Historic Locomotives Take Us Full Steam Ahead Into the New Year
by Elmer Prather, guest blogger
Before we share the write up from up from Mr. Prather, we have to thank him for his many wonderful stories and photos that he has shared through his love for assembling puzzles - BIG Thank You!! We also want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! We hope you can reflect on 2025 with wonderful memories, while getting excited for what's ahead in 2026! Thank you for joining us on your puzzle journey. All the best for an abundantly healthy and prosperous new year! Without further ado, choo-choo!
My latest puzzle is a one-thousand-piece puzzle titled Historic Locomotives by Mike Bennett. My connection to this puzzle is my lifelong interest in steam locomotives. Pictures tell stories. When I put a puzzle together, I do research on the puzzle picture so that I am able to read the story the picture is telling me as I am putting the puzzle together.
The first locomotive on the top left of the puzzle picture is the Southern Pacific Daylight Train. For those who are not familiar with Daylights, they were a passenger train operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad from August 28, 1922, to the early 1970s. It provided a renowned passenger train service that operated between Los Angeles and San Francisco, celebrated for its scenic route and striking color scheme. A radio commentator was noted for defining Daylight as the most beautiful train in the world.
The second train, pictured in the bottom left frame has the name Sierra on its side. Sierra has been operational since 1887 and is still in operation. During the height of the California gold rush, passenger trains, and freight trains – the latter loaded with freight, lumber, and gold, brought civilization and the outside world to the area. Connecting directly with both the Santa Fe, and Southern Pacific railroads at Oakdale, additional revenue came from Hollywood’s frequent use of Sierra’s trains in movies and television shows.
The top right train is the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, often abbreviated as Santa Fe, which is one of the nation’s largest railways. It was one of the three large mainline railroads that served Southern California, along with competitors Union Pacific and Southern Pacific. Originally chartered in 1859, the railroad reached Southern California in 1883. Santa Fe was most famous for its long-distance passenger trains. The railroad’s famed Super Chief streamliner between Chicago and Los Angeles was known as “The Train of the Stars.”
The fourth locomotive is the steam locomotive, The General. During the Civil War, the General was stolen by about twenty northern spies while it was parked in front of a hotel in downtown Marietta, Georgia. Southern forces, using another steam locomotive, the Texas, chased the General down and finally stopped it about two miles north of Ringold, Georgia, after it ran low on wood and water, thereby running out of steam. Some of the men who stole the General were later hanged in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. During the Battle of Atlanta, the General, along with all the other steam locomotives parked in the Atlanta train terminal were burned by Confederate soldiers as they were abandoning Atlanta. After the war, the General was repaired, and it continued to provide freight and passenger service between Atlanta, Georgia, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Later, it was completely restored and is now displayed in the Southern Railroad Museum of War in Kennesaw, Georgia, which is twenty miles from my home in Canton, Georgia
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of riding on a steam-powered excursion train that traveled from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and back. The train passed through several small towns on the way, and at most of the railroad crossings we went over, there were crowds of people watching and taking pictures of the train.
