Nostalgia & History > PLA PA Powered ATSF Riverbank Rambler

Spring of 1968? Pacific Locomotive Association Riverbank Rambler. Richmond to Riverbank and return.
One of the last runs of ATSF PAs. As I recall, we tried to use PAs again the next year but had to
settle for F's.

Jim Evans photos from Kodak Instamatic! PLA since 1968.

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Too bad one of those couldn't have been saved. Nice photos.

I believe one is being restored...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

I'm no expert on Santa Fe passenger, but it looks like 4 SF heavyweight cars on the rear. I did not know ATSF had heavyweight that late in regular service, or even for specials.

March 3, 1968. I took the Lark from and to LAUPT to ride that trip.

Steve

Definitely a wet year!

#1 Appears to have been taken at Richmond and #3) Christie - eastbound.

The rail in the siding at Christie may still be the same 90 lb rail that is there now.

Great photos.

Gary



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/17 22:21 by SN711.

Two ATSF PAs made it back from Mexico. Both were wrecked. One has been restored in Nickel Plate livery. Reportedly a museum in Texas is to cosmetically restore the other.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

atsf121 Wrote:
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> Too bad one of those couldn't have been saved.
> Nice photos.

A few heayvweights remained until almost the very end!

The flyer dubbed the March 3, 1968 trip the "Last Run of a PA," which ran between Richmond and Stockton.  The 1969 trip with F's was the "Riverbank Rambler."  Cal-Nevada and PLA co-sponsored the under-patronized Rambler, and the loss incurred convinced Cal-Nevada to get out of the business of chartering special trains for excursions on Class-1's.  Future outings would use existing passenger trains.

In the summer of 1968, Santa Fe pressed what healthy PA's they still had into San Joaquin Valley freight service.  PA's were activated for freight duties in the valley again in November and December of '68, possibly extending into January of 1969 before the ax finally fell and the fleet was shuffled off to Pielet Bros. See:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,3794875
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,661322

D&H got 4 PA's from Santa Fe in 1967, and these are the ones that ultimately went to Mexico.  The 60L and 66L are in a museum in Mexico as DH-17 and DH-19, while 59L and 62L (DH-16 and DH-18) came back north of the border as hulks.  The 62L is now "NKP 190," and 59L is at the Museum of the American Railroad in Frisco, TX becoming 59L once again.

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Thanks Evan

Regards, Jim

Not to mention the two operable ones in the museum in Puebla (or Merida) MX.

Out

I just did a value comparison and $1.00 in 1968 would equal $7.12 today.  So the cost of the ticket is roughly 65-70 bucks.  I would still pay to ride.

The three rear cars were on loan from the Pacific Coast Chapter R&LHS.

Years ago someone had told me that one of the units failed on the trip. Is that true?
Thank You for the pictures.

Posted from iPhone

> Years ago someone had told me that one of the units failed on the trip. Is that true?

True. Reported on pg. 4 of the April 1968 issue of Pacific News (the unit that failed was No. 58).