Steam Engine Stops in Norwalk – July 6, 1973

Steam locomotives were pretty much replaced by diesel engines by the 1960s. Thus the appearance of a steam engine in the years following – often making a promotional run – usually made the newspaper, accompanied by a great photograph. (I posted one back here from 1968.)

And here's another such event. As noted in the article above, which appeared in the Journal on July 6, 1973, "The Independence Limited" as No. 4501 is called, was on a special, nostalgic trip yesterday between Chicago and Washington suburbs. The trip was sponsored by the National Railway Historical Society.

"The stop in Norwalk was – "almost on time" – but loving railroad buffs could have cared less [sic] about punctuality."

The article goes on to profile some of the spectators. "A retired track foreman with the Penn Central, Irvin Howell, 820 State Road, Vermilion, stood smiling, camera in hand, by the little station on Pleasant Street.

"His brother-in-law, Albert Burley, RD 1, Collins, retired also from a track foremen job, recalled with him, the "old days.

"A female railroader, Mrs. Pauline McKinley, Willard, standing with her family before boarding the train, said, "During World War II, I helped clean the rods," she laughed. "I was supposed to be a boilermaker too, but I ended up just carrying the tools.

"The old steam engine brought back memories to 81-year-old Mrs. Lenna Klein, of Wakeman. She recalled her married life to the late W. C. Fields, "first a fireman, then an engineer on the old Nickel Plate Railroad."

Read more about Southern Railway 4501 here on its Wiki page.

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Elsewhere on this page of the Journal, there's plenty of evidence that the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and 70s was in progress. 

We have the account of a 'man nude from the waist down' sitting in his car at the K-mart in Lorain at Fairless and Grove Avenues; a story of a man who exposed himself to a nine-year-old girl on E. 33rd Street in Lorain; an article about sexual activities on college campuses; a report about a vasectomy hotline "to inform men and women about the simple procedure which permits the continued enjoyment of sex without the fear of unwanted pregnancies; and a story about a chastity belt shop that closed down in Milan, Italy.

At least there was no nudity involved in the story about some Lorain boys who started a fire in a storage container at the National Waste Paper Company.