Jump to content

Flying Yankee: Difference between revisions

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Jkortak (talk | contribs)
2 edits
→‎Current location: Incorrect post format
Tags: Manual revert Mobile edit Mobile web edit
(44 intermediate revisions by 24 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|American trainset}}
{{refimprove|date=May 2012}}
{{italic title}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox Locomotive
{{Infobox Locomotive
Line 35: Line 35:
| type = [[Inter-city rail]]
| type = [[Inter-city rail]]
| status = Discontinued
| status = Discontinued
| locale =
| locale = [[New England]]
| predecessor =
| predecessor =
| first = 1935
| first = 1935
Line 43: Line 43:
| formeroperator = [[Boston and Maine Railroad]]<br />[[Maine Central Railroad]]
| formeroperator = [[Boston and Maine Railroad]]<br />[[Maine Central Railroad]]
| ridership =
| ridership =
| start = [[North Station, Boston|North Station]]
| start = [[North Station]]
| stops =
| stops =
| end = [[Bangor Union Station]]
| end = [[Bangor Union Station]]
Line 49: Line 49:
| journeytime = 5 hours
| journeytime = 5 hours
| frequency = Daily, except Sunday
| frequency = Daily, except Sunday
| trainnumber =
| trainnumber = Northbound: 15<br>Southbound: 16
| line_used =
| line_used =
| class =
| class =
| access =
| access =
| seating =
| seating = [[Passenger car (rail)#Coach|Streamline coaches]] (1954)
| sleeping =
| sleeping =
| autorack =
| autorack =
| catering = The Armstrong Company
| catering = [[Dining car|Restaurant lounge car]], catering by The Armstrong Company
| observation =
| observation =
| entertainment =
| entertainment =
Line 62: Line 62:
| otherfacilities =
| otherfacilities =
| stock =
| stock =
| gauge =
| gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg}}
| el =
| el =
| speed =
| speed =
| owners =
| owners =
| routenumber = 15
| routenumber =
| map =
| map =
| map_state =
| map_state =
}}
}}
⚫
The '''''Flying Yankee''''' was a [[diesel engine|diesel]]-powered [[streamliner]] built in 1935 for the [[Maine Central Railroad]] and the [[Boston and Maine Corporation|Boston and Maine Railroad]] by [[Budd Company]] and with mechanical and electrical equipment from [[Electro-Motive Diesel|Electro-Motive Corporation]]. It was also the name of a passenger train, the third streamliner train in [[North America]] after the [[Union Pacific Railroad]]'s [[M-10000]] and the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]]'s ''[[Pioneer Zephyr]]''; the ''Flying Yankee'' was, in fact, a virtual clone of the latter, except that it dispensed with the baggage/mail space to seat 142 in three articulated cars.<ref name=retire>{{cite web|url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_and_Maine_Railroad_Magazine_May_June_1957_Flying_Yankee_retires.JPG|title=Two Veterans Retire|publisher=Boston and Maine Railroad Magazine|date=May–June 1957|accessdate=18 May 2012}}</ref>


⚫
The '''''Flying Yankee''''' was a diesel-electric [[streamliner]] built in 1935 for the [[Maine Central Railroad]] and the [[Boston and Maine Corporation|Boston and Maine Railroad]] by [[Budd Company]] and with mechanical and electrical equipment from [[Electro-Motive Diesel|Electro-Motive Corporation]]. It was also the name of a passenger train, the third streamliner train in North America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_and_Maine_Railroad_Magazine_May_June_1957_Flying_Yankee_retires.JPG|title=Two Veterans Retire|publisher=Boston and Maine Railroad Magazine|date=May–June 1957|access-date=May 18, 2012| via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref>
⚫
The lightweight train was constructed with welded [[stainless steel]] using Budd's patented process. The engine was an 8-cylinder Winton 201-A diesel, driving a generator; the lead truck was equipped with traction motors. It was fitted with air conditioning in all cars. No dining car was provided; instead, meals were prepared in a galley and served to passengers in trays that clipped to the back of the seat in front.<ref name=retire/>
That train ceased passenger service in 1957 and is stored at the [[Plymouth & Lincoln Railroad|Hobo Railroad]] in [[New Hampshire]]. It is owned by the state of New Hampshire, which in 2023 said it wants to sell the train.


