The UP-SALMK approaches St. Paul on the Altoona Sub.
June 10, 2007 Being busy with work I have not been able to spend much time trackside. I have been keeping tabs on the rails by checking the forums at Twincitiesrailfan.com and the many railroad picture sites on the web.
Sitting in my office on a Saturday, I was checking the newest pictures at Railpictures.net when I came across a series showing a Union Pacific train being pulled by a couple of restored EMD E9s. After checking through the pictures I learned by reading the captions that this was the Operation Lifesaver Special (OLS). It was making its way through western Wisconsin. Further checking in various railfan related forums and e-mail groups, I was unable to find any information related to its schedule or if it would make its way in to the Twin Cities.
As the day went on, I forgot all about the train and went on with my duties getting ready for an upcoming renovation at a local hotel. Day was turning into evening when my work was done. Making one last stop to check with the hotel staff, I saw a guy standing at the counter wearing a UP Lifesaver shirt. His shirt reminded me of the pictures I had seen earlier that day. Being a railfan and somewhat curious, I mentioned how much I like his shirt. He replied with a thank you and asked if I was a railfan.
"Of course," I said and we got to talking about local railroads when I posed the question. "Are you involved with the lifesaver train running around?"
"Yes indeed," he said, and continued to tell me it would be arriving in St. Paul tomorrow. He also told me the location and time it would be arriving. We continued talking and offered me his timetable so I could copy it. I made my copy while he finished his business with the counter clerk. I returned the timetable to him and as I did he asked me the BIG question: "Would you I like to join them for the trip?"
Stopping to think about the ethical repercussion for accepting, what could be viewed as a gift in the eye's of my boss, I none-the-less eagerly accepted the man's invitation. Trying to hold my enthusiasm, I made my way home and checked the forums again, to see if there was any postings about the train. I could find none. With excitement building for tomorrow’s trip, I gave my number one railfan buddy Xray a call. I offered a "heads-up" about the train and told him about the invite I had received.
Sunday arrived. Our ride was on even though it was not a guarantee. Even if we would not get on, I still had to go to get pictures of the train. As the scheduled time of arrival neared I was delayed by issues at the job site. Xray called me let me know he was already at the boarding location, but there was no sign of the train. And no hint of another railfan in sight was making him think we had missed it. I assured him the info I got was solid, and that I would soon be there to join him.
Arriving at the location where passengers were to board, I meet up with Xray. By now a few other railfanners waited for the special's arrival. As we waited, we chatted about railroads and the impending arrival of the OLS train. As time went on, I found out that Xray was on a schedule; it turns out that he had plans to meet up with his mom and would have to leave soon. No sooner as his watch ticked down to the last available minute, the train made its presence know with a blast of the horn in the distance. An employee lined the switch for the siding closes to us. The train approached a platoon of railfans that had now gathered.
Getting into proper locations - being mindful to stay clear of the others - we got our pictures. Xray was now overdue for his appointment. He had to say goodby, but not before asking me to give him a call if it looked like he and his wife might be able to get on with us. I told him I would, and with that, he was gone. I too departed to pick up the family. By the time we returned, the place was packed with UP employees and families waiting to climb on board.
Seeing the sea of people, it was looking more and more unlikely that the three of us would get on. So I called Xray and gave him the bad news. After waiting in the background for almost an hour, the time had come for the "ticketed" folks to climb aboard. Finally the wave was given to us by the invitee from the day before. All three of us climbed up the stairs and made our way to the last few open seats in the UPP 5468, the Katy Flier car.
Taking our seats we were thrust back 40 years. Sounds, smells, and sights remained as they were back when trains ruled the day. Hearing the highball on the handheld radio that were in every car, we lurched into motion and made our way east, towards Roberts, Wisconsin. As we rocked along the tracks, we took in the views of homes that abutted the tracks. As the train approached every crossing, I could not help but chuckle at the sight of the railfans knee deep in fields, standing in the beds of pickups, all to get that perfect shot as we glided past. I though to myself, now I know how I look to the engineers and conductors of the thousands of trains I have photographed over the years. Instead of taking pictures of the train I took pictures of the railfans taking pictures of the train!
Taking in the sights along the tracks, we started to make our way downgrade towards the St. Croix river valley. As we approached the signal for the swing bridge over the river we held our breath with anticipation. Was it lined or not? To our relief it was; no stopping for us today.
Crossing the swing bridge we felt like we were in a parade. Waving back to all the boaters on the river as they waved at us. We completed the river crossing and continued east arriving in Roberts. The train stopped so the crew could walk to the other end for the run back west to St. Paul. The ride so far was uneventful; up until now we were allowed to take in the scenery and chat among ourselves. That all changed while we sat in Roberts. The reason for the trip was not all fun and games - it was also a learning trip. In each car there was an Operation Lifesaver instructor and they took this time to cover the basics related to railroad safety with an interactive question & answer session. Photos hammered home the message that "if you try, you die!" Never race a train!
Just as the session ended our train jumped forward, this time heading west, back home. Again, we spent the time chatting with people sitting around us and just taking in the beauty outside the windows. Pulling back into St. Paul our journey was over. We made the 50 mile round-trip in just under two hours.
Disembarking the train I had one final good-bye with my new found friend and could not thank him enough for inviting us to this once in a lifetime train ride. Aside from spending the afternoon with the family in a restored passenger car, being pulled by restored motive power, we also got a valuable lesson. A lesson that I will be sure to pass on to anyone. Stop, look and listen. Its not just a slogan - its life or death.