Nostalgia & History > The Coast Mail arriving Third & Townsend Station 1959

After a long overnight journey up the coast, the Coast mail has only another couple of hundred feet to go as it rolls into San Francisco.

Robert Morris Photography
http://www.snowcrest.net/photobob/index.html

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Excellent shot!
Gary

That's obviously a photo taken in the afternoon. How long did it take the Coast Mail to make it to SF?

Definitely an excellent photo! Superbly captures a long gone scene.
The most recent NRHS Bulletin featured mail trains. It was really a good issue.
ALLEN

garrett Wrote:
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> That's obviously a photo taken in the afternoon.
> How long did it take the Coast Mail to make it to
> SF?

The November 1958 Official Guide shows #91 departing Los Angeles at 1:00 AM and arriving San Francisco at 5:25 PM, 16'25".
SP #99, Coast Daylight made the same route in 9'45", (8:30AM-6:15PM).

Charlie

cewherry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> garrett Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > That's obviously a photo taken in the afternoon.
>
> > How long did it take the Coast Mail to make it
> to
> > SF?
>
> The November 1958 Official Guide shows #91
> departing Los Angeles at 1:00 AM and arriving San
> Francisco at 5:25 PM, 16'25".
> SP #99, Coast Daylight made the same route in
> 9'45", (8:30AM-6:15PM).
>
> Charlie

Sad Sam made a lot more stops then the Daylight.

And spent those stops working mail like the Owl and West Coast did in Mojave.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Would loved to have seen that pass by the Miramar in Montecito . . . but then again looking at the schedule in the attached posts, it would have passed through in the dead of night . . . .

Craig
mcmrailvideos.com

spdaylight Wrote:
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> Would loved to have seen that pass by the Miramar
> in Montecito . . . but then again looking at the
> schedule in the attached posts, it would have
> passed through in the dead of night . . . .

That's for sure. The schedule of 91 in its various incarnations seems to have bounced around quite a bit in those days.
In April 1957 it was carded out of Los Angeles at 12:01AM, April 1959 shows 12:15AM. It moved up to 11:30PM in September 1960 and
by September 1961 the time was a relatively civil 10:30PM. No doubt these changes were a result of US Post Office requirements
which paid the bills for its operation.

Although no times are shown for Montecito in my timetable collection, a leisurely 20 minutes was allowed between Ortega and the scheduled arrival
of 3:15AM at Santa Barbara in April 1959.

Charlie

#90 southbound, made for a nice daytime ride from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. Several fan groups used #90 southbound over the years.

When I was in the army, and could get a weekend pass, would go down to SLO station and see #91 come through, this during the steam days.
Even rode it one time to Paso Robles and returned by Greyhound.

I recall watching 91 set out & p/u cars in Santa Barbara in the mid morning in about 1962. My brother and I often hung out at the depot in Goleta and see both the 91 and 99 in 1963-64.
Was 91 carded later out of LA by then, or did it really take the 8hrs to get that far!
SR

To Craig: we moved to Montecito in ‘65 and I saw both 98&99 race by the Miramar, but I don’t recall ever rolling-by #91 there.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/17 00:50 by BoilingMan.