==History==
⚫
The train was delivered in February 1935, and toured the BM-MEC railroad system before entering service on April 1.<ref name=retire/> The daily route served began in [[Portland, Maine]], then to [[Boston, Massachusetts]], followed by a return to Portland and continuing to [[Bangor, Maine]], returning through Portland to Boston and finally returning to Portland late in the day, a distance of 750 miles per day. This schedule was kept six days a week; the trainset spent Sundays undergoing maintenance. The train proved extremely successful, attracting new ridership and earning a profit for its owners.
Prior to 1935, the name ''Flying Yankee'' referred to a passenger train that ran between [[Portland, Maine]], and [[Boston, Massachusetts]], at least back to 1891. The train was pulled by an early 4-6-2 Pacific steam engine; cars were standard heavyweight construction.

⚫
The new ''Flying Yankee'' in the 1930s was a lightweight train constructed with welded [[stainless steel]] using Budd's patented process. The engine was an 8-cylinder Winton 201-A diesel, driving a generator;<ref>[http://flyingyankee.org/history/story-of-the-flying-yankee Story of the flying Yankee]</ref> the lead truck was equipped with traction motors. It was fitted with air conditioning in all cars. No dining car was provided; instead, meals were prepared in a galley and served to passengers in trays that clipped to the back of the seat in front.<ref name=retire>{{cite web|url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_and_Maine_Railroad_Magazine_May_June_1957_Flying_Yankee_retires.JPG|title=Two Veterans Retire|publisher=Boston and Maine Railroad Magazine|date=May–June 1957|access-date=May 18, 2012| via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref>

It was the third streamliner in service after the [[Union Pacific Railroad]]'s [[M-10000]] and the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]]'s ''[[Pioneer Zephyr]]''. The ''Flying Yankee'' was a virtual clone of the latter, except that it dispensed with the baggage/mail space to seat 142 in three articulated cars.<ref name=retire/>

⚫
The train was delivered in February 1935, and toured the BM-MEC railroad system before entering service on April 1.<ref name=retire/> The daily route served began in Portland, then to Boston, followed by a return to Portland and continuing to [[Bangor, Maine]], returning through Portland to Boston and finally returning to Portland late in the day, a distance of {{convert|750|mi}} per day. This schedule was kept six days a week; the trainset spent Sundays undergoing maintenance. The train proved extremely successful, attracting new ridership and earning a profit for its owners.


Later on, as newer equipment replaced it on one route, it would be switched to other routes, bearing the names ''The Cheshire'', ''The Minuteman'', ''The Mountaineer'', and ''The Business Man''.<ref name=retire/>
Later on, as newer equipment replaced it on one route, it would be switched to other routes, bearing the names ''The Cheshire'', ''The Minuteman'', ''The Mountaineer'', and ''The Business Man''.<ref name=retire/>


As railroad passenger ridership declined in the 1950s, the ''Yankee'' was also getting old, and thus the trainset, as ''The Minuteman'', was retired, running its last on May 7, 1957.<ref name=retire/>
⚫
[[File:Flying Yankee 1935.jpg|thumb|left|Rollout of the ''Flying Yankee'' at the [[Budd Company]] in 1935.]]


⚫
Most of the train's route is currently operated by [[Amtrak]]'s ''[[Downeaster (train)|Downeaster]]'', which runs as far north as [[Brunswick, Maine]].
⚫
As railroad passenger ridership declined in the 1950s the Yankee was also getting old, and thus the trainset, as ''The Minuteman'', was retired, running its last on May 7, 1957.<ref name=retire/> The railroad donated the trainset to the [[Edaville Railroad]] tourist/museum operation in [[Carver, Massachusetts]]. The train remained on static display there for about 40 years until it was moved in the early 1990s to [[Glen, New Hampshire]] after being purchased by the late Bob Morrell, former owner of [[Story Land]].


