A cruising speed of 10 miles per hour

Oliver Lippincott arrives at Grandview Point on Jan. 12, 1902.
(Photo: Grand Canyon National Park #05122)

Nick and Chris Howell of England have earned my Respect and Admiration.

Eight years ago, Nick Howell purchased an antique 1901 Toledo Steam Car(riage). He later discovered it was the very same car that had made the first automobile trip from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon.

Steam engines capable of propelling themselves developed about 100 years before internal combustion engine automobiles. The light steam car developed about the same time as cars powered by internal combustion engines.

Oliver Lippincott was a Los Angeles photographer who liked trailblazing remote areas with new technology.

The first automobile to enter Yosemite was a Locomobile steam car driven by Lippincott. Lippincott and his mechanic arrived June 24, 1900 and spent several weeks taking pictures to promote both Yosemite and the Locomobile.

Part of what protected the Grand Canyon for so long was its remoteness. A railroad to Flagstaff was completed in 1882 and stage coaches started to take tourists from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon in 1883—a 70-mile, 11-hour journey at $20 per person. 

The first train with paying passengers (the 64-mile trip cost $3.95) arrived at the South Rim on Sept. 17, 1901 from Williams.

In January of 1902, Lippincott planned to drive the roughly 70 miles from Flagstaff to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. 

Accompanied by a local guide and two reporters from the Los Angeles Herald, Lippincott's 1901 Toledo steamer became the first vehicle to successfully make that trip. In what was later described as "The Trip from Hell," what was supposed to take seven hours took two days—or two weeks, depending upon who told the story.

The Toledo Steam Carriage was a very well-made, high-quality machine and is considered one of the best steam cars produced at the time.

Because steam cars used technology already developed for steam locomotives, they initially had the advantage. In 1900 the steam car was superior and held land speed records, but by 1920 the internal combustion engine had progressed to a degree of refinement that made the steam car obsolete.

Eight years after purchasing the Toledo Steam Carriage, the Howell brothers recreated Lippincott's historic trip. The brothers hoped to do the trip in seven hours, but it, too, took two days. On Aug. 26 and 27, 2014 (with the help of several car and history buffs—and lots of tea) they did it.

And the Howells weren't towed in—unlike Lippincott.

I strongly encourage you to follow the link below to read more about their daring adventure.

Well done, gentlemen. Well done.


http://www.azcentral.com/longform/life/az-narratives/2014/08/29/steam-car-grand-canyon-journey-longform/14834557/ 

National treasure

You might recall me mentioning Mary J. Colter last year when we went to the Grand Canyon.

In 1901, the Fred Harvey Company (of the famous Harvey Houses and Harvey Girls) offered Colter, an American architect and designer, the job of decorating the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque, N.M.

Colter began working full-time for the company in 1910, moving from interior designer to architect. For the next 30 years, working as one of few female architects and in rugged conditions, Colter completed 21 projects for Harvey.

Of all of her work, Colter considered the sprawling, hacienda-style Spanish Colonial Revival architecture La Posada Hotel (1929) in Winslow, Ariz., her masterpiece. She designed the entire resort from the building to its gardens, furniture, china—even the maids' uniforms.

She also created a series of landmark hotels and commercial lodges through the southwest, including the Phantom Ranch buildings (1922) at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and five structures on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. (Four "M.E.J. Colter Buildings," were listed as a group as a National Historic Landmark in 1987.)

The La Posada closed to the public in 1957 and its furnishings were auctioned off in 1959. It had been scheduled for demolition several times before The National Trust for Historic Preservation found out about La Posada’s peril and added it to their endangered list.

Thankfully, it was purchased from the Santa Fe Railway in 1994 and a $12 million restoration has restored the hotel to Colter's original vision of La Posada as the grand hacienda of a wealthy Spanish landowner.

Josefina should be so lucky!

 

The trip of a lifetime

Passenger service attendant

For history, one would be hard pressed to compete with the five million year old Grand Canyon, but Grand Canyon Railway tries.

It has been a week since our centennial ride but I'm still thinking it over. (Our tickets were the 1912 prices of $7.50 but normally would have cost $99!)

Our passenger service attendant told us that normally the train would carry about 100 people to the Grand Canyon, but the special Centennial train had 1,201 - their biggest train ever!

Mountain Man

I was a hit, of course.

Each train engine and each train car has been painstakingly restored to its original state.

