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Travelogue style profile of the "Super Chief", a magnificent Streamlined passenger train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. During 1950 & 1951 the Super Chief is re-equipped with new streamlined sleeping cars built by the Budd Company and the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF), and dining cars from Pullman-Standard. Santa Fe also added the Pullman-built "Pleasure Dome Lounge Car", one of the most luxurious ever made for any train, to its Super Chief consists, billing it as the "...only dome car between Chicago and Los Angeles.". A speedometer in the front of the car showed the train's...

OK! I am getting ready to drive the 200 miles or so south towards Salem/Eugene Oregon. I figured it's also a good time to test my survival skills, somewhat lightly. So far I have packed: three cans of Chef Boyardee, three cans of sardines, two cans of Dinty moore stew. Forks and knives and spoons as well. A garbage bag for the empty cans. My three cameras, well, two cell phones and an older Vivitar camera. I have an extra gallon of gas in my trunk, plus oil and ATF. Anything else? Any hints/tips?

An adventurous kitty exacerbated the Summer of Hell on Monday morning, snarling service for thousands of commuters The plucky feline was spotted ambling along the tracks at the Rockaway Avenue station in Brooklyn on the A and C lines at around 7:20 a.m. It took MTA workers about half an hour to wrangle the elusive kitty. And in the meantime, officials shut down local service on the C line, forcing riders onto the A line. Someone finally caught the cat, and service resumed at about 7:53 a.m.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A time capsule that was found hidden in the base of a Confederate statue that stood in Lake Eola Park for nearly 100 years contained the remains of what appeared to be a flag, money, newspapers and more. City officials found the 3-pound metal box in the top base of the statue, dubbed Johnny Reb, in June while they were relocating the 300-pound monument to Greenwood Cemetery. The statue was moved after critics argued that it was a symbol of slavery and shouldn't be displayed at a city park. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the city opened...

Britain's much-loved Big Ben will fall silent for four years from next week as conservation work is carried out on the famous 19th century bell in a clock tower next to the Houses of Parliament. "Big Ben falling silent is a significant milestone in this crucial conservation project," Steve Jaggs, whose official title is "Keeper of the Great Clock", said in a parliament statement on Monday. "This essential programme of works will safeguard the clock on a long term basis, as well as protecting and preserving its home -- the Elizabeth Tower," he said. It will be the longest period...

The first Chinese passenger car is now being produced in Pakistan, a market that is currently dominated by three Japanese carmakers. Al-Haj Faw Motors (Private) Limited, a collaboration between Faw China and a commercial importer of heavy vehicles Al-Haj Motors, has started assembling Faw V2, a 1,300cc hatchback, at its assembly plant in Karachi. The company was importing Completely Built Units (CBU) of V2 for the last two years to see market response. Now that it is satisfied with the response, it has decided to produce the car locally to compete with well-established Japanese brands. ADVERTISEMENT Ad “We want to...

1,900 passengers aboard a 104 day cruise around the world got an unsettling surprise after they departed from Sydney, Australia toward Dubai. For ten days, the passengers had to endure a mandatory dusk-to-dawn blackout for fear of pirate attacks. “No deck parties, no movies under the stars, no late-night outdoor bar hopping or pool dipping” were just some of the bans included in the blackout ordered by Captain Gennaro Arma, recalls Carolyn Jasinski, a passenger on the ship. The ship essentially become a ghost – all curtains were drawn, all lights were dimmed or turned off. Arma wanted to remind...

Thousands of Italians emigrated to Scotland in the 20th Century, but it seems that 400 years earlier a group of Scots may have settled in a village in the Italian Alps. So local legend has it… And there are plenty of signs to suggest that maybe, just maybe, it's true. High up in the mountains of northern Italy, just a few kilometres from the Swiss border, the people of the tiny village of Gurro speak a strange dialect, incomprehensible even to the other villages in the same valley. They have peculiar surnames, and the women's traditional costume features a patterned...

KINGSPORT — A Greeneville woman has been arrested after allegedly zooming through Interstate 81 traffic at 115 mph while hauling a 16-year-old and toddler as passengers. According to an affidavit filed in Kingsport General Sessions Court, Britanni N. Starnes, 20, is charged with reckless endangerment and speeding. The incident occurred Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. A Kingsport officer near mile marker 56 spotted a 2010 Nissan Versa speeding in the northbound lanes. Radar reportedly confirmed the vehicle was traveling at 115 mph. After being pulled over, Starnes claimed she was rushing to the hospital, where her brother was being treated for...

