Waving at the Flying Yankee
by Barbara Rimkunas
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, January 17, 2020.
On February 14, 1935, a rainy Valentine’s Day, an exciting new type of train pulled into the Exeter depot on Lincoln Street. Sleek and shiny, made of gleaming stainless steel, the Flying Yankee seemed futuristic. Trains had been rolling through Exeter for nearly one hundred years at that point, but nothing looked or sounded like this new train. Manufactured by the Budd Company in Philadelphia, it was nearly identical to the Zephyr (later called the Pioneer Zephyr to indicate its primary status) which had started service on the Chicago, Burlington, Quincy line the previous year. Stories about the Zephyr, and its speed record of 71 mph had excited eastern passengers. When it was announced that another one of these diesel-powered trainsets would be used on the old “Flying Yankee” express run between Portland and Boston, they couldn’t wait to take a look at it.
The old trains that chugged across the country were powered by steam engines that needed an external boiler and a car loaded with coal. They were heavy, dark machines. As they rumbled through town you could hear and feel their presence. The Budd Company pioneered the use of stainless steel for the body of the train, reducing weight and air resistance. The huge wheels were out of sight under the train’s skin making it seem as though it was gliding along the tracks. Helen Tufts, who took the train to Boston nearly every Friday, took time out of her day noting in her diary, “Got Henrietta, Priscilla Williams, Joe Reed and Mrs. Day. Took these 4 up to see the Stream Liner train.” She didn’t note her thoughts on the train but considering her usual complaints about regular Exeter to Boston service and standards, she probably had some. The Exeter News-Letter noted, “The stream-lined train has come and gone, leaving behind a definite impression of comfort and luxury reserved for those who travel non-stop between Boston and Portland.”
Yet that was the greatest disappointment for Exeter riders: the train wouldn’t be providing service to this town. “The best train on the road is to be replaced by one still better; and we are invited, as we sit in our bumpy, jerky, ill-smelling trains taken at Haverhill or Exeter or Dover, to find consolation in contemplating the luxury prepared for the through traveler between Boston and Maine.” Even bus service to Portsmouth outclassed what was offered in Exeter. B&M Transportation advertised, “Travel to Boston on the most modern and comfortable streamlined buses – safety with railroad responsibility!” News-Letter editor John Templeton groused, “Such neglect of the rank and file of passengers can only result in driving still more people to use the automobile.”
Between the visit in February and the official inaugural run on April 1st, the Flying Yankee gave excursion trips to some lucky passengers. Robert Nixon of Newfields, a student at UNH, saved his advertising flyer from one such trip he took on March 23rd. “Like giving wings to your favorite easy chair at home,” it read, “The new deluxe stainless steel train designed for your safety and comfort.” “All the windows are of a new, broad-vision type, sound-proofed with special shatterproof safety glass, hermetically sealed so that neither condensation nor frost will form and blur them. The seats in the coach sections are of the lounging deluxe type, upholstered with fine, heavy mohair and are so designed that passengers may ride in comfort never before provided in ‘day coach’ accommodations. The solarium observation section in the rear is equipped with comfortable parlor chairs. Windows are curtained and have artistic draperies in addition.” The train featured air-conditioning, “which completely cleans and changes the air every two minutes.”
On the cover, he penciled “Took Round Trip Exeter – Boston 3/23/35 - $1.40. Left Exeter 12:45pm arrived Boston 1:45. Left Boston 5:02pm, arrived Exeter at 6:12pm.” The times are, admittedly, not much different from those of today. It was perhaps shaving 10 minutes off the ride. In any event, the Flying Yankee was not scheduled to stop in Exeter.
It was christened at Portland’s Union Station on April 1st with a prohibition friendly bottle of Sebago Lake water. The train remained in service, with a few name changes, until 1957. Today, it is owned by the State of New Hampshire and has been undergoing restoration work. The Flying Yankee Restoration Group can be reached at www.flyingyankee.org.
