A Successful Trip

Judging from the crowd on Sunday's train, the expedition was one the warmed the cockles of Patrick McGinnis' heart. Old 3713 was not only pulling a full pay load; prospects for another trip seem very good despite early advertising that this was positively the B & M's last steam trip. All steam power was originally scheduled for retirement soon, but the railroad has begun stalling, and 3713, the last of 25 P-4's built in 1935 for heavy express service, may pull a few more trains, after all. Rail fans speculate that the railroad, which has excused its decision on account of "the heavy winter," may wait for a while because of its recent difficulty with the Budd RDC's, single-unit, diesel cars.

The Portland Transportation Company also made a profitable arrangement with the enthusiasts on Sunday. Buses lined the front of Union Station when the Safari arrived, and conducted visitors to "points of interest in historic Portland." While some of the tour was geared to appeal to the rail fan, much of the fifty-cent ride included such standard attractions as Lincoln Oaks, where, the driver noted, a lady's handbag was once snitched by a playful swan and carried to an island inaccessible to anyone except the police. Other vital points of interest included the City Hall, the First Baptist Church ("Jesus Never Fails"), and the scene of an automobile accident which required the services of "three or four ambulances," the driver said with understandable pride.

Minute Study

All this folksy interest is characteristic of the indulgent railroad enthusiast. He is indefatiguable in his minute study of how engines work and how railroad keep on time.

Sunday's Steam Safari pulled back into North Station fifty-three minutes late