Steam & Excursion > Can You Imagine What It Was Like To See This Arrive In Your Town!

After many years of the Great Depression the so many businesses scaling back or gone all together, any sign of economic viability must have been quite a welcome sight.  When one of these rolled into town can you imagine how pleasantly surprised the citizens must have been?

The date was December 29, 1936 when the latest in Lima steam locomotives paused in East St. Louis on it's way to delivery to the Southern Pacific in Texas.  This stunning Red, Orange & Black Daylight must have been quite a sight for the public who saw her gleaming in her new coat of paint as she was being ferried to her anxiously awaiting new owner.

SP #4414 was part of the very first batch of Daylight locomotives designed and built by Lima for SP's new passenger trains slated to run between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  As the success of the train increased in the next few years more and more of the GS-Class locomotives would be built by Lima and sent on their way for service in the Golden State.

I'm sure the photographer that captured this image wished he had color film in his camera on that day!


Martin



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/17 04:18 by LoggerHogger.

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Hello

​Wonderful photo, I know Southern Pacific took delivery of locomotives in Texas because of taxes.

​ I have seen many photos of Souther Pacific Locomotives being "Set up" El Paso TX.

I was wondering if the GS's where sent up in El Paso?

Chris

Did color film exist at that time?

march_hare Wrote:
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> Did color film exist at that time?

There was some early Kodachrome  in the early 1930's.  Some factory photos of the Daylights in color were made before the engines were shipped.

Martin

Many years ago TRAINS magazine featured a wondrful article about Lima's photographer. In the article the photogapher (last name Jardine)  said the only time he took color photos was when the first SP GS-2s came out from the factory because they were so colorful. The article also mentioned that the photographer's son Al Jardine later became part of the famed Beach Boys band.

> Many years ago TRAINS magazine featured a wondrful(sic) article about Lima's photographer.  In the article the photogapher (last name Jardine)  said the only time he took color photos was when the first SP GS-2s came out from the factory because they were so colorful.

It was the February 1977 issue of Trains.  Pages 26-27 had a color photo of GS-4 No. 4436 (not exactly "the first SP GS-2s") taken by Jardine at the Lima plant while the cover of the issue had a head-on view of the engine (also in color at the plant).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/17 14:11 by johnsweetser.

SP's GS engines were regular visitors in my town, along with cab-forwards, MTs, etc...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Cjcheely Wrote:
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> ​ I have seen many photos of Souther Pacific
> Locomotives being "Set up" El Paso TX.
>
> I was wondering if the GS's where sent up in El
> Paso?
>

Not the GS-2s. There's a Trainline article a few years back detailing how the first Daylight locomotives were hauled dead in-train across the Salton Subdivision at 15 m.p.h.

LoggerHogger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> march_hare Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Did color film exist at that time?
>
> There was some early Kodachrome  in the early
> 1930's.  Some factory photos of the Daylights in
> color were made before the engines were shipped.
>
> Martin

Kodachrome 35mm was introduced in 1936. I have a shot of my dad taken at Newport Beach with Kodachrome in 1936, the year it was introduced.

By the way, Jardine took the photo of GS-4 No. 4436 at the Lima plant on his own; this wasn't an official Lima photograph.

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