Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe
HartBE
history. With it will end an era. It is the last class I railroad that
has remained untouched by corporate mega-mergers. The last merger the
ATSF was involved in was in 1928 when it purchased the Kansas City,
Mexico, and Orient (not counting the GCSF merger which wasn't really a
merger). Its map has lost many route miles due to spin-offs and
abandonments, but today its core system is pure Atchison Topeka and Santa
Fe. No other railroad can boast of this. The ATSF is the last of its
kind and it will surely be missed.
So ends the dream of Cyrus K. Holiday. One can only hope that the
Santa Fe's heritage will be remembered better than the other fallen flags
whos symbols have sadly been wiped from the face of modern railroading,
reveiling new stark, cut-throat, boring corporate images. The
Pennsylvania, the New York Central, the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific,
The Missouri, Kanas, and Texas, The St. Louis and San Francisco, the
Denver and Rio Grande Western have faded into history, and the list goes
on and on. One would hope that the Chief image would remain.
So begins a new era of unfamiliar faces and maps that would confuse an
old-timer. How long before there is just one national railroad?
Chief, Super Chief, Grand Canyon, El Capitan, Texas Cheif, Tulsan, Oil
Flyer, El Pasoan, Kansas Citian, Chicagoan, Kansas City Chief, Ranger, De
Luxe, Scout, Fred Harvey, Willham Barstow Strong, Ed Ripley, Warbonnet...
on the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe...
Goodbye old friend
Greg Brahms
: In a little over one hour the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe will fade into
: Goodbye old friend
Old friend is right--ATSF will be sorely missed. I recall the lyrics as
sung by Johnny Mercer accompanied by the Paul Weston orchestra:
Do ya hear that whistle down the line?
I figger that it's engine number 49.
She's the only on that'll sound that way,
on the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe.
See the ol' smoke risin' 'round the bend,
I recon that she knows she's going to meet a friend.
Folks around these parts get the time o' day
from the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe.
Here she comes--
Woo woooooooooo
Hey, Jim ya better get the rig.
Woo woooooooooo
She's got a list of passengers that's mighty big.
And they'll all want lifts to Brown's Hotel,
'cause lots o' them been trevellin' for quite a spell.
All the way from Philadel-phi-ay.
On the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe.
May warbonnets and Chico be long remembered. God bless the new company.
Greg WB6UHH
Evan Werkema
>HartBE (har...@aol.com) wrote:
>: In a little over one hour the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe will fade
>: into history. With it will end an era.
Today we consumate the marriage of a 126-year-old from a small
northeast Kansas town to a 25-year-old from the northwest. It marks the
end of their old lives apart, and the beginning of their new life
together. We wish them every happiness life can offer. The story of
their coming together is an interesting one. Few of their friends would
have guessed it would have come to pass a few years ago. The two shared
a few mutual interests, but their main interests in life were different,
and their paths seldom crossed. They didn't even like the same color!
But then a few years ago, a mutual friend named Frisco sold his business
to the youngster. The elder, who had several business contacts with
Frisco, began to work directly with the new owner. They began to flirt
with each other, and despite their differences, the relationship soon
blossomed. They made arrangements to meet each other more and more
often, and toward the end they were occasionally even sharing parts of
their adjoining living quarters.
Eventually the younger decided the elder had something it just couldn't
live without. The elder saw this, and knew that they couldn't go on
forever living as free individuals. They either had to come together and
make it official or stay apart. And so it was agreed, over the
objections of some of their friends and associates, that they should be
wed. Hurt feelings were soon ironed out, and today we witness the
consumation of their desire to be wed.
I now pronounce you BNSF. You may Krebs...I mean kiss...the bride.
>: on the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe...
>
>: Goodbye old friend
There, there. He's not really going away. Just tying on the old
feedbag is all. Oh sure, he may not be as fun as he was before, but
heck, as long as he's happy. Come on, let's sing our old song, just for
old times sake...
