I was looking back at the Summer 2002 issue of Classic Trains at an article about the experiences of a conductor on the Super Chief with various movie stars. Back in the day, anybody who was anybody in Hollywood rode the Super Chief. Even into the 60’s, when passenger trains were declining in popularity, the Super had many movie stars as its passengers. The other swanky trains of years ago certainly had their chare of celebrity clientelle, too.
It got me thinking about how cool it would be to have been taking the train and run into one of these people. That spurred the idea for this topic. Travelling by train is a great way to meet interesting people and make new friends. But, has anyone here encountered anyone famous while travelling by rail?
I haven’t, but a friend of mine did. My friend (who is in his early 70’s now) told me a story about a trip he took on UP’s City of Portland many years ago. It just so happened that Rock Hudson was also onboard. My friend found out after being asked by several people if he by chance knew where on the train he was. At lunchtime, he sat at a table close to my friend’s in the dining car… and was instantly swarmed by every woman on the train! Later on, my friend actually had an opportunity to meet and chat with the actor.
So, does anyone else have any stories of meeting famous people on the train? I don’t necessarily mean movie stars, just anyone of notariety.
For some reason, I’ve met a lot of people associated with sports while traveling on trains. I’ve met the announcer for the Chicago Bulls (the guy that would always go…“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE STARTING LINE UP FOR YOUR CHICAGO BULLS! … #23, FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, MIIIIIICHAELLLLLL JOOOOORDANNNNNNNNN…”) while on Metra headed into Chicago from Aurora one day.
On the CZ I’ve met an official columnist for the Oakland Raiders, and a guy that played some special teams for the Chiefs in the 60’s (can’t remember either one’s name, though). Both of those were while traveling to Denver…isn’t the irony just delicious? [:D]
In April 2003 I boarded a southbound Acela Express train in Providence and wound up sitting directly behind singer Jerry Vale and his wife. I left him alone. The conductor was very nice to Vale and shook hands with him, as I recall, as he and his wife were about to detrain in New York City.
Vale himself was pleasant. The conductor complimented his singing when he took his ticket, and Vale responded, “It’s nice to be remembered.”
Met Joe Clark many years ago when riding the Canadian eastbound , he boarded at Calgary and rode to Ottawa. At the time he was nothing more than a member of Parliament but was a real nice fellow and down to earth. Really surprised at his deep voice, it somehow never seemed to suit him but he was a fine gentleman. I remember commenting to the wife that he seemed to nice to be in politics, was i wrong.
During my college years while working on Amtrak as a waiter/lounge car attentant, I was occasionally assigned to the Southwest Chief as a waiter. On one trip I served Barbara Hale, the actress who played the secratary in the Perry Mason TV series. She was pleasant, and inquired whether or not she could get off the train to stretch her legs in Albuquerque.
In pre-Amtrak days Johnny Mercer (of “On The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” fame) was on an NYC eastbound Chicago-to-Detroit passenger train and introduced himself to a railfan friend of mine when he heard us talking trains. When he went up to the baggage car to get his luggage in Detroit he even helped life my bicycle down.
Another time on the Amtrak Zephyr from Chicago to the west coast I saw Arthur and Mrs. Fiedler (conductor of the Boston “Pops” Orchestra) walk through the lounge car. That was neat having an extra conductor on the train. Maybe that’s why we ran on time (allegro risoluto).
And then there was the time I had dinner in the diner on the pre-Amtrak California Zephyr and the dining car steward’s name was Leonard Bernstein. The food was just as good as the music the other Leonard Bernstein made.
About 1965, while riding the Q to Denver, I ran into George Washington. After he detrained in Ottumwa (IIRC), I checked out his picture on a dollar bill. He didn’t look quite the same. I guess he must have changed over the years. I know I have.
Some years ago my wife and I were riding the Coast Starlight from LA to Oakland and saw Joan Baez riding in the lounge car with us. When she got up to leave I asked if I could take a photo and she was very gracious about it. She was headed home from a show. That must be why the call it the STAR-light.
In 1987 while travelling in second class on an expess train from Bern to Zurich, Switzerland our cross seat Swiss companion pointed out a fellow seated 2 rows in front of us noting that he was the President of the Swiss Federation!! He had an aide with him and no security agents of any sort !! Upon arrival in Zurich he was met by some official type people and a couple of armed security agents without a photog in sight. That is what a really secure country is all about.
Sometime back is the early '70s I met Rudolf Wanderone on the Panama Limited as he was going to his home near DuQuion, IL. You may ask, “Who???”. He is known among those who like pool as Minnesota Fats. Fats gained quite a bit of public fame as the character played by Jackie Gleason in the Paul Newman movie “The Hustler”.
