Was This Ever Done When Steam Locomotives and Popular Passenger Trains Were Retired???

Farewell to steam tours were common on many carriers throughout the 50's.  CNJ used Camelback 774 for several trips after steam was essentially gone off the roster in 1954 and then scrapped sadly.  PRR had some with the remaining few K4s in 1957.  Other roads had similar practices. 

N&W used Y6b's (a freight only locomotive) on farewell fan passenger trips at the end of the steam era. The last N&W 0-8-0 S1a made its final switching trick in a WV yard w/o any fanfare. In the case of the N&W, I guess the answer is yes, and no.

FWIW, the basis of my model railroad is to recognize each of the classes of N&W steamers. There are gaps in my roster, but for now I'm doing the best I can with what has been offered by Lionel, MTH, Weaver, and 3rd Rail.

The CB&Q's farewell to steam trip was July 17, 1966 using O1a Mikado 4960.

Rusty

Its still done.... Amtrak sent off the AEM-7s last summer with a special farewell excursion.

I believe they sent off the GG1s in a similar manner when they were retired. 

Ive had a pleasure of sitting upstairs in a 747 twice and its going to become a lost experience. There's only about 20 seats up there, with 2 flight attendants, so the service was always top notch. Its also substantially quieter than downstairs.   That being said, if you got stuck in goat and chicken class, the airlines have really let them slide downhill in the last few years. They really felt quite antiquated compared to newer planes. I will miss the fast smooth ride, but it was best experienced from the front of the bus.

FWIW, I miss the L1011's and those DC10's. Boy did they have room even in coach!

My last 747 flight was from Sydney, AU to LA.   My wife and I were seated in the last row.  The row was empty except for us.  We had a great flight because we could sleep across several seats most of the way.  I never flew upstairs in the 747 but I did fly in them many times.  It was a great plane and will be missed.  I also liked the the DC-10.  It was a very comfortable plane to fly in.

NH Joe

New Jersey Transit did their Farewell the the GG1 on October 29, 1983.  I was 14 when I rode that.  The did a farewell the the E8 in what, 1987 or so?  I wasn't in New Jersey when that happened. 

Amtrak's farewell to steam heat was powered by two NJT GG1s in 1982 as all of Amtraks were retired by 1981, but I don't recall Amtrak having a formal farewell to the GG1.  

Notice how Amtrak didn't do a farewell the HHP-8.  That was more of "good riddance" trip when that locomotive made it's final run.  Same goes for the E60MA's when David Gun ordered them to be dismantled in 2003 by having them unceremoniously turned on their side by bulldozers since Wilmington kept fixing them and putting them back on the road.

Boilermaker1 posted:

... I will miss the fast smooth ride, but it was best experienced from the front of the bus.

 

Agreed.  I started flying the 747's just AFTER they started doing away with the lounge up front and/or upstairs and converted those compartments to all-seating.  I recall my first trip to Hawaii from Chicago in 1981 was a 747, and I flew coach -- just being out of college back then.    But I remember glancing forward as I boarded the flight and saw a fancy champagne fountain in the center of the lounge area up front.  Some of the older movies of the time always depicted the lounge area of the 747's.  Now THOSE were the glory days of flying.  Eventually, the bean-counters won the battle of passenger revenue $$$ over fancy frills.  And by the time I accumulated enough frequent flier miles to cash them in for 1st-class upgrades on a regular basis, the 747 lounges had been replaced with seating -- nice roomy seating for sure.  But it would have been nice to enjoy the lounge area at least once while flying in those magnificent machines.     But I started flying a decade too late.  The 1970's represented the decade of Pan Am and the ultimate in luxury aircraft travel before the bean-counting culture took over American Business.   Although I miss flying when it was a much more enjoyable experience, I don't miss flying at all nowadays amidst the pack-'em-in-like cattle culture.

David

When they retired the "Gold Coast Flyer" in 1986, it didn't end well:

This film was created during the end of steam in Canada.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/end_of_line/

Although many railroads did run "Farewell to Steam" excursion trains - sometimes for several years - I don't know of a situation where a railroad had a specific celebration like this. When a railroad's top train changed from steam to diesels and/or from heavyweight to streamlined cars, they did a lot of tours and promotions regarding the new equipment. But I can't think of a situation where they had a celebration or special run of the old stuff. AFAIK when Great Northern streamlined the Empire Builder in 1947, they didn't promote a "last chance to ride in the old heavyweight Builder" run, they just promoted the new cars. On the day the streamlined cars entered service, they just shifted the old heavyweights to a different train.

The LIRR had a rather elaborate affair.

The Amtrak AEM7 farewell was a real hit...well worth the $$$. I was reluctant to do it but really glad I did - lots of fun!

Did the AEM7 trip with my wife and we both had a great time. The shop tour and "parts" auction were a lot of fun.

The LIRR ran a "fairwell" to steam with two trains with a G-5 at one end, diesel at the other. They met at I believe Hicksville pulled by the G-5's and then returned under diesel power. They also did run several fan trips at this time.

I think the airlines have been more accepting of sentimental people with "jet fuel" in their veins than have railroads for people with "diesel" in theirs.  In other words; being an aircraft junkie is still ok with airlines but, railroads tend to frown on fans within their own ranks.  You can like trains but, you'd better keep it quiet till your career is almost over.  And on this last point I'm thinking specifically of gentlemen like Wick Moorman or Jim McClellan from NS.  I knew both professionally while they were with NS and never had a clue either were railfans.  When Wick finally shed his shroud of secrecy, he came out swinging for the fences - the heritage units and the 21st Century Steam program.  (Also recently learned that Wick and I are fraternity brothers but, I reckon that's not rail related.)

Back to Delta for a second; they have a very impressive museum down near Hartsfield-Jackson Airport here in Atlanta.  They are definitely a company that is proud of their history and willing to share it with folks.  I would recommend it to people passing through Atlanta who have an interest in aviation history.

Curt

Not much nostalgia for airlines fo 20 plus years and surprised their PR is not lower than some foreign political figures. One year with affordable seating and rental cars, l hit three train related conventions and did sightseeing. Fantastic time. Last flight l was on, l am glad l didn't lose legs to gangrene and no heat in the prop puddle jumper.

Boilermaker1 posted:

 

"I believe they sent off the GG1s in a similar manner when they were retired. "

 

 

"The Last Run of the GG1" was in New Jersey under NJ Transit.  October 28, 1983.