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Show I " - - J - t ' , i " - ' ( t ' . 'if - v Fi ' 'm ffcrf-. ..'!2i ' :'0 7 1 ft J'i Canyon Trip on Heber Creeper Really Thrill To Remember ; 1" Hi i i vS K ft C R i i ! i P E R c r ept out of the station shortly after noon on Friday, July 30. It was the Governor's Spec-ial-an invitational run of this train that is destined to become one of the main tourist attractions attrac-tions in the entire west. Gov. Calvin M. Rampton and his party boarded, the whistle tooted and off they went. Mayor William P. Sullivan and your reporter represented Park City. Running at speeds between 15 and 20 miles per hour, the landscape sauntered by; stray sheep dodged the train and colts ran for their mothers as the monster passed. Campers and fishermen waved as the Creeper Creep-er ran by; very soon after departure de-parture it was announced that those aboard were free to move from car to car if desired. THE GOVERNOR made his way from the rear car which included in-cluded the "smoking lounge" forward through the three open-air open-air cars, to the one directly behind the engine. This was completely open not even a roof. Seats along the sides of all cars gave a vantage point from any angle. Beauty impossible to describe des-cribe met the eye in all directions. direc-tions. At times the train crept through narrow canyons, then swept on through verdant valleys with placid cattle grazing. graz-ing. The mountains rose majestically majes-tically as the Creeper crept. Tumbling waters fell over boulders as the river wound its way through the canyon. Loin cloth clad Apache Indians In-dians were pursued by cowboys with rifles on the mountain side as the train passed close toMt. Timpanogos but no casualities were apparent. ENGINE NO. 35-an oil-fired -feani engine was slick and 'liny as it pulled the Creeper. )' engineer was Charles Niel- son who has been a 'Steam buff" since the age of four. His mother, Erma (Mrs. HoJlis) Nielsen said that for her son this was a dream come true. 'He's an engineer at Kenne-cott, Kenne-cott, like his dad, but when they can, they're here in Heber with their engines Irving every minute of it!" Hollis Nielsen was aboard big No. 518-a sleek black monster that is a coal-fired coal-fired steam engine. Hewasia the process of breaking in a younger engineer. Erma's bro'.ner -in-law, Paul Keefer, a long-time conductor, has that job on the Heber Creeper Creep-er and her nephew was riding the little red caboose looking for fires. So it's a real family affair for the Nielsens. They do point out though, that it was devoted Heber people who financed this project and a lot of interested people driven by the same desire who provided pro-vided ingenuity, time and elbow grease. The Creeper cars are there's a clean-up crew who provides trash baskets and some of the young folks provide music on special runs. They are part of the cast at the Wasatch Wa-satch Playhouse. One really attractive at-tractive young lady is a former Parkiv? J a Ly n n Rasmas.'W i, daugiJe:' . Jim and Evelyn Rasmussen. MANY OF THE RIDERS were engineers for the day the Governor Gov-ernor included with caps and neckerchiefs. It gave an authentic auth-entic touch to the trip. The whistle, sounding frequently fre-quently as the train approached crossings, brought memories to most aboard a haunMng sound from the past. The Creeper follows the track past Deer Creek Reservoir-down Reservoir-down Provo Canyon to Bri:lal Veil Falls where a fifteen minute min-ute stay enables the riders to disembark and view its won ders. The return trip to Heber went all too fast it was such fun to car-hop and visit with the other riders: cameras were put to good use, amateur and professional profes-sional alike. The Governor was gracious with his time ami when your reporter menlloned the Park City Art Festival, he rather imagined that it wou'3 be MR3. Ramp:on who could attend. at-tend. AND THEN IT HAPPENED, the train ground to a hilt, shots were heard and a band of masked mask-ed bandits on horseback surrounded sur-rounded the train. Two men boarded guns a! the ready and kidnapped on? of the fair damsels aboard hurrying her off the train and onto a horse; with desperadoes armed with rifles guarding the citizens on the train there was no chance to rescue her and the last seen was as she was being carried off into the hills by the bandits. It was all in fun, of course, staged by an enterprising 4-H group in the area. This trip on the Heber Creeper Creep-er is something to be enjoyed by young and old alike, a liesurely venture into scenic areas not available from any highway. The folks responsible are to be commended and it should be of great interest to Park City to know that this group has a long-range plan for the Creeper. Phase 2 is to extend ex-tend the run to Keetley, and Phase 3 is around the mountain to Park City! What a boon to visitors to Park Ci:y--not only summertime runs, but fall color tours and winter runs for skiers! What potential! Good luck and (hanks to an enterprising group! |