Looks familiar: https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/the-james-whitcomb-riley.121041/#post-1073486
Thanks, Roger, and Merry Christmas to you and all of our fellow posters here on Trainboard. Here is shot of the "Christmas Engine," 1225 taken back in 2000.
That's okay Roger -- some things are worth looking at twice and this photograph is definitely one of them.
Wasn't aware that the Mercury streamlining had been used on the engines for the Riley. All previous pictures of the train I have seen had it using standard steam power.
from www.classicstreamliners.com History The James Whitcomb Riley was introduced by the New York Central on April 28, 1941, as a daytime, all-coach train between Chicago and Cincinnati by way of Indianapolis. It was named after the Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, known for his celebration of Americana. The Riley was a companion to the Mercury streamliners which operated on the Chicago-Detroit and Chicago-Cleveland routes.
Crazy 'bout a Mercury. Gonna cruise up and down this road....But on closer examination, this appears to be a whatzit. Looks like a Ford vehicle sold elsewhere besides the States?
When I worked the Storrs Jct. Operators position on the B&O - the Riley operated from CUT to Storrs Jct and then crossed over the B&O's line to St. Louis to reach the NYC tracks to carry it onto Chicgo and vice versa on its return trip from Chicago.