Speaking of Paul Newman, I met him during the filming of scenes in Central Station for “The Sting” when the Illinois Central offices were still in the station. A couple of my co-workers asked for an autograph without success because, so I am told, Newman doesn’t give out autographs. However, Newman told this story on the “Tonight Show”. He was on a train coming out of New York going to his home and was about out of cash. Wanting a sandwich and a beer, his request to cash a check was refused by the lounge car attendent. The car was empty, except for some college students who had acknowledged his presence but gone on with their conversation. Hearing his plight, one of the students “volunteered” to cash a check for ten bucks. The deal was done, but Newman told Carson that the check never cleared.
I would guess that today, the very famous would suffer extreme humiliation and mental anqui***o be found having to travel on a train with the unwashed masses. That might indicate that they are no longer rich enough to ride in a automobile costing more than the rail car or the private jet costing more than the entire train. Beside that, where would there be room on the train for the entourage?
About two years ago, I got on an Acela in Philadelphia headed for New York. I wound up in the “quiet car” - they should have quiet trains - where cell phones and other chatter is prohibited.
But the character immediately behind me just kept talking and talking and talking, even though the conductor shushed him twice. Even worse, I thought he was delibertately faking a folksy Texas howdy-ma’am accent. When we got to Penn Station I turned around to glare at him, and it was Bill MOyers.
The Leonard Bernstein whom you met was and is Leonard J. Bernstein, who rose from dining car steward to superintendent of dining car services to passenger traffic manager during the Rio Grande Zephyr Days. He is mentioned in NEVER ON WEDNESDAY, the fine photo book on the Rio Grande Zephyr. He would not claim to be a railfan but he is. He went out of his way to ride the Rio Grande Southern and of course covered all the mileage of the D&RGW narrow gauge passenger service still running just after WWII. When Amtrak began running over the D&RGW he was the liaison man and continued supervising the Ski Train and special moves. At one time he was responsible for the Silverton narrow gauge before Bradshaw bought it from the D&RGW. If my memory is correct, he told me he had served General Eisenhower and Jordan’s King Hussein when he was a steward. He was also responsible for the catering for office car meals and meals at headquarters in Denver. He still reads TRAINS pretty regularly and keeps up with oldtimers who worked for the D&RGW.
Like the musician Leonard Bernstein, whom I also knew and knew me (I designed the original public address system in Philharmonica Hall, which was NOT criticized but which was removed or modified greatly when the acoustics were changed by major interior remodeling), his father’s same was Samual, “Sam”.
I met Leonard Bernstein through his predicessor as VP Passenger Traffic, Tom Long, whom I met on the westbound “California Service” train that was the interem remains of the CZ up to Amtrak. He boarded at Denver and had the roomette across or next to mine and we had lunch together. At Salt Lake City, we were late, and he and the company car driver drove me to UP station a few blocks away to be sure that I would make the connection to the City of LA (with its dome diner still running). He quized me greatly about what the Burlington did with the train east of Denver and was unhappy that they had only a lunch counter lounge and not a full diner. On my retu
Co-workers have spotted: Cyndi Lauper (Girls Just Wanna have Fun) at Balt. Penn Station, Alice Cooper with his golf clubs, and Fred Gwynn (Herman Munster) who would give you his autograph for 25¢ which he would donate to charities.
During July 1968, while “Chicago’s Finest,” under the direction of “Hizzoner da Mayr,” were bashing-in the heads of various hippies, yippies, and other protesters in Grant Park, I held a summer job in a photolab on the near north side. One Friday evening I met my dad at the C.& N.W. downtown passenger station where we caught the last Harvard Subdivision rush hour “scoot” home. Upon walking up the platform I saw our train on one side and the Chicago-to-Green Bay, Wisc. “Commuter 400” on the other. The “400” had C.& N.W. business car 400 tacked on the rear. “Hmmm,” I thought, “I wonder if Mr. Heineman is going up to his cabin this weekend?”
After dad and I settled into our coach seat, I looked out the window towards that beautiful single-deck passenger train next to us. The “Commuter 400’s” bar car was directly across the way. Peering into its window, I saw three distinguished looking “suits” enjoying a moment of conviviality together: Curtis Crippen, President of the once mighty Chicago, Milwaukee, Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad Company; John Shedd Reed, President of The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company; and Mr. Heineman, boss of the Chicago and North Western. I’m pretty certain that their train did not have a scheduled stop in Mr. Crippen’s home town (Winnetka?), but I’m pretty sure Mr. Heineman made it happen that evening!
From mid-year 1987 to mid-year 1988 I rode Amtrak nos. 5 and 6 between Chicago and Denver four times. On three occasions sports announcer John Madden was “holding court” downstairs in the View Liner lounge car. Boy that dude really likes to talk football!
Yes, about twenty years ago I took the Brit Rail train from London to Bath. When the train stopped in Bath they would not let anybody off for a while. When they did the station was swarming with police. I asked a police officer what was going on and he told me that Prince Charles and Princess Diana were on board the train that I had arrived on and so to Bath.
When I was a boy growing up in Georgia I met my congressman on the Nancy once in 1960, Sen. Richard B. Russell on the Southerner on a patrol trip to Washington D.C. in 1964, and Robert Claytor on the Cresent in 1975 when it was still Southerns’ train.