Scott Special
The Scott Special, also known as the Coyote Special, the Death Valley Coyote or the Death Valley Scotty Special, was a one-time, record-breaking
Background
Death Valley Scotty (September 20, 1872 – January 5, 1954) had used some ore samples that he collected near Cripple Creek, Colorado, as a ruse to convince some bankers in 1902 that he had a claim on a high-grade ore mine in Death Valley. By 1905 he had conned the banks out of nearly $10,000, equal to $339,111 today. Another con he ran in 1905 earned Scott an additional $4,000. It was then that he met E. Burdon Gaylord, the owner of the Big Bell mine. Gaylord needed a flashy way to promote his mine and Scott sought the money behind the mine; the two formed a partnership in which Gaylord would finance Scott and Scott would promote the mine like no other.
After a few high-priced and newsworthy train trips around the southwest, Scott met with the Santa Fe's General Passenger Agent, J. J. Byrne, at the railroad's office in Los Angeles on July 8, 1905. Once Scott (who had already travelled cross-country on the Santa Fe some thirty-two times) got in to talk to Byrne, the arrangements were made, thanks to a deposit from Scott of $5,500 in cash.[5] The two agreed on a 46-hour schedule from Los Angeles to Chicago that would begin the following day.[6][7]
The passenger list for the train was a mere four people: Scott himself, his wife, F. N. Holman, and Charles E. Van Loan, a writer for the Los Angeles Examiner (and one who was adept at helping Scotty create his "miner" persona, inflating the amounts Scotty really spent while "promoting" his "mine"). The schedule involved operating a three
Equipment used
The special train consisted of three passenger cars pulled by one locomotive. The three cars used were
Locomotives and crews for the Scott Special[9][10] | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Section | Distance | Average speed | Time | Locomotive number | Wheel arrangement (Whyte notation) |
Engineer
|
Fireman
|
Los Angeles - Barstow, California | 141.1 miles (227.1 km) | 48.5 miles per hour (78 km/h) | 2 hours 55 minutes | 442 | 4-6-0 | John Finlay | C. B. Ashbaugh |
Barstow - Needles, California | 169.3 miles (272.5 km) | 51 mph (82.1 km/h) | 3 h 19 m | 1005 | 2-6-2 | Thomas E. Gallagher | E. D. Nettleton |
Needles - Seligman, Arizona | 148.9 miles (239.6 km) | 42.4 mph (68.2 km/h) | 3 h 31 m | 1010 | 2-6-2 | Fred W. Jackson | H. Nelson |
Seligman - Williams, Arizona | 50.8 miles (81.8 km) | 34.4 mph (55.4 km/h) | 1 h 29 m | 1016 | 2-6-2 | Charles Wood | R. Edgar |
Williams - Winslow, Arizona | 92.2 miles (148.4 km) | 42.1 mph (67.8 km/h) | 2 h 11 m | 485 | 4-6-0 | D. A. Lenhart | W. P. Sugurue |
Winslow - Gallup, New Mexico | 128 miles (206 km) | 49.4 mph (79.5 km/h) | 2 h 35 m | 1000 | 2-6-2 | John F. Briscoe | B. F. Chambers |
Gallup - Albuquerque
|
157.8 miles (254.0 km) | 49.4 mph (79.5 km/h) | 3 h 12 m | 478 | 4-6-0 | Henry J. Rehder | F. Brown |
Albuquerque - Las Vegas | 132.2 miles (212.8 km) | 44 mph (70.8 km/h) | 3 h 0 m | 1211 | 4-6-2 | Edward Sears | G. A. Bryan |
Las Vegas - Raton | 110.8 miles (178.3 km) | 50.5 mph (81.3 km/h) | 2 h 12 m | 1208 | 4-6-2 | George A. Norman | E. Chrystal |
Raton - La Junta, Colorado | 104.5 miles (168.2 km) | 46.2 mph (74.4 km/h) | 2 h 17 m | 1215 | 4-6-2 | Hudson A. Gardner | R. P. Hinze |
La Junta - Syracuse | 100.8 miles (162.2 km) | 63.7 mph (102.5 km/h) | 1 h 35 m | 536 | 4-4-2 | David Lesher | William McClerkin |
Syracuse - Dodge City | 101.6 miles (163.5 km) | 62.2 mph (100.1 km/h) | 1 h 38 m | 531 | 4-4-2 | H. G. Simmons | G. Davis |
Dodge City - Kent | 153.4 miles (246.9 km) | 57.9 mph (93.2 km/h) | 2 h 39 m | 530 | 4-4-2 | Edward Norton | C. L. Gray |
Kent - Newton | 1095 | 2-6-2 | Oliver W. Halsey | ||||
Newton - Emporia | 73.1 miles (117.6 km) | 62.6 mph (100.7 km/h) | 1 h 10 m | 526 | 4-4-2 | Hadley R. Rossetter | Andy Fairchild |
Emporia - Argentine | 120.2 miles (193.4 km) | 57.3 mph (92.2 km/h) | 2 h 10 m | 524 | 4-4-2 | Josiah Gossard | H. H. Hill |
Argentine - Marceline | 108 miles (174 km) | 54 mph (86.9 km/h) | 2 h 1 m | 547 | 4-4-2 | A. F. Bauer | Robert Shirk |
Marceline - Shopton | 112.8 miles (181.5 km) | 55 mph (88.5 km/h) | 2 h 3 m | 542 | 4-4-2 | Richard Jones | J. J. O'Connor |
Shopton - Chillicothe | 104.7 miles (168.5 km) | 62.3 mph (100.3 km/h) | 1 h 41 m | 510 | 4-4-2 | Charles Losee | W. M. Schlosser |
Chillicothe - Chicago | 134.3 miles (216.1 km) | 61 mph (98.2 km/h) | 2 h 12 m | 517 | 4-4-2 |
Route and timing
The special departed from Santa Fe's
In
The first locomotive and crew change occurred in Barstow after the train had passed through Cajon Pass. At one point after passing Cajon summit, the train was clocked at 96 mph (155 km/h). The locomotive and crew were again changed successively at Needles, Seligman, Williams, Winslow and Gallup before the train arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 9:30 am on July 10.