>Old friend is right--ATSF will be sorely missed. I recall the lyrics as
>sung by Johnny Mercer accompanied by the Paul Weston orchestra:
[...which was actually an academy award-winning song written by Mercer
for the film _The Harvey Girls_, performed in the film by Judy Garland.]
> Do ya hear that whistle down the line?
> I figger that it's engine number 49.
> She's the only on that'll sound that way,
> on the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe.
>
> See the ol' smoke risin' 'round the bend,
> I recon that she knows she's going to meet a friend.
> Folks around these parts get the time o' day
> from the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe.
>
> Here she comes--
> Woo woooooooooo
> Hey, Jim ya better get the rig.
> Woo woooooooooo
> She's got a list of passengers that's mighty big.
>
> And they'll all want lifts to Brown's Hotel,
> 'cause lots o' them been trevellin' for quite a spell.
> All the way from Philadel-phi-ay.
> On the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe.
[I'll take it from here guys...]
Back in O-hi-o where I come from,
I've done a lot of dreamin' and I've travelled some,
But I never thought I'd see the day
When I ever took a ride on the Santa Fe!
I would lean across my window sill,
and hear the whistle echoin' across the hill
Then I'd watch the lights 'til they fade away
on the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe
What a thrill!
With the wheels a-singin' "Westward-Ho!"
right from the day I heard them start.
'Cross the Kansas plains to New Mexico,
I guess I've got a little gypsy in my heart.
When I'm old and gray and settled down,
if I ever get a chance to sneak away from town,
then I'll spend my busman's holiday
on the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe.
[She came across the country lickety spilt,
at 90 miles an hour, fit to be tied!]
I can't believe I'm here at last!
[When you go travelling it's natch for you
to take the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe!]
I can't believe that anything could go so fast!
Then you pull that throttle, whistle blow!
A huffin' and a puffin' and away we go.
All aboard for Californ-i-a
On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe!
>May warbonnets and Chico be long remembered. God bless the new company.
A toast! To BN and SF. May their marriage be a happy and profitable
one! Cheers!
FFrailey
writes:
> I recall the lyrics as
>sung by Johnny Mercer accompanied by the Paul Weston orchestra
Hey, thanks for that nice sendoff!
Fred
acp...@ibm.net
>In a little over one hour the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe will fade into
>has remained untouched by corporate mega-mergers. The last merger the
>ATSF was involved in was in 1928 when it purchased the Kansas City,
>Mexico, and Orient (not counting the GCSF merger which wasn't really a
>merger). Its map has lost many route miles due to spin-offs and
>abandonments, but today its core system is pure Atchison Topeka and Santa
>Fe. No other railroad can boast of this. The ATSF is the last of its
>kind and it will surely be missed.
> So ends the dream of Cyrus K. Holiday. One can only hope that the
>Santa Fe's heritage will be remembered better than the other fallen flags
>whos symbols have sadly been wiped from the face of modern railroading,
>reveiling new stark, cut-throat, boring corporate images. The
>Pennsylvania, the New York Central, the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific,
>The Missouri, Kanas, and Texas, The St. Louis and San Francisco, the
>Denver and Rio Grande Western have faded into history, and the list goes
>on and on. One would hope that the Chief image would remain.
> So begins a new era of unfamiliar faces and maps that would confuse an
>old-timer. How long before there is just one national railroad?
>
> Chief, Super Chief, Grand Canyon, El Capitan, Texas Cheif, Tulsan, Oil
>Flyer, El Pasoan, Kansas Citian, Chicagoan, Kansas City Chief, Ranger, De
>Luxe, Scout, Fred Harvey, Willham Barstow Strong, Ed Ripley, Warbonnet...
>
>Goodbye old friend
From the Real South, In Argentina the many fans the ATSF have will do a
dinner in name of the disapeared friend.
SNIF....SNIF
Adrian C. Pardo Buenos Aires Argentina