== Current location==
⚫
[[Image:BM Flying Yankee.jpg|thumb|right|120px|This "[[Drumhead (sign)|drumhead]]" logo adorned the end of the observation car on the ''Flying Yankee''.]]


⚫
The railroad donated the trainset to the [[Edaville Railroad]] tourist/museum operation in [[Carver, Massachusetts]], in 1957. The train remained on static display there for about 35 years until it was moved in 1993 to [[Glen, New Hampshire]], after being purchased by Bob Morrell, then-owner of [[Story Land]].
⚫
In 1997, the train was moved to the [[Claremont Concord Railroad]]'s shops in [[Claremont, New Hampshire]] for a complete restoration once purchased by the State of New Hampshire, which is ongoing. By 2004, the major structural restoration had been completed, and detailed restoration of components was proceeding. The eventual goal is to restore the train completely to running condition. The train was moved to [[Lincoln, New Hampshire]], on August 10, 2005, to the [[Hobo Railroad]] where the mechanical restoration is taking place.
[[File:Flying Yankee May 2020.jpg|thumb|The Flying Yankee sitting at the Hobo Railroad, with its bogies removed]]
⚫
In 1997, the train was moved to the [[Concord and Claremont Railroad]]'s shops in [[Claremont, New Hampshire]], for a restoration after it was purchased by the state of New Hampshire. By 2004, the major structural restoration had been completed, and detailed restoration of components is ongoing with the goal of restoring the train completely to running condition. The train was moved on August 10, 2005, to the [[Hobo Railroad]] in [[Lincoln, New Hampshire]].


Plans to move it to [[Concord, New Hampshire]], site of a former Boston & Maine railyard, fell through in 2017. The state hoped to open the train to public viewing in Lincoln.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.concordmonitor.com/flying-yankee-train-railroad-B-M-Concord-10393885| website=Concord Monitor| title=Flying Yankee train won't be returning to Concord| date=June 3, 2017}}</ref>
⚫
Most of the train's route is currently operated by [[Amtrak]]'s ''[[Downeaster]]''. However, the modern Amtrak service only runs as far north as [[Brunswick, Maine]]; there is no service as far north as Bangor.

In November, 2023, the state of New Hampshire put the equipment up for sale, with a focus on "the relocation and encouraged restoration" of the trainset.<ref name=Yankee>{{cite web|url= https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/state-of-new-hampshire-seeks-to-sell-flying-yankee-streamliner/ar-AA1jpIhJ?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=6ce03a82a3fd484787c0bb5e45375bf8&ei=7 |title=State of New Hampshire seeks to sell ‘Flying Yankee' streamliner|publisher=Trains.com, November 5, 2023|accessdate=November 5, 2023}}</ref>


== Models ==
== Models ==
Line 97: Line 108:
O scale
O scale


* Lionel. "pre-war", produced from 1935-1941. Not a scale model. "3 rail" AC power.
* Lionel. "pre-war", produced from 1935 to 1941. Not a scale model. "3 rail" AC power.
* Sunset/3rd Rail. Imported brass model. Available in both "3 rail" AC and "2 rail" DC power. Scale model, not "selectively compressed"
* Sunset/3rd Rail. Imported brass model. Available in both "3 rail" AC and "2 rail" DC power. Scale model, not "selectively compressed"
* Lionel. 2008. Reproduction of pre-war model.
* Lionel. 2008. Reproduction of pre-war model.

== Further reading ==
* Colquhoun, Lorna, New Hampshire Union Leader (August 11, 2005), ''[http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=58957 Flying Yankee rolls into Hobo Railroad]''. Retrieved August 11, 2005.
* Lindblade, Carl E. and The Flying Yankee Restoration Group. ''The Story of the Flying Yankee''. Retrieved from http://www.flyingyankee.com/history.html on December 19, 2004
⚫
* {{cite book|author=Pinkepank, Jerry A.|title=The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide|publisher=Kalmbach Publishing Co., Milwaukee, WI|year=1973|isbn=0-89024-026-4}}


