Nostalgia & History > Pasadena 1980

Amtrak Train 4, the eastbound Southwest Limited, pauses at Pasadena CA on May 8, 1980. (© KPR Media Services, all rights reserved)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/14 10:25 by CrudPunko.

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That is one sweet shot, thanks for sharing.

Kent in CArmel Valley

A deeply missed Pasadena-Chicago transcontinental train, now reduced to a streetcar to nowhere.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/14 19:45 by railwaybaron.

Nice shot. Did you by chance get any other pictures of the equipment on #4? Looks as if car on left has the later Phase II striping.

As a black and white shot it lets you focus on the lighting, especially in the lounge car. I think if it were a color shot the colors would distract you from seeing the various lightings. Am I making sense?

Marty Bernard

When did 3/4 get Superliners? Those are ex-ATSF Hi Levels in the photo and I presume single level cars were ahead in the consist?

Conductors and trainmen on the old Amtrak Southwest Limited, were based either out of LA or Needles and worked between these aforementioned terminals. LA based passenger enginemen worked between LA and Barstow.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/15/14 10:15 by RodneyZona.

Wow, that is a great night shot of Amtrak #4 at Pasadena! Although I was promoted out of southern California a couple of months earlier, many of us would go to see the "Southwest Limited" at Pasadena in the evenings in the late 1970's. The more adventurous of the group would then "chase" it out the I-210 freeway since the tracks were in the median. The speed limit for motorists was 55 mph while 3 & 4 was allowed 65 or 70 mph on that stretch. Needless to say the California Highway Patrol got wise to the nightly run of this train and would usually get one or two motorists east of Pasadena who were trying to stay up with the "Southwest." Most of the people who got stopped by the CHP were regular motorists who would just naturally start speeding up as the train would come up from behind and start to leave them behind. While I never got one of those tickets, it was interesting to watch all of this unfold while having dinner in the Hi-Level Dining Car leaving Pasadena! Westbound trips in the morning were never as much fun as those nights leaving Pasadena heading east...

Thanks again for a photo that brings back many fond memories!

ShastaDaylight

You are correct in that this was a steam heated consist with single level cars along with a transition car in the consist. Here are a couple of additional shots of the train from that night showing single level cars. Sleeper "Silver Vale" is a former CB&Q 490 and according to my notes was sold in 1990. And the 2558 "Rock Creek" was ex-Rock Island 634 "Golden Journey," built by P-S in 1954.

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railwaybaron Wrote:
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> A deeply missed Pasadena-Chicago transcontinental
> train, now reduced to a streetcar to nowhere.

Really?

How about a light rail ride to Los Angeles Union Station where you can transfer to the Los Angeles-Chicago transcontinental train.

Bruce Perry
Tehachapi, CA

Thanks for the additional photos! Note that the Hi-Level cars are on the rear of the train, an operational change that took place early in 1980 and lasted about a year until Superliners were assigned to the run. In 1979 and previously the Hi-Levels were up front with the single level sleepers at the rear. A number of the Hi-Level coaches had steps down to single level cars at one end, and it was these cars Amtrak rebuild as its first transition-dormitory cars when Superliners were introduced in the late 1979 to early 1981 time period. Great photos and thanks again for sharing them with us...

ShastaDaylight