Harvey Girl

Each member of the crew was bursting with local and Grand Canyon folklore and history, as well as Grand Canyon Railway knowledge. A passenger service attendant saw to our needs and comfort. Strolling musicians sang songs about trains and the Grand Canyon as well as yesteryear. And there was even an old-fashioned shoot-out and a train robbery!

In other words, we had a grand time.

The Harvey Girls

We saw lots of women dressed as Harvey Girls while on the Grand Canyon Railway and at the Bright Angel Lodge.

Fred Harvey began using a female serving staff in 1883 when he became unhappy with his male staff who often carried firearms to intimidate customers. He sought out single, well-mannered, and educated American ladies, and placed ads in newspapers throughout the East and Midwest for "white, young women, 18 to 30 years of age, of good character, attractive and intelligent." The girls were paid $17.50 a month (approximately $411 in today's terms) to start, plus room, board, and tips, a generous income by the standards of the time. 

The women were subjected to a strict 10 p.m. curfew, administered by a senior Harvey Girl who assumed the role and responsibilities of house mother. The official starched black and white uniform (which was designed to diminish the female physique) consisted of a skirt that hung no more than eight inches off the floor, "Elsie" collars, opaque black stockings, and black shoes.

Their hair was restrained in a net and tied with a regulation white ribbon. Makeup of any sort was absolutely prohibited, as was chewing gum while on duty. Harvey Girls were required into a one-year employment contract, and forfeited half their base pay if they failed to complete the term of service. Marriage was the most common reason for a girl to terminate her employment. 

The company and its employees successfully brought new higher standards of both civility and dining to a region widely regarded in the era as "the Wild West." Harvey Girls are said to have helped to "civilize the American Southwest."

The popularity of the Harvey Girls grew even stronger in 1946, when Judy Garland starred in the film version of Samuel Hopkins Adams’ novel The Harvey Girls.

Incidentally, it is thought that the Harvey Houses originated the "blue-plate special," a daily low-priced complete meal served on a blue-patterned china plate; an 1892 Harvey menu mentions them - some 30 years before the term became widespread.

Momma got me this cute china figurine of a Harvey Girl as a souvenir!

Addie and Momma's Excellent Route 66 Adventure

Fans of American Girl might recall that my dear friend Molly McGuire took a trip with her family in 1946 along Route 66.

Molly's Route 66 Adventure takes readers for an eight-state ride, from Illinois to California, along the Main Street of America.

Molly's family took a side trip off Route 66 to go to the Grand Canyon, and stayed at the Bright Angel Lodge where we had lunch Tuesday!

Bright Angel Lodge, designed in 1935 by architect Mary E. J. Colter, has a natural, rustic character, and is a Registered National Historic Landmark.

It has always been a popular place to stay and the center of South Rim activity. Located just a few feet from the Canyon rim, Bright Angel Lodge is the check-in point for the world famous Grand Canyon Mule Rides.

 

Addie's Route 66 Adventure

Whew! What a couple of whirlwind days.

I have enough material for several blogs, so stay tuned the next couple of days, but for now:

• Monday, Feb. 13, 2012 - we drove up to Williams, Ariz., to spend the night before boarding the train.

• Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012 - we boarded the Grand Canyon Railway steam train to celebrate Arizona's centennial as a state. We spent the day at The Canyon before taking the train back to Williams. (The train was "robbed" by masked men on horses!) After leaving Williams we started home only to get into a blizzard near Flagstaff, Ariz. Despite Momma's excellent driving, we slid off the road and into a ditch! It took us three hours to get towed out of the ditch so we found the nearest motel in scenic Munds Park where we collapsed for the night.

• Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 - We returned to Phoenix (uneventfully!) where Momma rested before teaching her first class at the local community college!

Phew! I'm exhausted by that brief summary. But stay tuned for more in-depth reporting on my Route 66 Adventure!

My steamy adventure begins

In honor of Arizona's centennial on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012, Grand Canyon Railway is offering round-trip coach class tickets for $7.50 per person - the same cost as in 1912!

The Arizona Centennial Train will depart the Williams Depot at 9:30 a.m. for the Grand Canyon pulled by vintage steam locomotive 4960 with coach seating.

I'll report tomorrow!

The Mother Road

I shall be getting at least some of my kicks tonight on Route 66 as we head to Williams, Ariz., for our Grand Canyon Railway Adventure.

One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on Nov. 11, 1926 – with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in America, originally ran 2,448 miles from Chicago, Illinois before ending in Los Angeles. It was popularized by both a hit song, (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66, and the 1960s Route 66 television show.Route 66 served as a major path for those who migrated west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and it supported the economies of the communities through which the road passed.

