Lincoln vs. 66 ... and other old routes

[knightfan26917]

In starting to plan the September 2009 Route 66 tour (formal announcement coming soon), I realize that Route 66 isn't the only old, nostalgic route available to travel. The Lincoln Highway is another one...which, unlike Route 66, spans across the entire United States, from coast to coast. Maybe someday I'll have time to do that route. In the meantime, while I'm familiar with some sections of the old Lincoln Highway (notably through Geneva IL, towards Elburn IL, and points farther west) due to historic marker signs along IL RT 38, US Route 66 is the one old highway that really interests/intrigues me.

I've always been curious about Route 66 ... because I enjoy older cars and roads ... and I wonder what life was like "back then". The song "Route 66" has had a part in my interest in Route 66, but a special on PBS about a mother/daughter duo who took the Route 66 trip also peaked my interest. BUT...what really sparked and deepened my curiosity about Route 66 was the recent movie "Cars". Strange, yes, but "Cars" featured a lot of scenes from Route 66 ... and was based on actual people and places along Route 66. It also featured history of the road, and illustrated the effect of interstates, such as I-40, on life along Route 66.

Route 66 map:

http://www.nps.gov/history/rt66/map/map.htm

Route 66 info:

http://www.historic66.com/

Lincoln Highway map:

http://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/info/

Lincoln Highway info:

http://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/

So ... what about you? What "old routes" (Route 66, Lincoln Highway, or OTHERS?) intrigue/interest you?

Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"You can't see what those shades of gray keep covered" ... Jamey Johnson ... 'In Color'

[XP715]

Well, having lived on the East Coast for my entire life, I'd like to drive Route 1 in its entirety as it goes all the way from the Canadian border at Fort Kent, Maine to Key West, Florida. It's on my list of things to do before I die.

[Sixty8panther]

A few years ago , when I was constantly buying/selling stuff on

eBay I got a package in the mail with no return address. I

opened it up and found what essentially looked like an ancient

chunk of asphalt with a bit of yellow stripe across it.

At first I'm thinking "this isn't that 1969 Yenko Camaro model

I ordered...wtf?" Then I read the attached note from my buddy

Duffy had recently moved to Arizona, which went something

like this:

Hey Sly:

I took a roadtrip in the Pontiac GTA down a "dead" section of

Rt.66 and it was awesome. Ghost towns, abandoned builings,

pre-war cars, plane junkyards etc. one gas station that looked

to have never pumped a single gallon of unleaded was littered

with dozens of Studebaker cars from the 1950s and later.

This chunk of asphalt is a real, genuine piece of Rt.66,

probably paved before our parents were alive. Just think

of the cars that drove across this chunk of rock...

I'm certain a V16 or five to say the least.

Well, having lived on the East Coast for my entire life, I'd like to drive Route 1 in its entirety as it goes all the way from the Canadian border at Fort Kent, Maine to Key West, Florida. It's on my list of things to do before I die.

yup... I remember my dad telling me about the great expanse of

Rt.1 back in the 1980s and my response was "we should drive

from one end to the other someday!"

[Camino LS6]

Rt1 is a few miles south of me, and The Lincoln Highway (Rt. 30) is a few miles north. My Grandmother and other locals would often refer to Rt30 as "The Highway" and I remember her telling me about when it went in. It is also called Lancaster Avenue here ( and all the way into Philly). When "The Highway" went in, a section of the old road became "Old Lancaster" and only runs from Paoli to neighboring Berwyn today.

I forgot that I knew all of that!

[Robert Hall]

Well, having lived on the East Coast for my entire life, I'd like to drive Route 1 in its entirety as it goes all the way from the Canadian border at Fort Kent, Maine to Key West, Florida. It's on my list of things to do before I die.

I'd like to do that..I've driven the stretch from Florida City to Key West several times over the last 20+ years, most recently, this past July in a Chrysler Sebring convertible.

Hwy 1/101 on the West Coast is on my to-do list also...I've driven pieces of it (in So. Cal, Nor Cal, and Oregon).

[knightfan26917]

I forgot that I knew all of that!

LOL!

Learn something new every day, doncha?

Here in IL, the Lincoln Highway is kinda interesting. It starts out on the east part of IL (just south of Chicago) as RT 30. But, somewhere around the Joliet area, it shoots up north ... and connects to IL RT 38 through Geneva, etc. Then, on the western edge of IL, it somehow/sorta meets back up with RT 30.

Hmmm...probably should add RT 1 to my list when I get out that far east, eh?

[mustang84]

Yep, Highway 30 aka the Lincoln Highway goes through Cedar Rapids, and I take it quite a bit when I go to Ames or Clinton. Not much of the original highway is left, but there are spots where a bypass was built around the town so if you go on the "old" route you can sometimes see some original pavement or original highway width. There is a section over near Elkhorn, Nebraska where the brick paving was preserved for a few miles.

There are lots of other clues hinting at its original name; some town around here has an original bridge with big block letters "Lincoln Highway" forming both sides of the rails; Ames' main drag through town is Lincoln Way; and sometimes you can see old Lincoln Highway posts with the blue and red paint scheme.

[knightfan26917]

There is a section over near Elkhorn, Nebraska where the brick paving was preserved for a few miles.

Oh, cool!

A section of downtown Elgin HAD been preserved with the brick paving ... but that has since been either torn out and replaced ... or just simply paved over .

[knightfan26917]

*** PROGRAM NOTE ***

As I mentioned in my original post, PBS broadcast a special on Route 66. If I remember correctly, that show was broadcast a few times last year. It featured a mother and daughter traveling Route 66 in a rented Mustang convertible and highlighted several of the sites along Route 66, including the Wigwam motel (featured in the movie "Cars").

NOW ... PBS will broadcast a special about ... the Lincoln Highway:

"A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway", 8p-9p CT, Wednesday, October 29, Chicago's WTTW, Channel 11

...An exploration of the historic Lincoln Highway, the nation's first coast-to-coast highway, which runs from New York City to San Francisco and spans 14 states. Included: A Lincoln Highway Association National Conference in Evanston, WY; an Abraham Lincoln statue in WY; an independent gas station in NE; a Mexican restaurant in NJ. Motorcyclists on a cross-country journey.

*** TRAVELING ***

I have not driven much of RT 66, though I was along it somewhat during my October 2004 road trip...

http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/0410/0410.html

...and again a bit in Oklahoma City and through IL during my October 2006 trip:

http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/1106/1106.html

BUT ... I may've actually driven more of the Lincoln Highway...

...mostly in IL, along IL RT 38 through Geneva IL

...somewhat during my aforementioned October 2004 road trip when I traveled from Denver CO to Salt Lake City UT via I-80 in Wyoming.

...and quite a bit traveling back and forth to PA, especially when I take RT 30 through Indiana and Ohio ... and then travel RT 30 in PA and into NJ...

[knightfan26917]

Anyone else see the special on the Lincoln Highway this week?

Just like the special PBS had last year about Route 66, the Lincoln Highway special increased my interest and enthusiasm for traveling the length of it one day. As I mentioned, I've traveled more of the Lincoln Highway than Route 66, by virtue of traveling in this area, specially IL RT 38 from Geneva IL west to Elburn IL and a bit beyond there ... as well as through Indiana, Ohio and PA along Route 30, which follows the Lincoln Highway more or less....

*sighs*

If only I had more vacation time.....