Steam & Excursion > Even In Their Final Years These Locomotives Were Well Maintained!

While many of the Southern Pacific Daylight Locomotives lost their striking paint jobs during WW-2, they were soon returned to their former glory at the end of that conflict.  For the next 10+ years the SP took great care to keep these GS Class locomotives in top shape both mechanically and visually.

While the steam era on the SP was drawing to a close in January, 1955 when this photo was taken in Los Angelas, California, she shop crews have made sure that #4450 looks as good as she runs.  Sure she has lost a few of her details like the stainless steel ribs on her pilot and the Daylight "Ball & Wing" on her front side-skirt, but she still gleams in the sun and does not look at all like a locomotive that will soon be retired for good and sent to the scrap line.

Martin



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/21 03:40 by LoggerHogger.

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#4450 definitely looks well maintained.
Thanks for the interesting posting.
ALLEN

Beautiful locos...
I believe they were possibly the only steam engines that ever hauled dome cars in regular service.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/21 16:25 by MojaveBill.

MojaveBill Wrote:

> I believe they were possibly the only steam
> engines that ever hauled dome cars in regular
> service.

Some Western Pacific and Rio Grande steam also got the chance to haul domes in regular service for about a year prior to the inauguration of the California Zephyr in 1949.  As new domes for the CZ arrived, they went into service on existing, steam-hauled trains including the Exposition Flyer and the Royal Gorge.  The second photo in this old thread shows WP 482 (a 4-8-4) on the dome-equipped Exposition Flyer at Stockton in July 1948:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2577063

Here's an Otto Perry photo of some Rio Grande 4-8-4's on the Exposition Flyer in February 1949:

https://digital.denverlibrary.org/digital/collection/p15330coll22/id/53098