Staying on Track is published monthly by the LMRA - David Lamberts, editor.
Visit us on the Internet at http://www.railserve.com/lmra
E-mail me at DWL1944@cs.com
Our mailing address is PO Box 53674, Lubbock, TX 79453
Submitted by Margie O'Neill
The McIlhaney Creamery was originally located at the current Maxey Park location. Ten thousand cows and numerous horses were watered at the lake. The City of Lubbock wanted the land so they condemned the ranch house, causing McIlhaney to move to the southeast, cut his herd and buy milk from local farmers as far away as Brownfield. The milk was brought into Lubbock on five refrigerated cars, also known as "reefers," leased from the Burlington Northern. These reefers, originally the Burlington green, were soon painted a butter yellow and imprinted with the McIlhaney logo.
McIlhaney, one of just two businesses on the Fort Worth & Denver to have employed subleased billboard reefers, also had a pair of BREX cars (75213 and 75214) renumbered MKCS 4800-4801. Interestingly, neither Colorado & Southern nor Fort Worth & Denver reefers were repainted for industries located on those roads, even though both subsidiaries had reefers identical to the BREX 7500s.
The yellow sides of the McIlhaney cars carried the slogan "Real Butter from the Cool Breezy Plains of Texas" on four lines in standard six inch black block serif lettering to the right of the door, with the reporting marks and number below, sandwiched between two horizontal rules. To the left of the door was a large white McIlhaney's Creamery Butter box with black lettering and red trim, and the creamery name and location beneath in standard black serif letters.
The Lubbock Model Railroad Association would like to thank Al Fox for the background information in this article. Al was 60-years-old in 1951 when he stared working with his father at McIlhaney Creamery. The elder Mr. Fox worked for the City of Lubbock and worked at the creamery to supplement his family's income.
The L.M.R.A. would also like to thank the West Texas Helicopter for providing us with an excellent photo opportunity of the old creamery property and rail siding locations.
see McIlhaney Corrections and McIlhaney Creamery 2
Ron Kutch submitted this article from the Dallas Morning News published April 19, 2001. It was written by Roy Appleton.
The trains have been stopping at the fair since the museum opened in 1963. The whistles added to the sights and sounds the next year. But in 1993, the State Fair Association started requiring the museum to limit its outbursts.
"It's a programing issue, " fair president Errol McKoy says. "We don't want them going off during a concert. . . . They're loud. You can hear them all over Fair Park."
The whistles carry far beyond the park and are a year-round treat for museum visitors. "I love to hear them when I'm working in my yard," says Mr. Kurilecz, who lives near lower Greenville Avenue.
Their histories are obscure, but the pieces can still call up rail yard life or a lonesome, deep night rumble of steel.
They come from such railroads as the Missouri-Kansas-Texas, Santa Fe, Frisco, Texas & Pacific, Southern Pacific and Union Pacific. The largest whistle announced meals and shift changes at the former Santa Fe shop in Cleburne, sounds that old-timers say could sometimes be heard 23 miles away in Granbury.
Another signaled the comings and goings of the Dallas Union Terminal Co.'s No. 7 engine that switched cars at Union Station until 1962. And one whistle, found by museum volunteers in a pile of rubble, hails from an unknown ship.
Dr. Dan Monaghan organized the whistle collection while serving as the railroad museum's first curator. "It's just part of helping preserve the history of the railroad," he says.
Whistles spoke a language of the rails as do the train horns of today. Two long blasts followed by a short blast, for example, meant a train is approaching a meeting point. The length and diameter of a whistle's tube help determine its sound. And signature sounds can identify a train and its engineer.
Dr. Monaghan, a rail historian and member of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board, grew up in Wichita Falls in the 1930s, when three rail companies served the city. "You could tell each [engineer] by his sound," he recalls. And now, any sound of the rail "reminds me of my youth."
Sometimes it's enough to make you cry. - see WHISTLE-STOP TOUR
News from Amarillo is that the Amarillo Model Railroad Association is going full steam ahead on plans for a permanent headquarters building. They have been able to rent space for a number of years in the Western Plaza shopping center but with the anchor store, Montgomery Wards closing, the future is a bit dim for the location. Plans for AMRA's new facility range between a building 160' by 40' or possibly 160' by 50'. They have already sent out bids to a couple of folks who design custom layouts. This entire project sounds wonderful and once it is up and running, should be worth the trip to visit.
Decals are now available from the LMRA for the McIlhaney Creamery Company [reefer] of Lubbock. Each set is $4.00. For more information, or to order a set (or two) contact Dave Lamberts either at PO Box 53674, Lubbock, TX 79453 or e-mail him at DWL1944@cs.com.
Fort Worth, TX - October 13-14, 2001.
The Lockheed Martin Recreation Association's annual Train Show will be held at 3400 Bryant Irving Road. The show will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. For information contact Robert Bray, 1820 Spruce Lane, Benbrook, TX 76126 (817) 249-4965.
Fort Worth, TX - November 2 & 4, 2001.
The Holiday Train Show will be held at the Will Rogers Memorial Center at #1 Amon Carter Square. The show will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. For more information contact Robert Bray as noted above.
Ron Kutch sent me an e-mail from a gentleman who repairs trains. It reads as follows:
Thanks for thinking of me when Ron Kooch's [sic] train needs were discussed. I do primarily Lionel and Marx trains. These are the three rail trains a lot of us had under our Christmas tree when we were kids. These are considered to by toy trains versus scale model trains. I buy, sell and appraise as a small business which I have done since retiring several years ago. My e-mail is jhroam@apex2000.net.
John Roam
Margi O'Neill is going to present "Dining Car Cuisine." I understand some cuisine "samples" will be available for our gastronomic delight. Don't miss it!
Our fall play-day this year will be October 20, 2001 here at the church meeting room. We plan to set up the modules this year. The setup is Friday, October 19 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. We will run the modules from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. A $1.00 admission charged will be collected at the door. I may print some extra newsletters for the month of October and use them as enticing handouts!
The annual Cowboy Symposium will be on September 6 to 8, 2001. We have been invited to set up the club layout this year. Setup will be on September 6 (Thursday) from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. We will run the trains on the 7th and 8th (Friday and Saturday) from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The club library recently purchased some videos. They are as follows: