When last we left you… the group was off from the Nugget, headed from Sparks to downtown Reno, enjoying the wonders of public transportation, a.k.a. Citifare’s #11 route.
Back to the Auto Museum… Ken was lucky enough to get to know some very interesting artists during his various Southern California experiences. The one who is responsible for our visit tonight was “Big Daddy” Ed Roth. Most well known for his “Rat Fink” character, Ed was one of the creative forces in the California car culture of the Sixties and Seventies.
A few years back, Kenny convinced me to get him some help in finding a rental truck to go from the Bay Area to LA to pick up this thing he was going to buy. So after a Friday night drive down the I-5 (including a stop at Harris Ranch that got him hooked on the pot roast, and yes, that’s another column…), we headed east from Burbank to the wilds of Lake Elsinore. We pulled up into the neighborhood and next to this garage was a pile of what passed for junk.
That junk turned out to be the remains of one of Ed’s three wheel creations also known as a trike. Take the back half of a VW bug and put the front end of a motorcycle on it, add a custom fiberglass body and you have one.
Flash forward a couple of years, and it’s another trip to LA for a car show with the completed project. When Ken finally showed it to Ed, he asked him to sit down on it for a few photos. Ed declined, and said that if he did, Kenny would have to pick it up next week in New York City.
Ed passed away in April of 2001 while working on another trike, this one powered by a Corvette V-8. His legacy lives on, and the National Auto Museum now displays a number of his projects including the “High Flyer” Trike, donated by Ken and Beth Mitchroney.
Ken Mitchroney and the “High Flyer” as it is displayed
at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada.
Our tour of the Museum was a short hour, with selected vehicles highlighted. Worth a visit if you have the chance.
The miracle of public transit failed us a second time that night as we just missed the bus back to Sparks from downtown Reno. But a quick phone call brought the shuttle from the Nugget to our rescue. With a 9:00 p.m. dinner for twenty-two people set for the hotel’s “Trader ***’s” restaurant, we arrived with time to spare. And yes, think “Trader Vic’s” and you have the menu and décor. Because we had such a good- sized group, we made a reservation for a private room. That turned out to be the “Captain Cook” room and it was all set with banquet style seating and a special menu for the evening.
It’s been a busy and long day for our intrepid travelers. Fear not!
Fruity rum drinks will be consumed and enjoyed along with the good company.
One of the highlights or lowlights, is the way that the staff celebrates birthdays, anniversaries and other special events. It involves lots of loud singing and the use of a large gong. During previous evenings here, I have experienced the displeasure of folks being gonged as many as eight times or more — all during the meal. The first time, it was cute. The second, amusing. The third, gets on one’s nerves. After that, it is tantamount to torture with each swing of the mallet against that damned gong.
So, after our meal had finished, I commented to someone that we would be spared “that damned gong.” I left the room to attend to the call of nature. Big mistake…
Somewhere along the way, when making the reservation for dinner, someone made a note that this dinner was for a birthday. So when our wait staff came in to serenade the lucky guest, they asked who the birthday person was. When it was revealed that no one had a birthday, my passengers all volunteered that it was my birthday.
The object of dissention.
Innocently, I returned to the table, and awaited the delivery of our Baked Alaska, and some coffee. So when the festivities began, I was somewhat bemused by it all, and then downright horrified when I was the “birthday boy.” So, I was not spared “that damned gong” after all. Now I’ll just wait for the right moment. As someone rightly said, don’t get mad, get even!
Roger gets gonged. Jeff Pidgeon on the left and Ken Mitchroney on the right.
The Nugget is one place where I seem to have luck in enjoying the Nevada style diversions of gaming. Betting on baseball, nickel slots and sometimes roulette have all shown a profit for me at times. So, I took my twenty dollars and headed off to a favored Monopoly slot machine. A short fifteen minutes later, I was up eighty dollars and it was time to head back to the “Tam” for a night’s rest. But before doing so, it was time for a quick call to Amtrak and “Julie”, the voice recognition software for a check of the status on Train #5 out of Salt Lake City. She said it was more or less on time and expected to arrive into Sparks about ten minutes late. So off to bed in the comfy lower berth…
A little before 6:30 a.m. a knock on the door awakes me. It’s the owners of the other two cars we came up with yesterday. Somewhere along the way, #5 has managed to lose time — a lot of it. Where the original estimate was for a 9:45 a.m. arrival, the train is now expected somewhere around 3:00 p.m. or later.
One of the two owners has made some phone calls and has arraigned for the three cars to go back on the rear of the “Reno Fun Train” (an Amtrak operated consist, but a chartered train by Key Holidays). We politely decline to join them, opting to take the regular train home, albeit later than planned. Our passengers don’t mind the late departure either.
