chicago.

Special thanks go out to clinicians Lou Nost, and Al Iezzi for their informative presentations and to George Weissgerber and Ed Wilson for their key roles in organizing the meet. Thanks also to GATSME members Bill Hubbard, Val Pistilli, Walt Kopf, Dave Deihl, and Bob and Darryl Rule for their assistance in helping us maintain our timetables and continually keeping our trains in the clear. Special recognition goes out to the vendors who donated door prizes. They include Kalmbach Publishing, Accurail, Lifelike, Carstens, Kadee, E-R Models and Tony’s Trains,

This is a very special group of extreme model railroaders who might never have come together under any other circumstances except for a common bond formed by a love for dreaming, and following the creative pursuit of modeling the Santa Fe Railway. Stay tuned for announcements for next year’s event. And think about sharing your knowledge by offering to do a clinic.