Route 66 underwent many improvements and realignments over its lifetime, but was officially removed from the United States Highway System on June 27, 1985 after it was decided the route was no longer relevant and had been replaced by the Interstate Highway System. (Arizona saw its final stretch decommissioned in 1984 with the completion of I-40 just north of Williams.)

The first Route 66 association was founded in Arizona in 1987, and a section of Arizona's road has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Loco for the Grand Canyon

The first passenger train from Williams to the Grand Canyon on Sept. 17, 1901.

It seems surprising now, but it took more than 30 years for the Grand Canyon to become a national park. The first bills to create Grand Canyon National Park were introduced in 1882, 1883 and 1886 by then-senator Benjamin Harrison. As President, Harrison established the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve in 1893.

President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Grand Canyon rim in 1903 and exclaimed:

"The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison—beyond description; absolutely unparalleled throughout the wide world. ... Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see."

Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon Game Preserve in 1906 and Grand Canyon National Monument on Jan. 11, 1908. Senate bills to establish a national park were introduced and defeated (again) in 1910 and 1911. The Grand Canyon National Park Act was finally signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919. 

Part of what protected it for so long was its remoteness. A railroad to Flagstaff was completed in 1882 and stage coaches started to take tourists from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon in 1883—a 70-mile, 11-hour journey at $20 per person.

The first train with paying passengers (the 64-mile trip cost $3.95) arrived on Sept. 17, 1901 from Williams.

Trains ran from Williams to the Grand Canyon until 1968. They returned 88 years after its maiden run to the day on Sept. 17, 1989.

For years the Grand Canyon Railway operated steam engines from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but they discontinued regular runs in 2008 because of environmental considerations. Operating a diesel fleet saves a lot of fuel and reduces greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants associated with steam locomotives.

However, the Grand Canyon Railway commemorates its anniversary every September with a special round-trip run to the Grand Canyon using steam locomotive No. 4960 fueled by recycled vegetable oil! The steam locomotive also makes special trips throughout the year.

In honor of Arizona's centennial on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012, Grand Canyon Railway is offering round-trip coach class tickets for $7.50 per person - the same cost as in 1912! The Arizona Centennial Train will depart the Williams Depot at 9:30 a.m. for the Grand Canyon pulled by vintage steam locomotive 4960 with coach seating. 

You can be a part of this historic event by calling 1-800-THE-TRAIN or clicking here to order online.

Shall I see you there? All aboard!


 

The 34th parallel north

My, my. I just discovered that parts of Arizona were once considered to be part of the Confederacy.

A brief Arizona history, said in my best schoolmarm voice:

• The Gadsden Purchase was a 29,670-square-mile region (an area the size of Scotland) of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States on Dec. 30, 1853, with final approval by Mexico on June 8, 1854. The purchase included lands south of the Gila River in Arizona and west of the Rio Grande in New Mexico.

• The Arizona Territory, CSA was claimed between Aug. 1, 1861 and 1865 by the Confederate States of America. It consisted of the portion of the New Mexico Territory south of the 34th parallel north. Its capital was Mesilla until July 1862, when the government moved to El Paso, Texas, where it remained for the rest of the war. The Confederate territory overlapped, but was not identical to, the Arizona Territory created by the United States in 1863.

• The U.S. Territory of Arizona was a territory of the United States that existed from February 1863 until Feb. 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state.

• The two territories played a significant role in the western campaign of the American Civil War. Several small skirmishes were fought in Arizona Territory, but its "major" battle was at Picacho Peak near Tucson on April 15, 1862. It was fought between a Union cavalry patrol from California and a party of Confederate pickets from Tucson, and marks the westernmost battle of the American Civil War.

Incidentally, parts of Arizona still want to secede to form a new U.S. state, potentially named Gadsden or Baja Arizona. The first significant political push to that effect began in February 2011, led by a group opposing Republican dominance in the north in contrast to the Democrats of the south. The organizers of this movement aim to hold a vote on the matter in 2012 in Pima County and possibly Santa Cruz County.

I'll just make sure I stay north of the 34th parallel north if I go back to Arizona. Today, the 34th parallel north essentially divides Arizona in half from west to east. It's just north of Phoenix at Wickenburg, and just south of Black Canyon City, Pinetop/Lakeside and Springerville/Eagar.

Oh, and I'll have my papers with me at all times, too.