Chugging into the future

For the last postcard of 2011, I chose (no surprise) a train. To me there is nothing more symbolic of moving into the future than a train chugging along, especially trains powered by a steam locomotive.

This postcard came from friends and neighbors who just returned from the lower 48 (U.S.) states. I collect train postcards and they seem to find the best cards for me.

This card is post dated 1928 and shows the Royal Gorge, Colorado. The gorge's rock walls are some 2,500 feet and not nearly as wide, so the effect of being in the gorge is a little claustrophobic to some.

Traveling the gorge by train is fairly high on my bucket list.

Spiral Tunnels of the Canadian Pacific Railroad

The postcard above was sent some time ago by Glenn from Canada. He has Gem's World Postcards (here). Glenn recently sent me several rail themed postcards. I send him airplane cards when I find them. Glenn has done more than anyone to improve my stock of Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) postcards. This particular modern color postcard shows the lower spiral tunnel (one of two) at Kicking Horse Pass, on the border of British Columbia and Alberta. The tunnels were built to lower the grade of the rail that passes over the great divide of the Rocky Mountains.

My friends Rick and Jan recently returned from Florida and the American Southeast with these two black and white postcards with two views of the same lower spiral tunnel. The spiral tunnels are the highest point on the Canadian Pacific Railroad's (CPR) transcontinental rail route. Prior to the tunnels construction, the grade was 4.5 %, nearly ten times the normal grade specified by rail engineers. Consequently, the grade was the scene of many fatal accidents for railroad engineers, workers and passengers.

In 1907, John E. Schwitzer proposed lessing the grade with the construction of two spiral tunnels that crossed in a figure-eight shape. The tunnels were completed in 1909 and cut the grade down to 2.2%. The construction took two years, 1,000 workers at a cost of $1.5 million. Workers removed 54,000 cubic meters of rock from the tunnels.

Notice the similarity of the concrete tunnel entrance, vegetation and rock slide on the hillside in both the old and new cards. Also, note that both trains' engines have crossed under their tails or cabooses.

Denver Zephyrs

The Zephyrs of the the Burlington (railroad) Route which passes through the American Midwest was once site of the world record holder for high speed trains. On October 23, 1936, the Denver Zephyrs set the record for long-distance non-stop runs from Chicago to Denver (1,017 miles) in 12 hours, 12 minutes for an average speed of 83.3 miles per hour. This particular run beat the previous record held by the original Zephyr, which began service in 1934, by 53 minutes. The top speed on the record run was 116 mph.

In an era of steam locomotives, these trains pointed to the future of rail power. They were diesel-powered and made of lightweight stainless steel. Their streamlined modernistic lines inspired a nation still hamstrung by the grip of the Great Depression. They pointed to a prosperous future. Yet, history intervened. World War II began six years later. Following the war, America invested heavily in automobile infrastructure and trains were placed on the backburner of public policy.

Reading a postcard price guide book the other day, I made a discovery that within my collection are several valuable postcards. The Denver Zephyrs two-color postcard above was valued at $8, according to Diane Allmen's book, The Official Identification and Price Guide to Postcards, published in 1990. Seeing that the book was published almost 20 years ago, I assume that valuation may have increased. If I wanted to sell it, which I do not, it might fetch $12 or maybe more. A quick search on line shows this train is very popular with collectors. Many views of the Zephyrs are going now for $35 and one for $395 here. The same search did not turn up my postcard, so maybe it is a rare find. Though I don't collect cards as an investment, it is always a delightful surprise to find out that my pack rat tendencies have some monetary value.

Plowing into the new year

Printed on the back of the card:
Rotary snow plow in action at Moraine, Mile post 7.1 on the Whittier Branch of the Alaska Railroad. In this area, 100-mile-an-hour winds are frequent, causing heavy drifting of snow.
Published by Ellis Post Card Co., Arlington, Washington

This year I'm thinking of New Years a little differently. I can't help but think that some sober meditation is in order. This train slogging its way through drifts of snow is an appropiate image of what the new year has in store for most of us. The proverbial tracks we run are not always clear but we will get through what seems like insurmountable obstacles by persistence and determination.

Each year the Alaska Railroad publishes an art print commemorating the work and beauty of Alaskan trains. For 2009, Alaskan artist Taffina Katkus won the print competition with her work "Clearing the Way." See an image of the print at her blog Post Cards from Alaska. She used as her subject a rotary plow very similar to the one shown on this post card, photographed several decades earlier in Whittier, Alaska.

The best to you and yours in the New Year!