National magazine presents $10,000 award toward restoration of Flying Yankee train

Restoration of the 68-year-old Flying Yankee streamliner train got a $10,000 boost recently. Trains Magazine, an international publication, presented its annual $10,000 Preservation Award to the Flying Yankee Restoration Group. The Flying Yankee project was chosen from among 60 other applicants for the prestigious award. The money, which supplements an ongoing fund-raising campaign, will be used specifically for restoration of the trains Winton 201A diesel engine. This $10,000 is significant because it represents the respect that a leading railroad publication has for the project and its scope, said Carl Lindblade, executive director of the Flying Yankee Restoration Group. Trains Magazine, based in Wisconsin, has a circulation of approximately 112,000, making it one of the largest-circulation railroad magazines in the world. An article on the award and the Flying Yankee restoration project appears in the December issue. The Flying Yankee was the second in a series of three streamliner trains built in the mid-1930s. The trains were revolutionary for their sleek design and articulated wheel systems, meaning the cars had shared wheels rather than separate sets of wheels. The development of these streamliner trains also marked a transition from steam to diesel in rail travel. These trains, Lindblade said, brought to rail design the same significance as the arrival of the Boeing 707, which was the first successful jetliner. Their historical significance was also in the timing, as they generated new excitement and interest in rail travel following the Depression. Lindblade said the trains are a shining example of engineering technology brought to bear in times of adversity. The Flying Yankee, a three-car train with seating for 130 to 140 passengers, was christened in 1935 and operated on the Boston and Maine/Maine Central Railroad lines. Service was discontinued in 1957 after 2.7 million miles, and the train was donated by Boston and Maine to Edaville Railroad in Carver, Mass. Bob Morrell, the founder of Story Land in Glen, purchased the Flying Yankee in the early 1990s with the intention of restoring it to operating condition. In 1996, Morrell sold the train to the state of New Hampshire for $1, and the Flying Yankee Restoration Group was formed as a non-profit, fund-raising entity to carry out Morrells vision. Morrell passed away in 1998, but the fund-raising and restoration efforts are moving ahead. The restoration is taking place at the Claremont Concord Railroad at Claremont Junction. Lindblade said work is about 65 percent complete, and approximately $3 million in public and private money has been raised for the project. Total estimated cost is $5 million. We have suspended restoration for the winter to focus on our fund-raising activities, and we will resume restoration in the spring, Lindblade said. Once completed, Lindblade said, the Flying Yankee will serve as an economic tall ship for New Hampshire. He said the train will be used as an education and economic development icon for New Hampshire and northern New England, and the plan is to also offer excursion service so people can experience what it was like to ride in as good as it got in 1935. Robert McGonigal, associate editor for Trains Magazine, said the Flying Yankee restoration was chosen for the magazines Preservation Award because of the historical significance of the project and also because of the clear commitment to seeing the project through to the end. We get a lot of applications, McGonigal said. Some of those projects are just getting off the ground, and, while the people behind them have the best of intentions and a lot of enthusiasm, a lot more railroad restorations are started than are finished. We wanted to make sure our award went to a project that would in fact be completed, and were confident that this one will be. The first of the diesel streamliners, the Pioneer Zephyr, underwent a multi-million dollar restoration a few years ago and is now on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. The fact that the Flying Yankee is being restored to operation makes it a really significant artifact, McGonigal said. And when the Flying Yankee is once again rolled out, McGonigal added, It will be one of the landmark events in railroad preservation history. More information about the Flying Yankee restoration is available on the Web at www.flyingyankee.com, or by calling 383-4900.