To cross Raton Pass, locomotives and crews were changed at Las Vegas, Raton and La Junta. From La Junta, the train was powered by a succession of 4-4-2 type locomotives that were swapped across the plains in the Kansas cities of Syracuse, Dodge City, Newton, Emporia, and Argentine and Marceline, Missouri, to the Mississippi River crossing at Shopton, Iowa, near Fort Madison. Locomotive 530 was scheduled to take the train completely between Dodge City and Newton, but a burst cylinder head in Kent, Kansas, necessitated adding locomotive 1095 for the 26 miles (42 km) between Kent and Newton.[10]
En route, Scott and his guests enjoyed the finest meals that the Fred Harvey Company had to offer. Menu selections included such luxurious offerings as caviar, iced consommé, and Porterhouse steak à la Coyote.[12]
One more locomotive and crew took the train to
Legacy and preservation
The speed record set by the Scott Special stood for many years and was not beaten in regular service until the introduction of the Super Chief in 1936. What makes the Scott Special especially remarkable is that it was run under normal operating conditions:
[The] run was made under normal conditions of track, motive power, and equipment, and practically on a moment's notice. No racing machines were used. The locomotives were the plain, everyday kind, taken from regular runs and manned by employees taking their regular turn. To be sure, the main line was kept clear, and even the exclusive California Limited put on the side track. The Scott Special had the right-of-way. That was the only favor shown it, though the engineers understood they had permission to 'let her out a few notches', and they did so, when they could with safety.
In 1955, on the 50th anniversary of the Scott Special's 1905 run, the event was re-enacted for the
The 100th anniversary of the Scott Special was commemorated with localized events and interpretive displays along the train's route sponsored by various historical organizations. One such display was shown at Joliet, Illinois, by the Blackhawk Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society; the Scott Special passed Joliet just after 11:00 am on July 11, 1905.[20]
Other than Santa Fe 1010, at least one of the cars from the Scott Special train it pulled survives today. The Pullman car "Muskegon" now resides at Stevinson, California in the San Joaquin Valley along with other antique passenger cars from the 1910s.[22]
See also
- Passenger train service on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
- Scotty's Castle
References
General
- Abbey, Wallace W. (February 5, 1953). "The Wild Ride of Death Valley Scotty" (Reprinted from Needles Desert Star. p. 2. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- Armitage, Merle (1986) [1973]. Homage to the Santa Fe. Hawthorne, California: Omni Publications. pp. 87–92.
- Bryant, Keith L. Jr. (1974). History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Trans-Anglo Books, Glendale, CA. ISBN 0-8032-6066-0.
- Duke, Donald (1997). Santa Fe...The Railroad Gateway to the American West, Volume 2. ISBN 0-87095-110-6.
- Signor, John R., compiler (2006). "Death Valley Scotty's 'Coyote Special'". The Warbonnet. 12 (1): 17–29.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - "The Record Breaking Run of the Scott Special: Los Angeles to Chicago in 44 hours & 54 minutes". Central Pacific Railroad Museum. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
- Waters, Leslie L. (1950). Steel Trails to Santa Fe. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press. pp. 389–392.
Specific
- ^ Armitage 1986, p. 87.
- ^ Signor 2006, p. 24.
- ^ Signor 2006, p. 18.
- ^ Waters 1950, p. 389.
- ^ Bryant 1974, p. 213.
- ^ Signor 2006, pp. 17–18.
- ^ a b c Waters 1950, p. 390.
- ^ Signor 2006, p. 19.
- ^ Signor 2006, p. 25.
- ^ a b Baldwin Locomotive Works (1906). "The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway System: The Scott Special". Retrieved May 9, 2006.
- ^ Signor 2006, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Bryant 1974, p. 215.
- ^ Waters 1950, p. 391.
- ^ Signor 2006, pp. 19–25.
- ^ "The Santa Fe "Chief"". Mike's Railway History. March 2006. Retrieved May 9, 2006.
- ^ Armitage 1986, p. 89.
- ^ Signor 2006, pp. 27–28.
- ^ California State Railroad Museum Foundation (2001). "Library & Collections: Steam Locomotives". Archived from the original on August 28, 2006. Retrieved May 9, 2006.
- ^ "ATSF 2-6-2 1010, Sacramento, CA, June 1995". ATSF.railfan.net.
- ^ Pinn, Jacqueline (2005). "Club keeps railroad history on track". Catholic Explorer. Retrieved May 12, 2006.
- ^ Amtrak. "Southwest Chief Timetable" (PDF). Retrieved June 2, 2006.
- ^ Guenzler, Chris. "Winterail 2011 Trip Part 2". TrainWeb. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
Further reading
- Miller, Harry I. (1980). The Mad 2265 Mile Dash of the Scott Special. Black Cat Press. ASIN B0006XPI44.
External links
- Death Valley Scotty's Mine (1912) at IMDb.
- Death Valley Days: Death Valley Scotty (1955) at IMDb.