Big Boy Trains with a Big Fanbase

Steam engine

Big Boy No. 4014 is a 78-year old Union Pacific locomotive that’s currently touring the Southwestern U.S.

Train cars

It was part of a series of 25 extra-large steam engines built between 1941 and 1944, and it’s one of the only two still in operation.

Steam engine “Big Boy No. 4014”

This particular Big Boy was sitting in a museum in Pomona, California when, in 2013, Union Pacific decided to buy it back, restore it, and get it running in time for the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad earlier this year.

Panoramic view of steam train

When we heard it was making a stop in Tucson, we decided to stop by there as well.

Old rails in parking lot

I think they may have underestimated the number of train enthusiasts in Southern Arizona. We certainly did.

Steam engine with a crowd of onlookers

The normally quiet roads surrounding the depot were choked with lines of cars waiting to get in – and then out.

Traffic at train depot entrance

It was cool seeing the train, even though we weren’t able to get in to see the displays inside. One of the rail cars has been turned into kind of a mini museum. The line to get in stretched about half the length of the train, and we were out of time.

Experience the Union Pacific train car

I wondered about the stories of the people who had made the trip there. Had they traveled far? Did they have a connection to the Big Boys? Or a passion for all steam locomotives? Or, like us, did they just happen to live in Tucson and think it would be an interesting thing to see?

Union Pacific Big Boy engine No. 4014

Whatever their reasons, Big Boy No. 4014 certainly has plenty of fans, and I hope it rolls into town again.


Steam train engine
Photo of Big Boy No. 4014 – without the crowds – via Union Pacific.

– More Steam Train Info –

George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center in Phoenix

GWC high school quilt in Phoenix

During Phoenix Art Detour,  my friend Anne and I wandered into the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center.

Carver Museum in Phoenix

The building had been a high school for African American students from 1926 to 1953, which I didn’t even know about until we stumbled across it. I guess I had assumed that, since the Phoenix population didn’t really start booming until the ’60s, maybe we had just skipped the whole segregation thing. Unfortunately, that’s  not the case.

MLK painting at GWCMCC

However, Arizona did desegregate its schools a year before Brown v. Board of Education mandated it nationally. The Carver High School closed, and the students were integrated into other high schools.

GWCMCC

In 1986, four Carver alumnae formed Phoenix Monarchs Alumni Association, an organization to preserve the building and turn it into a museum and cultural center. They were eventually able to purchase it, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

drums and sculptures

The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center is now open with a mission to honor African and African American heritage, arts, and culture.

african craft

The Phoenix Monarchs Alumni Association continues to raise funds to upgrade the space and offer additional programs and exhibits.

violin

George Washington Carver

In front of the museum is a statue of its namesake, scientist George Washington Carver, holding one of the peanut plants he was famous for studying.

quilt

We explored the first floor and saw artwork like paintings, sculptures, and a quilt made by students who had gone to school there.

antique sewing machine

portrait

There was a room with vintage typewriters and sewing machines.

Another one had what looked like African artifacts and traditional craft, like masks, drums, and beaded gourd instruments, as well as contemporary paintings, and a violin.

Vintage typewriters

Outside of Art Detour week, I think a volunteer guide is usually there to provide context and answer questions, because a lot of the items weren’t labeled. The museum had a work-in-progress feel, as funds are still being raised to improve the building and exhibition space. It will be exciting to see it transform!

 

GWCMCC


More Info on the Carver Museum

Vintage Travel Posters

vintage travel posters

I stumbled across all these 1930s Swiss and Italian travel posters online that are up for sale at an auction house in Dresden, Germany.

I had intended to quickly share some of my favorites, but then I got curious about some of the places pictured and ended up doing some research/getting sidetracked. So I have a little extra backstory for some of them.

 

Pilatus poster

Pilatus Bahn, Luzern – Pilatus Railway, Railway Chemin de Fer, Lucerne, Switzerland poster by Otto Ernst, c. 1930.