<gallery widths="180px" heights="180px" perrow="4">
<gallery widths="180px" heights="180px" perrow="4">
File:Flying Yankee Budd photo 1935.jpg|Budd company photo of the train in January 1935.
File:Flying Yankee Budd photo 1935.jpg|Budd company photo of the train in January 1935
File:Flying Yankee menu.JPG|Menu from the train. Food was catered by the Armstrong Company as there was no diner on the train.
File:Flying Yankee menu.JPG|Menu from the train. Food was catered by the Armstrong Company as there was no diner on the train.
⚫
File:Flying Yankee 1935.jpg|Rollout of the ''Flying Yankee'' at the [[Budd Company]] in 1935
⚫
File:The Mountaineer Boston and Maine 1944.JPG|The train as "The Mountaineer" in 1944.
⚫
File:BM Flying Yankee.jpg|This "[[Drumhead (sign)|drumhead]]" logo adorned the end of the observation car on the ''Flying Yankee''.
⚫
File:Flying Yankee Edaville.JPG|The train in Edaville after its 1957 retirement.
⚫
File:The Mountaineer Boston and Maine 1944.JPG|The train as ''The Mountaineer'' in 1944
⚫
File:Flying Yankee Edaville.JPG|The train in Edaville after its 1957 retirement
</gallery>
</gallery>


Line 116: Line 124:
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


== External links ==
== Further reading ==
⚫
* {{cite book| last=Pinkepank| first=Jerry A.| title=The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide| publisher=Kalmbach Publishing Co.| location=Milwaukee, WI| year=1973| isbn=0-89024-026-4}}
⚫
{{commons category|Flying Yankee}}
== External links==
* [http://www.flyingyankee.com/ The Flying Yankee Restoration Group] - The organization that is undertaking the train's complete restoration.
* [http://streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track3/flyingyankee193605.html B&M/MC ''Flying Yankee'' Boston-Bangor April 1936 timetable at Streamliner Schedules]


⚫
{{commons category|Flying Yankee}}
{{Lightweight Trains}}
{{Lightweight Trains}}
{{EMD misc}}
{{EMD misc}}
{{Budd Company}}
{{Budd Company}}
{{BM named trains}}
{{Maine Central}}
{{Maine Central}}


Revision as of 11:11, 12 April 2024

Flying Yankee
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel
BuilderBudd Company and Electro-Motive Corporation
ModelBM-MEC 6000
Build date1935
Total produced1
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • AARB-2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
BogiesJacobs Bogie
Prime moverWinton 201-A
Engine typeDiesel
Cylinders8
Career
OperatorsBoston & Maine Railroad
LocaleNorth America
DeliveredFebruary 1935
Last runMay 7, 1957
RestoredOn going project
Current ownerState of New Hampshire
DispositionUnder restoration
Flying Yankee
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleNew England
First service1935
Last service1957
Former operator(s)Boston and Maine Railroad
Maine Central Railroad
Route
TerminiNorth Station
Bangor Union Station
Distance travelled254 miles (409 km)
Average journey time5 hours
Service frequencyDaily, except Sunday
Train number(s)Northbound: 15
Southbound: 16
On-board services
Seating arrangementsStreamline coaches (1954)
Catering facilitiesRestaurant lounge car, catering by The Armstrong Company
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The Flying Yankee was a diesel-electric streamliner built in 1935 for the Maine Central Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad by Budd Company and with mechanical and electrical equipment from Electro-Motive Corporation. It was also the name of a passenger train, the third streamliner train in North America.[1] That train ceased passenger service in 1957 and is stored at the Hobo Railroad in New Hampshire. It is owned by the state of New Hampshire, which in 2023 said it wants to sell the train.

History

Prior to 1935, the name Flying Yankee referred to a passenger train that ran between Portland, Maine, and Boston, Massachusetts, at least back to 1891. The train was pulled by an early 4-6-2 Pacific steam engine; cars were standard heavyweight construction.