President Donald Trump's childhood home in Queens, New York, can now be rented through Airbnb for $725 a night. The Jamaica Estates Tudor fits 20 people, comes with a life-size cut-out of the Commander in Chief and the only books on the shelves are Trump's The Art of the Deal. Trump, who lived in the five-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom home with his family from when he was born until he was four years old, has previously said he's against Airbnb when it comes to his own properties. The listing opens on Friday, and breakfast will be provided to those who stay at...

Most of the deaths and injuries were recorded in Zhangzha township, near to Jiuzhaigou or Jiuzhai Valley, a national park known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations that attracts visitors from China and overseas. Yang Jie, who owns a hostel in Zhangzha, said she was at a hotpot restaurant with friends when the lights went out and everything started shaking at around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday. ... "On our way home, there were rocks falling down from the hills on both sides of the road....." ... On Wednesday, she said the building was still without power, stores were closed and "houses...

What are some safe, affordable hotels in the Fresno/Clovis area. We will be staying 19-20 August. What should be avoided? Thanks

In 1995, an intriguing documentary was broadcast on TV stations across the United States. It was titled Alien Encounters from New Tomorrowland and supposedly was produced with the sole purpose of promoting Disneyworld’s then-new “ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter” attraction in Orlando, Florida. ... The majority of the documentary is focused on UFOs and extraterrestrials as a factual reality. The ‘ExtraTERRORestrial’ ride itself receives very little screen-time, and seems like an afterthought. The documentary was aired in only a handful of US cities at seemingly random times on selected dates in February and March 1995 with no notice... ... become engrained into...

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has published a final rule for a new pilot program that would seek competitive bids from "eligible petitioners" to replace Amtrak as the operator of up to three long-distance routes. The rules fall under a provision of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act that requires the FRA to implement the pilot program. Published in the Federal Register last month, the final rule takes effect Sept. 5 and establishes a petition, notification and bid process by which the FRA will evaluate and select bids to provide passenger-rail service over particular long-distance routes. The rule also...

An Air Canada Airbus A320 attempting to land last month in San Francisco very narrowly avoided hitting several other taxiing airliners... As it approached San Francisco International Airport to land on July 7, Air Canada Flight 759 mistakenly lined up with a taxiway where four planes were waiting, instead of a runway. The captain of the Airbus A320 aborted the landing.... ... As Flight 759 passed over the first airliner, a United Airlines Boeing 787, the Air Canada crew aborted its landing. The crew commanded full power from the engines. At that point, it was just 85 feet above the...

The sprawling project will cover 34,000 square kilometers (13,100 square miles) across a lagoon of 50 "untouched natural islands." It will include resorts, hotels and other residential units that will allow travelers easy access to scuba diving and rock climbing.

A JetBlue flight out of Long Beach made an emergency landing in Oklahoma City early Wednesday morning after an unknown odor sent five people to the hospital. ... However, according to CBS affiliate KWTV, an unknown odor in the cockpit forced the plane to make an emergency landing at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City at 2:22 a.m. Wednesday. Three crew members and two passengers were taken to a hospital with breathing problems...

Authorities said a teenage boy travelling alone opened an emergency door after his plane landed, slid down the wing and jumped onto a tarmac at San Francisco before shocked passengers could do anything to stop him. Some passengers flying on Copa Airlines Flight 208 from Panama City, Panama, said that by the time they realized the door had been removed, the boy was already on the ground, running. San Francisco Airport spokesman Doug Yakel said the 17-year-old removed the door as the plane was heading to a gate on Tuesday. Yakel says an airfield construction crew held him until police...

LAS VEGAS — Officials say a Spirit Airlines flight leaving Las Vegas was briefly delayed after a passenger removed all their clothes while boarding and approached a flight attendant. The incident occurred Saturday on a plane bound for Oakland, California. McCarran International Airport says police and medical responders took the passenger for observation.

The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes will start their baseball game Aug. 21 at precisely 9:35 a.m. local time, but will pause after one inning — then, NASA representatives will come out, the home team, visitors, staff and spectators will put on their eclipse glasses, and the stadium will be plunged into darkness. As a total solar eclipse passes across the United States on Aug. 21, activity will grind to a halt as the sky darkens. But in Keizer, Oregon, the minor-league baseball team is prepared — three-day eclipse festival, NASA livestream on the Jumbotron, special uniforms and all. "We ordered thousands and...