Twenty Thousand Miles
on the Rails
(The Adventures of Hank Brown - Part One)
In late 1997, we asked Hank Brown, one of the people most responsible for the success of the motorcar hobby, to chronicle the railroads he has ridden on and tell us about the most interesting excursions from among his many trips.
How many trips ? Well, in the past 9 years, he has covered 20,112 miles on the rails, and ridden on 77 different railroads, most of which are still active today. Hank rode under the MCCA Flag from 1988 until 1991 and under the NARCOA Flag since then. The list of trips below covers 32 states in the United States, 6 provinces of Canada, and 2 states in Mexico.
Alberta Prairie Excursion RR - Stettler, Alberta,
Canada
Algoma Central Railway - Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Appanoose County Community RR - Centerville, Iowa
Badger Ammunition Plant - Baraboo, Wisconsin
BC Rails, Ltd - Vancouver, BC, Canada
Black Hills Central RR - Hill City, South Dakota
Bloomer Line RR - Chatworth, Illinois
Buffalo Southern RR - Buffalo, New york
Burlington Northern RR - Underwood, Iowa
Cairo Terminal RR - Cairo, Illinois
Canadian National Ry - Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, Northwest Territories
Caney Fork & Western RR - McMinnville, Tennessee
Central Montana RR - Denton, Montana
Central Western Ry - Stettler, Alberta, Canada
Chihuahua Al Pacifico - Chihuahua, Mexico
Chillicothe-Brunswick Rail Authority - Chillicothe, Missouri
CSXT (ex-Clinchfield RR) - Marion, North Carolina
Commonwealth Edison - Bryon, Illinois
Cuyahoga Valley RR - Akron, Ohio
Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern - Huron, South Dakota
Dakota Rails - Hutchinson, Minnesota
Dakota Southern RR - Chamberlain, South Dakota
Deadwood Central RR - Deadwood, South Dakota
Delaware & Ulster RR - Arkville, New York
Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range RR - Two Harbors, Minnesota
Englewood RR (CANFOR RR) - Woss, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Escanaba & Lake Superior RR - Channing, Michigan
Florida Central RR - Tavares, Florida
Georgia Central (CSXT) - Etowah, North Carolina
Great Smokey Mountain RR - Murphy, North Carolina
Heber Valley RR - Heber, Utah
Hobo RR - Lincoln, New Hampshire
Idaho Northern & Pacific - Emmett, Idaho
Indiana Erie RR - North Judson, Indiana
Indiana RR Museum - French Lick, Indiana
Indiana Southern RR - Spenser, Indiana
Iowa Interstate RR - Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa Northern RR - Greene, Iowa
J & J RR - Hardin, Kentucky
Kankakee, Beaverville, & Southern - Iroquis Jct, Illinois
Keokuk Junction RR - Keokuk, Iowa
KWT Ry - Paris, Tennessee
Lake Superior & Ishpeming RR - Marquette, Michigan
Lincoln & Southern RR - Peoria, Illinois
Little Traverse Scenic RR - Traverse City, Michigan
Lowville & Beaver River RR - Lowville, New York
McCloud RR - McCloud, California
Mid-Continent RR Museum - North Freedom, Wisconsin
Mississippi Delta RR - Clarksdale, Mississippi
MNVA RR - Morton, Minnesota
Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern - Lowville, New York
Nebkota RR - Chadron, Nebraska
Nevada Northern RR - Ely, Nevada
New York & Lake Erie RR - Gowanda, New York
Nicolet, Badger & Northern RR - Laona, Wisconsin
North Shore Scenic RR - Duluth, Minnesota
Oauchita RR - Eldorado, Arkansas
Ohio Central RR - Coshocton, Ohio
OHI-Rail - Minerva, Ohio
Ontario Northland Ry - Englehart, Ontario, Canada
Ottawa Valley RaiLink - North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Pend Oreille Valley RR - Newport, Washington
Peoria, Pekin Union Ry - Peoria, Illinois
Port of Royal Slope RR - Royal City, Washington
Port of Tillamook Bay RR - Tillamook Bay, Oregon
San Pedro & Southwestern RR - Benson, Arizona
SOO Line/CP Rail America - Madison, Wisconsin
South Branch Valley RR - Moorefield, West Virginia
South Kansas & Oklahoma RR - Centerville, Kansas
South Michigan RR - Clinton, Michigan
Southeast Kansas RR - Centerville, Kansas
St Maries River RR - St. Maries, Idaho
TennKen RR - Hickman, Kentucky
Western Maryland Scenic RR - Cumberland, Maryland
Wheeling & Lake Erie RR - Brewster, Ohio
Wisconsin Central Ltd - Manistique, Michigan
Wisconsin & Southern RR - Horicon, Wisconsin
Part two will be a summary of ten of the most interesting trips. We'll have it up on the site when available.
P.S. So can anyone claim to have covered more miles or have ridden on more railroads ????????