MELGAR posted:Serenska posted:MELGAR:
I have been looking forward to this list. Is it intended to be comprehensive?
If yes, I'm wondering where the "Roger Williams*" and the "Narragansett Special**" might be.
** The "Narragansett Special ran from GCT to Narragansett Park to bring riders/bettors to see a horse race of the same name.
Steve,
My list was not intended to be absolutely comprehensive but I inadvertently omitted the 1950s era lightweight trains Roger Williams, Dan'l Webster and John Quincy Adams. Lynch mentions some other named trains which ran to Maine, including the Portland Night Express and the State of Maine but makes no mention of the Narragansett Special that I can find. I hesitate to guarantee that there weren't others I have not included.
MELGAR
MELGAR:
Thanks for clarifying.
I only know about the Narragansett Special because 1-2 years ago, someone on eBay offered a marketing placard from 1938 for the train. It was a great art deco piece and would have looked fantastic framed in the train room. Unfortunately, the seller's buy-it-now asking price was a bit too high for me. Someone else did purchase it, however.
I wish I had copied the photos of it. The ad copy on the poster was just fantastic. It extolled the air conditioning in the coaches and the presence of a bar car on the train in both directions. There were words to the effect that patronizing the bar car would pump up a bettor's enthusiasm on the ride up and console him for his losses on the way home.
I still kick myself for being such a cheap-o and not buying it.
Steven J. Serenska