At first glance, I thought this was the same mountain railway (funicular) I’d posted about previously, Gelmerbahn, but it’s actually Pilatusbahn, which is on a different Swiss peak about 40 minutes away. Different sources claim each one to be the steepest cogwheel railway in Europe, so that may be where my confusion came from.

Pilatus - Esel Kulm Bahn

Anyway, I found a 2009 photo of Mt. Pilatus that was taken from almost the same angle as the poster – you can even see the little red funicular making its way down the hill (on possibly-the-steepest-grade track in Europe).

 

Genua und die Italienische Riviera – “Genoa and the Italian Riviera,” lithograph, 1931.

Are there palm trees in Genoa? I wouldn’t have guessed that, but I’m not going to verify that right now. This post has sent me down enough rabbit trails already! (Yeah, more are on the way, I just rearranged the post to spread them out a bit.) For now,  I’m going to refrain from even doing an image search.

 

summer in Switzerland poster

Leuchtender Sommer – Beschwingte Fahrt. Die schöne Schweiz – Zürich poster “Bright summer – Lively ride. The beautiful Switzerland.” by Augusto Giacometti, c. 1930.

This design is such a departure from your typical travel poster. Instead of focusing on a scene from a city or landscape, it’s just a close-up of a slightly abstracted, watercolor-y butterfly.

I also love that you can see slight creases in the paper. Someone must’ve folded it up at one point. I wonder what they did with it after that-? Did they put it in their pocket and take it home? I’m sure they’d be shocked to know it would eventually be unfolded and put up for auction.

 

Verona poster

Verona – Verona, Italy lithograph, c. 1930.

I found out that the structures depicted here are the Arche Scaligere, tombs of the Scaliger family, erected while they were still in power.

Arche scaligere, verona, italy

The coral-ish colored wall reminded me a bit of something from Venice. And, it turns out that Verona was, in fact, conquered by the Venetian Republic in 1405, just a few decades after the Arche Scaligere were completed.

 

Brescia tourist poster

Brescia – Brescia, Italy lithograph by Vincenzo Alicandri, c. 1930.

Speaking of Verona, Brescia was actually part of the same kingdom for 50 years or so, until it fell under Venetian control, shortly before Verona itself did.

See what I mean about rabbit trails? I didn’t know any of this before I started wondering about these posters.

 

Swiss Railways poster

Schweizerische Bundesbahnen – Swiss Railways poster by Emil Cardinaux, c. 1930.

I’m starting to think that all the trains in Switzerland are red, which isn’t a bad choice. Bright red looks fantastic against those alpine greens and blues!

 

Roma poster

Roma – Rome poster by Virgilio Retrosi, c. 1930.

The building with the horses on top is Il Vittoriano, a monument to the first king after Italy’s unification. The monument was completed in 1925, so it would’ve been new when this poster was made.

It seems like you can see Il Vittoriano from all over Rome. Even though it’s far in the background, look how large it still looms in this photo we took from the Palatine Hill overlooking the Roman Forum!

 

Davos travel poster

Davos für Sport und Gesundheit – “Davos [Switzerland] for Sport and Health” by Otto Bamberger, c. 1930.

This one might be my favorite. I just love the illustration style, and I can almost feel the cool mountain breeze. It looks like a nice spot for a picnic.

Which of these posters do you most wish you could just step right into? Leave me a comment, while I go google palm trees in the Italian Rivieria.

Forum in rome


Images:

August 2018 Photos: St. Mark + Dr. Seuss

Geisel library quote

We were in Italy a year ago, and I’ve been thinking about the trip and the stories I still want to tell.

Venice - San Marco

The Lion

I recently posted a photo of the bronze winged lion that towers above Venice’s main square, Piazza San Marco.

Because the mythical creature is the symbol of St. Mark/San Marco, who is the patron saint of Venice, it has come to also represent the city itself. (And you can spot winged lions all over the place!)

***

Geisel library quote

The Lorax

Anyway, the other August photo I wanted to share is a panoramic shot from inside the Geisel Library in La Jolla (San Diego).

