Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1911-10-10
IMMENSE ENGINE IS ADMIRED
COURTEOUS ATTENDANTS TOOK
VISITORS THROUGH Locomo-
TIVE CAB AND TRAIN
is OF HISTORIC INTEREST
MANY OF THE CARS DISPLAYED
WERE IN USE THIRTY
YEARS AGO

Yesterday afternoon with whistles
blowing in welcome and thousands o.
people, from toddling grandchildren
To gray haired grandfathers waiting
OH the station platform, the big NAL
let engine, No 5000, the largest To-
comotive in the world, pulled the
wonderful demonstration train of the
Santa Fe railway into Las Vegas.
Two minutes after the big engine had
come to stop the crowd was climb
ing into the cab and from there be-
ginning tour of the entire train.
The officials did not object to people
climbing over the engine or equip
nent, for, as one said, that was the
reason it was brought here. Most
o. the people entering the train were
under the guidance of some Santa
Fe official, who explained every part
of the train, giving demonstrations
and explaining the equipment.
This train, made up of ancient and
modern railroad equipment, has at
tracted big crowds at all points,
thousands in the cities and hundreds
in the towns. AT Denver It has. been
estimated that over $4,000 persons
went through the train and at every
little stop along the line hundreds
of farmers have been lined up to see
the wonderful sight. Often at road
crossings farmers and their families
have come out to see the train
pass and the engineer has always
slowed down while the advertising
agents threw off pictures and descrip-
tions of the make up of the train.
G. T. Ripley, engineer of tests, has
taken some wonderful pictures of the
crowds at the trains and often, with
his high speed camera, has taken fine
views, of the country as the train
has rolled by. In his collection he
has pictures of many celebrities
standing on the engine, from an ex-
hore thief with his OK team drawn
up beside the locomotive, up to the
highest officials in the states through
which the train has passed. Thous-
ands of school children have visited
the train and often parties have
driven ceveral miles from the village
school house to see it. Mr..
Ripley has ( some excellent photo
graphs of these groups.
The train was in charge of enough
officials to run dozen and all were
as proud of this showing as a child
is of its first top. Up to two days
ago, F. c, Fox, general manager Of
the Santa Fe, was in the party but
left just before the train reached
here, being called to Amarillo, Tex,
on important business. On today's
trip General Superintendent j. M.
Kurn of La Junta win be in charge
of the train. J. F. FARRELL, general
publicity agent for the company, is
in Texas arranging for dates for the
appearance of the train at state and
county fairs. In fact, master me-
chanics, general passenger agents
and other "brass collars" are with
the train on its long tour.
The train is in charge of the oldest
conductor in the service, q. B. Sill.
He has been employed by the road
for over 80 years and. as conse-
quence, can be counted on to get the
train to its destination on time Peter
Tellin, the Oldest engineer on the
Santa Fe, is also with the train.
The train, which is composed of
every type of car in the service Of
the Santa Fe at the present time, and
the varieties used in 1881, is the en-
bodyment of an idea of Publicity
Agent ]. F. FARRELL and is undoubt-
edly one of the greatest advertising
schemes ever devised. The officials
of the road are highly pleased with
the results of the project. Up to date