The new Flying Yankee in the 1930s was a lightweight train constructed with welded stainless steel using Budd's patented process. The engine was an 8-cylinder Winton 201-A diesel, driving a generator;[2] the lead truck was equipped with traction motors. It was fitted with air conditioning in all cars. No dining car was provided; instead, meals were prepared in a galley and served to passengers in trays that clipped to the back of the seat in front.[3]

It was the third streamliner in service after the Union Pacific Railroad's M-10000 and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's Pioneer Zephyr. The Flying Yankee was a virtual clone of the latter, except that it dispensed with the baggage/mail space to seat 142 in three articulated cars.[3]

The train was delivered in February 1935, and toured the BM-MEC railroad system before entering service on April 1.[3] The daily route served began in Portland, then to Boston, followed by a return to Portland and continuing to Bangor, Maine, returning through Portland to Boston and finally returning to Portland late in the day, a distance of 750 miles (1,210 km) per day. This schedule was kept six days a week; the trainset spent Sundays undergoing maintenance. The train proved extremely successful, attracting new ridership and earning a profit for its owners.

Later on, as newer equipment replaced it on one route, it would be switched to other routes, bearing the names The Cheshire, The Minuteman, The Mountaineer, and The Business Man.[3]

As railroad passenger ridership declined in the 1950s, the Yankee was also getting old, and thus the trainset, as The Minuteman, was retired, running its last on May 7, 1957.[3]

Most of the train's route is currently operated by Amtrak's Downeaster, which runs as far north as Brunswick, Maine.

Current location

The railroad donated the trainset to the Edaville Railroad tourist/museum operation in Carver, Massachusetts, in 1957. The train remained on static display there for about 35 years until it was moved in 1993 to Glen, New Hampshire, after being purchased by Bob Morrell, then-owner of Story Land.

The Flying Yankee sitting at the Hobo Railroad, with its bogies removed

In 1997, the train was moved to the Concord and Claremont Railroad's shops in Claremont, New Hampshire, for a restoration after it was purchased by the state of New Hampshire. By 2004, the major structural restoration had been completed, and detailed restoration of components is ongoing with the goal of restoring the train completely to running condition. The train was moved on August 10, 2005, to the Hobo Railroad in Lincoln, New Hampshire.

Plans to move it to Concord, New Hampshire, site of a former Boston & Maine railyard, fell through in 2017. The state hoped to open the train to public viewing in Lincoln.[4]

In November, 2023, the state of New Hampshire put the equipment up for sale, with a focus on "the relocation and encouraged restoration" of the trainset.[5]

Models

HO scale

  • Orion Models/NJ Custom Brass. 1985. Imported scale brass model.
  • Challenger Imports. Imported scale brass model.

O scale

  • Lionel. "pre-war", produced from 1935 to 1941. Not a scale model. "3 rail" AC power.
  • Sunset/3rd Rail. Imported brass model. Available in both "3 rail" AC and "2 rail" DC power. Scale model, not "selectively compressed"
  • Lionel. 2008. Reproduction of pre-war model.
  • Budd company photo of the train in January 1935
    Budd company photo of the train in January 1935
  • Menu from the train. Food was catered by the Armstrong Company as there was no diner on the train.
    Menu from the train. Food was catered by the Armstrong Company as there was no diner on the train.
  • Rollout of the Flying Yankee at the Budd Company in 1935
    Rollout of the Flying Yankee at the Budd Company in 1935
  • This "drumhead" logo adorned the end of the observation car on the Flying Yankee.
    This "drumhead" logo adorned the end of the observation car on the Flying Yankee.
  • The train as The Mountaineer in 1944
    The train as The Mountaineer in 1944
  • The train in Edaville after its 1957 retirement
    The train in Edaville after its 1957 retirement

References

  1. ^ "Two Veterans Retire". Boston and Maine Railroad Magazine. May–June 1957. Retrieved May 18, 2012 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  2. ^ Story of the flying Yankee
  3. ^ a b c d e "Two Veterans Retire". Boston and Maine Railroad Magazine. May–June 1957. Retrieved May 18, 2012 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  4. ^ "Flying Yankee train won't be returning to Concord". Concord Monitor. June 3, 2017.
  5. ^ "State of New Hampshire seeks to sell 'Flying Yankee' streamliner". Trains.com, November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.

Further reading

  • Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Co. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flying Yankee.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flying_Yankee&oldid=1218548714"