Western Railroad Discussion > Question about Santa Fe Train Bus...

Which set of colors is right for this Santa Fe Train Bus?

It's shown here as a new Iconic Replicas diecast GM PD-4104 motorcoach in HO (1:87 scale). One set of colors is how the very well-done model appears in life, the other is manipulated to match my memory and what photos I've been able to search. (I rode these often between Richmond and San Francisco, California in the 1960s and early 1970s.)

Interested in any concrete info or firm recollections -- thanks!

~ BZ

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Neat!  I rode the same busses between Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco visiting my grandparents when I was but a pre-teenager.  Also rode the Santa Fe bus between Pasadena and Bakersfield on the same trips to connect with the Santa Fe Golden Gate service at Bakersfield, although these were not GM busses, rather sturdy and hefty Brill busses.  The top rendition is what I recall on both busses.

Pete
Clio, California

I recall the older buses in the '40s. I can't recall the manufacturer.
I also do not recall the words "train bus" on the earlier buses.
We never rode the buses because we boarded the GG in Bfl. to go to Hanford or Fresno.
That was one hell of a train - HSR in the late '30s and '40s!

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

The last buses LA-Bakersfield were model 4106,  nwer then the 4104 used Richmond -San Francisco.

Photo one looks correct to me for the Richmond, but not a expert on colors.

Remember the Santa Fe bus garage in Emeryville. Big colorful Santa Fe sign......I've never seen a picture since they tore it down.

Notch16 Wrote:

> Which set of colors is right for this Santa Fe Train Bus?

I can't vouch for "Albuquerque" in the headsign, but apart from needing more red on the wheel centers, the colors in the first photo of the model look fairly accurate to the prototype as it was in the early 1970's according to the following slides from the Western Railway Museum Archives.  Photos 90496 and 90498 show B-158 at Richmond, CA in diffused and direct sunlight.  There is definitely an off-white tone to the roof, emblem, and hubcaps, and the original shade likely bleached at bit with time and exposure to the elements, but the results do look more like the first photo of the model than the second.  Photo 83283 below is an underexposed slide of B-157 that doesn't wash out the light colors in the paint scheme as much.  Even at that, the off-white bits are pretty light.  For what it's worth.

 

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Thanks for those photo,s Evan.

Thanks, Evan. This confirms my strongest recollections of these buses, which were an almost monthly experiece for me between about 1967 and 1970.

I was truly excited about the Iconic Replicas model, and truly disappointed to see the faulty yellow rendition. The quality of the model is superb, and the decoration work is top-notch. I can only guess that IR used a badly-shifted or poorly reworked photo, or perhaps a color postcard from the period, because the saturation and shift is too great to be the result of incorrect paint codes. IR has done fabulous work on other motorcoach models, so somewere this one... missed the bus?

~ BZ