I've collected some old bound volumes of Railway Age from the 1950s, and I've just received permission courtesy of Simmons-Boardman Publishing to scan and make available a few of the feature articles which they used to run on new streamliners. The first two are up now...one linked from the 1950 Sunset Limited page (Track 9) and the other linked from the 1956 Hi-Level El Capitan page (Track 8).
These articles are incredibly detailed and include original floorplans as well as pictures and technical information. Please note, the files are VERY large...12-16 megabytes per article. I scanned them at high resolution to preserve the detail of the illustrations. On the El Capitan article I had trouble getting the bound volume to lie flat (I didn't want to cut it up!) and some of the information disappeared into the gutter, but if you look close you should be able to make it out.
Have fun, and be sure to tell me what you think about these articles...there may be more coming!
-------------------- --------Eric H. Bowen
Stop by my website: Streamliner Schedules - Historic timetables of the great trains of the past! Posts: 413 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: Mar 2006
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Thanks for a great trip down Memory Lane! I never rode the Hi-Level El Cap (We took the low level one Pasadena to Chicago in May 1953) but I do remember going down the Pasadena Santa Fe station to walk through a demo train that they had there for a day. I'm guessing it must have been in early 1956.
Frank in cool and breezy SBA
Posts: 2160 | From: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: Oct 2003
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Thank you Mr. Bowen; a great find and an even greater contribution to this forum's body of knowledge. I sincerely respect your adherence to Fair Use laws, which we know is often not the case at other Internet sites.
For those who contend that the SP never "cared about passengers", material such as this should lay those thoughts to rest. They simply recognized that "the writing was on the wall" earlier than other Western roads and ceased ordering new equipment with the Sunset.
That these Sunset cars comprise Amtrak Baggage cars that remain in service within the 1700 series is certainly testament to their durability. Likely, but not certain, there are several of these cars in revenue service today as part of the Heritage Diner fleet (there is little information out there regarding the history of those cars).
All told Mr. Bowen, masterful work.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Thank you Eric. I always enjoy articles with pictures, and especially tech diagrams of those wonderful passenger trains of the past. I wish I could have traveled on every one of them.
Posts: 498 | From: New Hope, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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When I was about 10 I rode the El Capitan Chicago -LA and back. Since I was a child traveling alone I was under the care of the stewardess-nurse. Also there was one coach for women and children only and that's where I was.
Posts: 1577 | From: virginia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Thank you for making these articles available to us.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Great post, Eric. Many thanks. If only some of the old trains were still around!
I found it intersting that both the "Cascade" train, from Portland to the Bay Area and the "Shasta Daylight" did not stop in Sacramento. The trains did stop in Davis. "The Cascade" would be a great route to resurect. It left the Bay Area around 5:30 PM and got into Porland around 9:30AM. Roughly the same for the reverse.
Too many great trains that I wish were still around. The "Olympian Hiawatha" and "City of Portland", to just name a couple.
Richard
Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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Richard, not claiming to be an expert of railroad affairs in your backyard, but SP trains such as the Cascade and Shasta Daylight ("been there done that") used the West Valley Sub through Woodland. Use of the East Valley Sub through Chico, Roseville, and Sacramento has been an Amtrak-era routing.
All I can say regarding the loss of "the great trains" is "Sic Transit Gloria" as the era in which they provided meaningful transportation to society at large (as distinct from the "niche" segments that use the Amtrak LD trains today) ended some sixty years ago with the Korean War and the 1952 Presidential Campaign.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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The Sunset connection shown in the connection was the Crescent. For the younger guys here, that was the original version which ran via Mobile and Montgomery AL, leaving New Orleans on the L&N. Secondly, 1950 was prior to the construction of NOUPT, so the change in New Orleans meant a change of stations, as well.
When looking at the El Capitan, note that he Phoenix connection was at Ash Fork and there was a stop at Williams, not Williams Jct. This schedule predated the early 1960's relocation of the main that bypassed the curves and grades through Ash Fork. After that change, the stop would have been Williams Jct, which is the eastern end of the line change. As part of this, both the Phoenix trains and the Grand Canyon trains would have originated at Williams Jct.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Richard, not claiming to be an expert of railroad affairs in your backyard, but SP trains such as the Cascade and Shasta Daylight ("been there done that") used the West Valley Sub through Woodland. Use of the East Valley Sub through Chico, Roseville, and Sacramento has been an Amtrak-era routing.
All I can say regarding the loss of "the great trains" is "Sic Transit Gloria" as the era in which they provided meaningful transportation to society at large (as distinct from the "niche" segments that use the Amtrak LD trains today) ended some sixty years ago with the Korean War and the 1952 Presidential Campaign.
*************************************
Interesting, Mr. Norman, about the West Valley Sub. I wasn't aware of it. I might be using it, this summer, but not via train, but by car. Heading up to Eugene, Or.
Richard
Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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Back in the 80's, AMTRAK's Coast Starlight used the West Valley Sub for many years. I believe the only stop it made on that sub was at Orland.
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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