Nostalgia & History > Question: Last SP passenger train from Oakland to LA in 1971

I lived in Tehachapi, CA in 1971 when the SP ran their last passenger train on the Daylight schedule from Oakland to Los Angeles.  I was there and saw it, but took no pictures.  It was the most colorful "easter egg basket" of locomotives and cars I have ever seen.  And it had to be at least 25 cars long and I think every former SP paint scheme was represented..........Cascade, Sunset Ltd, Daylight, Lark, streamlined, heavyweights, old, very old,  etc.  I remember seeing F's, geeps, SDP-45's etc. and there were a lot of units..........just to pull that load up Tehachapi Pass.  I guess they must have sold tickets for the last ride on the SP and just kept adding cars as long as the tickets sold.  If anyone has info and especially photos of that train, I would love to see it and I know it would generate tons of reaction from TO followers.

perhaps getting some equipment in position for amtrak, or new assignments

Extra cars for the day plus deadheading cars for the May 2 number 13/14. 52's was about 16 cars, Sdp45,F7b and a Sd9 helper.
extra 52 cars came back to Oakland on may 1 number 13

jdw3460 wrote:

> It was the most colorful "easter egg basket" of locomotives and cars I have ever seen.  And it had to be at least 25 cars long and I think every former SP paint scheme was represented..........Cascade, Sunset Ltd, Daylight, Lark, streamlined, heavyweights, old, very old,  etc.

All the cars except the baggage car were the standard silver and red.  There were no heavyweight cars.  See photos of the last southbound San Joaquin Daylight at Delano at:  http://coastdaylight.com/delano.html



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/17 14:09 by johnsweetser.

johnsweetser Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jdw3460 wrote:
>
> > It was the most colorful "easter egg basket" of
> locomotives and cars I have ever seen.  And it
> had to be at least 25 cars long and I think every
> former SP paint scheme was
> represented..........Cascade, Sunset Ltd,
> Daylight, Lark, streamlined, heavyweights, old,
> very old,  etc.
>
> All the cars except the baggage car were the
> standard silver and red.  There were no
> heavyweight cars.  See photos of the last
> southbound San Joaquin Daylight at Delano at: 
> http://coastdaylight.com/delano.html


I am obviously mistaken about what I saw being the last Daylight.  It was definitely not that beautiful train in your pictures.  I suspect it may have been later, perhaps cleaning up the car yards up north.  It definitely had some ancient junk in it and several different diesel units.  I really don't know where it came from, but it definitely came out of Bakersfield, over the pass, and on toward L.A.   Those Sunset cars were really nice in your pictures.

Jim's pic is what we saw in Tehachapi... I've often thought watching these "last runs" if all the people who rode them while complaining of them being dropped had been riding them all along they might have lasted longer...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

jdw3460 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> johnsweetser Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > All the cars except the baggage car were the
> > standard silver and red.  There were no
> > heavyweight cars.  See photos of the last
> > southbound San Joaquin Daylight at Delano at: 
> > http://coastdaylight.com/delano.html
>
> I am obviously mistaken about what I saw being the
> last Daylight.  It was definitely not that
> beautiful train in your pictures. 

Those are not John's photos and he did not claim they were. They are mine and I was there in Delano on April 30, 1971. On the previous Saturday I had ridden the SJD from Glendale to Delano and back.  On April 30th I was with my family headed for Sequoia Nat. Park and I figured Delano was a good location to photograph the last SJD.

Jim Lancaster