So while the passengers all sleep in a few extra hours, we take our time getting ready for the day. The car is fully watered and ready to go, so I enjoy a full shower this time. Ollie takes the extra time to go in search of some supplies at a local market, and the rest of the crew goes off to explore Sparks.
When they return, I’m off to the Nugget to meet with everyone. Some folks are watching the NASCAR race, others are off taking another chance at the tables or machines. Still others have decided to take in a movie across the way at the local Cineplex. Later, I hear that there were explorations of some of the antique stores in Sparks. On the whole, the extra time is put to good use.
Trains come and go as we wait for the westbound Zephyr to arrive.
I decide to enjoy a quiet lunch at the Nugget’s “General Store” coffee shop. When I graduated high school, I came to Sparks to seek a railroad career. One of my relatives was the Yardmaster here at the time. He gave me a tour of the yard, and we chatted about family history over a lunch at the “General Store”. During our meal at the counter, Red Skelton passed by. The Nugget was one of his favorite places, and he often did show dates here in the Sixties and Seventies.
After that lunch, I decided that it would be all for the best if I did a few years of college before taking up a railroad career. Good thing, as the recession of the Eighties cut back a lot of railroad careers, and mine would have been one of them. Yet, I will always have great respect for the men and women who made and continue to make it their career.
At 4:30 p.m. we all board the shuttle from the hotel back to the station. In a twist of fate, both Amtrak trains arrive in Sparks at virtually the same time. The yardmaster on duty decides to allow the eastbound #6 in to the station first, and I spend a few moments chatting with the arriving engineer (another friend) about various topics before the westbound #5 comes to a stop in front of the station. In short order, the yard switch engine arrives with the “Tam”, ready to place it on the rear of the train. The required tests are made and we leave in less than 15 minutes.
All aboard in Sparks headed home!
It’s 5:30 p.m. when we depart Reno. A twilight ride along the shores of the Truckee River is quite the treat, and our first seating for dinner is quickly underway as well. Tonight, Ben has prepared a Vietnamese-style Cabbage Salad to start the meal. (Tasty!) The entrée is a Roasted Pork Tenderloin, accompanied by braised asparagus and celery along with pasta carbonara. Dessert is a Raspberry Supreme. Another fine meal enjoyed by all.
The ride over the Hill is something unusual. The temperature is a balmy 36 degrees according to a trackside detector we hear over the radio. Clouds have given way to a moonlit night with lots of stars. On the rear platform, there are lots of hot buttered rums and Irish coffees consumed.
The second seating and crew meal are well done by the time we leave Colfax, after picking up another conductor. (He replaces the one who will exceed the allowed 12 hours on duty, after he went east that morning to meet the train east of Winnemucca to relieve the conductors who boarded in Salt Lake City after the delays. It turns out that a westbound freight train stalled on one of the tougher grades east of Elko after having run over tumbleweeds that made the track slick. The CZ and six other freight trains all were delayed by this for almost six hours.)
A friendly game of cards starts up at the dining room table, and I manage to spend a half an hour or so with them. A few folks have started to nap here and there as the hour grows late. Still there are the hearty souls who are enjoying the seats on the rear platform as we head west.
When we arrive in Martinez, the display signs on the station platform read exactly midnight. The train makes a second stop to allow our group to disembark here, and we have their baggage all ready to go. In less than two minutes, we’re waving good-bye and departing for the quick ride to Emeryville.
Back where we started, we manage to come to a stop on the platform here. Our passenger all have enjoyed a fine trip, and we were glad they could come along. A round of handshakes and hugs and the conductor boards the rear for the trip to Oakland coach yard. By the time we come to a stop, it’s almost 1:30 a.m. and one long day. Some of the crew makes a quick exit, having to go to work in a few hours. Ben, Ollie and myself give it an hour before we decide to head home and come back later to finish the task of cleaning, clearing and de-stocking the “Tam”.
In my case, I got home about 3:30 a.m. only to have to roll out of bed at 6:30 a.m. to take my wife to work. Ollie got home about 5:30 a.m. and we were all back at the car at 1:00 p.m. to finish. We have gotten this down to an art, and most of the work is complete when I finish packing and leave the coach yard at 3 to be back in Livermore when my wife is off work at 4.
It will take me the rest of the week to catch up and get back to normal.
And after all of the fun, the group is making noises about next year already. But we might try something different with either a trip to LA from Oakland or maybe something overnight to Portland or Seattle or Salt Lake City. Who knows?
So ends the tale of the private car excursion to Reno…
Trips such as this one are amazingly affordable, and Roger is always glad to answer any questions about travel by Private Railroad Passenger Car.
Roger promises a column in the near future on “Big Daddy” Ed Roth and his creations.
Next week? We’ll leave railroading behind, and explore another interesting topic. Until then, Roger wants to remind everyone to do his or her part and support the JHM site as best you can. And his web pages are located at http://www.privatecarservice.net.