Camelot in Dairyland
My friend and colleague Jim Wrinn titled his 2000 book about the Southern Railway/ Norfolk Southern steam program Steam’s Camelot. The title references the legendary, probably mythical, era of England’s King Arthur, a golden age and place of prosperity, happiness, and justice that flourished briefly and then vanished forever. It perfectly captures how many of us feel about the three-decade reign of 4501, 722, 610, 1218, et al.
Here in Wisconsin, we had our own, more fleeting Camelot of steam. It was largely the work of Chris Burger, who tells the story of Chicago & North Western’s steam program in the latest installment of his “Best of Everything” series [page 16]. Although it didn’t feature big engines hauling 20-car trains every weekend, C&NW’s effort was the real thing, with public trips and other highly publicized events, like the annual Great Circus Train, which likely drew more people trackside than any SR/NS excursion.
But they weren’t all high-profile moves. On August 2, 1987, I was driving out to put in some extra time at my then-current job. Not being in a hurry to get there on a sunny Sunday, I made a routine swing by C&NW’s Butler Yard on the west edge of Milwaukee to see if anything interesting was there. Was there ever! Ten-Wheeler 1385 was just pulling out, joyfully clearing her cylinder cocks at the head a tidy three-car train. Fortunately, I had my camera with me. I raced ahead for a grab shot, then took to the freeway to reach a more distant, and more photogenic, location. That was St. Francis, historically the North Western’s most important Milwaukee-area junction. Although the semaphores there had recently been replaced, St. Francis’ tower remained in service, and had 1385’s route to Chicago all lined up. I never did make it to the office that day.