Nostalgia & History > A PA sandwich

A couple of SP PA's are sandwiched in between a couple of E Units on the Lark about to head south for Los Angeles. I took this in the Summer of 1960 so it was still a little light for its 9 PM departure. Train was running as 1-76 as I believe they ran a fast freight right after it as train 76. I may be wrong but that's why we have all those experts out there. 

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography

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When the SP ran a freight on a passenger train's schedule, i.e. 2nd 76, would the freight have to make the station stops as listed in the employee timetable?  Or would the dispatcher put out an order that allowed the stops to be skipped?

espee51
Nick

Here's a train running as #76 the train number of the Lark. I took this in San Luis Obispo while the Coast Mail was being serviced on the other track. The Lark was already in Los Angeles by the time this #76 rolled through.

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography

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For those of us on the right coast, is this train departing San Francisco?  Oakland?  San Jose?

boejoe Wrote:
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> For those of us on the right coast, is this train
> departing San Francisco?  Oakland?  San Jose?

The first pic is San Francisco, the 2nd is San Luis Obispo.
G

Fourth and Townsend, San Francisco

      The frieght would not be required to stop at the 76's regular station stops as there would be no passenger work possible. Only trainorders for them to stop or signal indications of approach or stop would change their possible advance on the first 76.  Correct?

It was from 3rd and Townsend Station then.

Fantastic photo.

Regards, Jim Evans

> When the SP ran a freight on a passenger train's schedule, i.e. 2nd 76, would the freight have to make the station stops as listed in the employee timetable?

When a train is assigned a schedule, it makes no difference what type of cars are in it. So "2nd 76" it may not pass any station before the time shown in the schedule column for train 76 (and neither may "1st 76"). In practical terms this means that "2nd 76", if does consist of freight cars, won't be making any stops for the simple reason that it can't be ahead of "1st 76".

A freight train running on a passenger train's schedule would only have to respect the times in that schedule.  In other words it could arrive in any station before the time shown, but could not leave ahead of time.  

In this case, with the passenger train running as 1st 76, the freight train behind it running as 2nd 76, could follow it pretty much with impunity, except they both would have to respect opposing trains of the same class in the opposite direction.  On the SP, Westbound trains were superior to Eastbound trains of the same class.

Where were 76 & 75 scheduled to meet?  The 2nd section freight would have to be in the clear in a siding before 75 & 99s leaving time at the next siding, in a nutshell.
G

> On the SP, Westbound trains were superior to Eastbound trains of the same class.

To clarify this: superiority by direction was listed on each timetable schedule page, not in the rule book, and there were instances where an EB was superior to a WB.

That freight train was the "Overnite," all-black cars with their own logo, usually powered by a GS-4. They were that era's version of Fedex, fast overnight package service between LA and SFO. One runs on my N-Scale layout with a 60-foot Harriman coach carrying the markers.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Awesome.
JB

When I was working the Coast 2-76 was a drag freight out of Bayshore that would spend many hours trying to get through San Jose and hopefully to Watsonville Junction before its timetable authority ran out.  The fact it ran as the second section of a first class train was simply a way the dispatcher simplified his job there was little or no opposing traffic.  My timebook also has a 3-76 in it.  For one example, on 6/10/61 I went on duty at Bayshore at 8:30 p.m. for 2-76 and off duty at Watsonville Junction at 4:45 a.m., so it was not exactly a high speed trip.

JBWX 

I think that espee51's question was does a freight train run running on the schedule of a train that is normally a passenger train need to stop at station where a 's' (a regular stop) is next to the time. 

Cliff