Standard rail service did improve for Exeter residents. By September of 1935, John Templeton admitted, “Through the stifling heat of the August days, a heat that in some parts of the state had registered a record, the cars were cool, the seats comfortable, the going was smooth and safe. It is only door-to-door convenience that gives the automobile an advantage in the journey between two important centers; safety and ease are on the side of the trains.”
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org
Image: Advertising flier for the Flying Yankee saved by Robert Nixon of Newfields.
This "Historically Speaking" column was published in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday, January 17, 2020.
The old trains that chugged across the country were powered by steam engines that needed an external boiler and a car loaded with coal. They were heavy, dark machines. As they rumbled through town you could hear and feel their presence. The Budd Company pioneered the use of stainless steel for the body of the train, reducing weight and air resistance. The huge wheels were out of sight under the train’s skin making it seem as though it was gliding along the tracks. Helen Tufts, who took the train to Boston nearly every Friday, took time out of her day noting in her diary, “Got Henrietta, Priscilla Williams, Joe Reed and Mrs. Day. Took these 4 up to see the Stream Liner train.” She didn’t note her thoughts on the train but considering her usual complaints about regular Exeter to Boston service and standards, she probably had some. The Exeter News-Letter noted, “The stream-lined train has come and gone, leaving behind a definite impression of comfort and luxury reserved for those who travel non-stop between Boston and Portland.”
Yet that was the greatest disappointment for Exeter riders: the train wouldn’t be providing service to this town. “The best train on the road is to be replaced by one still better; and we are invited, as we sit in our bumpy, jerky, ill-smelling trains taken at Haverhill or Exeter or Dover, to find consolation in contemplating the luxury prepared for the through traveler between Boston and Maine.” Even bus service to Portsmouth outclassed what was offered in Exeter. B&M Transportation advertised, “Travel to Boston on the most modern and comfortable streamlined buses – safety with railroad responsibility!” News-Letter editor John Templeton groused, “Such neglect of the rank and file of passengers can only result in driving still more people to use the automobile.”
Between the visit in February and the official inaugural run on April 1st, the Flying Yankee gave excursion trips to some lucky passengers. Robert Nixon of Newfields, a student at UNH, saved his advertising flyer from one such trip he took on March 23rd. “Like giving wings to your favorite easy chair at home,” it read, “The new deluxe stainless steel train designed for your safety and comfort.” “All the windows are of a new, broad-vision type, sound-proofed with special shatterproof safety glass, hermetically sealed so that neither condensation nor frost will form and blur them. The seats in the coach sections are of the lounging deluxe type, upholstered with fine, heavy mohair and are so designed that passengers may ride in comfort never before provided in ‘day coach’ accommodations. The solarium observation section in the rear is equipped with comfortable parlor chairs. Windows are curtained and have artistic draperies in addition.” The train featured air-conditioning, “which completely cleans and changes the air every two minutes.”
On the cover, he penciled “Took Round Trip Exeter – Boston 3/23/35 - $1.40. Left Exeter 12:45pm arrived Boston 1:45. Left Boston 5:02pm, arrived Exeter at 6:12pm.” The times are, admittedly, not much different from those of today. It was perhaps shaving 10 minutes off the ride. In any event, the Flying Yankee was not scheduled to stop in Exeter.
It was christened at Portland’s Union Station on April 1st with a prohibition friendly bottle of Sebago Lake water. The train remained in service, with a few name changes, until 1957. Today, it is owned by the State of New Hampshire and has been undergoing restoration work. The Flying Yankee Restoration Group can be reached at www.flyingyankee.org.
Standard rail service did improve for Exeter residents. By September of 1935, John Templeton admitted, “Through the stifling heat of the August days, a heat that in some parts of the state had registered a record, the cars were cool, the seats comfortable, the going was smooth and safe. It is only door-to-door convenience that gives the automobile an advantage in the journey between two important centers; safety and ease are on the side of the trains.”
Barbara Rimkunas is curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org
Image: Advertising flier for the Flying Yankee saved by Robert Nixon of Newfields.
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