It’s a glass wall covered with facts about Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) and the history of the unusual building.

Geisel library

My favorite part was this quote from The Lorax:

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Piazza San Marco in Venice

When you think about it, that sentiment about caring enough to take action is oddly in line with something St. Mark (quoting Moses) wrote:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”



 

Microblog Mondays: Write in your own space

3 Things We Got Wrong About Venice’s Regata Storica

The Regata Storica (‘historical regatta”) is a centuries-old tradition that takes place on the Grand Canal of Venice every September. The main event is made up of four different rowing races, as well as a parade of decorated boats with costumed passengers.

I was looking forward to watching it during our trip last year and did some research ahead of time to find out what to expect.

Despite all the travel articles and books and forums I read to prepare, I ended up way off about some major things…

gondola

1. It’s more of a local event and not big with tourists. [FALSE]

Maybe it was what I had read about neighborhood groups decorating parade boats. Or the fact that the races are the height of Venice’s competitive rowing season. Or about locals packing picnics and watching the Regata from their own boats. Or the fact that it’s not a recently-concocted event – it spans back to the days of the Republic.

Maybe it was all those things put together. But somehow I got the impression that the Regata Storica was a matter of Venetian city pride that wasn’t really on the radar for outsiders.

The reality, though, is that the word is definitely out. It was not the quaint, mostly-local event I had envisioned. Instead, on the Sunday of the Regata Storica, the city’s streets swelled with swarms of sightseers.

Which I did not expect and which is directly related to another misconception I had…

Regata Storica Venice

2. It would be easy to find a spot to watch the Regata. [NOPE]

While you can pay to watch the Regata from a seat in kind of a floating grandstand, the general consensus seemed to be that the reserved seats weren’t really worth the price – especially when you have the option to watch it for free.

Most people watch the Regata just like your hometown parade. It’s free to stand or sit along the main “street” (in this case, the Grand Canal).

On top of this, I had heard that people don’t really show up early to stake out a spot. So I was pretty sure we’d be able to just show up, find an unpopulated stretch, and plop ourselves down.

In fact, it seemed so much like a non-issue that Phillip and I decided to squeeze in some extra time at the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica, even if it meant showing up a little late.

We even grabbed a quick bite, since it was approaching 4pm, and we hadn’t stopped for lunch.

sandwiches in Venice

By the time we went to look for a spot, the Regata was already well underway and spectators several deep crowded the edge of the canal.

We finally found a spot near a little gondola dock, where the crowd seemed slightly more sparse. And the people in front of us eventually left, opening up space on the ground for us to sit.

3. We’d have a clue what was going on. [STILL NO.]

Things I read kept going into all this detail about the different types of boats that would be racing – this kind has two adult rowers, that kind has two younger rowers, another kind has women racing in masks in tribute to the masked prostitute rowers of the past.

 

I just thought “okay, I get it. When I see boats with 2 people rowing, I’ll know they’re the kind of boats with 2 rowers.”

But I also thought it would be clear cut and obvious, one event after another. Instead, we came in the middle of it all, and it seemed all be happening at once – historic boats parading, racers (I’m not sure which ones) racing, and some random boats floating by too.

Somewhere there was a loudspeaker with a commentator speaking very fast Italian. I listened for the names of those different kinds of boats I’d been reading about, but the words all ran together.

It just underscores the fact that you can read all about something and still be surprised when you experience it firsthand.

And that’s a good reason to travel.

This week I’ve been watching the video I took, and, honestly, I’m still unsure about what exactly is going on when. But I’m glad we got to witness it.

That said, this year, Phillip and I will be making mimosas and watching the Regata from our living room.

 

– More Regata Storica Info –

 

If you go IRL…

  • Reserved seats are €60. I read more than one complaint about giant monitors on the grandstand blocking the view of the race itself.
  • Expect crowds!
  • I’m not sure how early to suggest you show up – but definitely earlier than we did!