Nostalgia & History > Whats the story of this observation car?

It was bringing up the rear of the eastbound Overland which has just left Sacramento. The small sign in the rear window says the "Sertoma Club" which is bound for Reno. It had stainless steel sides and was definitely SP heritage. Maybe from the T&NO Sunbeam? I took this in 1961 I think.

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/18 21:36 by photobob.

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It has those skinny letter boards the Sunbeam cars had.

Window pattern also fits. I think one of those cars was used for one of the SP domes...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Yes a diner-lounge-observation from the Sun Beam and yes, it became a dome.

It showned up on many groups and special moves.

Is that an Osgood-Bradley lightweight coach ahead of it?

yes
 

For Reno passengers. Short of coaches that summer

A related question about the car and its sign displaying "Sertoma Club".  Any speculation that their was a group on-board from the Sertoma International, aka Sertoma Club, a service organization?  Maybe a member informally posted the sign?   Thanks

This car was covered in Volume 4 of SPH&TS’s magnificent set of books on the SP passenger car fleet on page 388-398.  

This is one of the two diner lounge-observation cars built in 1937 for the T&NO Sunbeam that ran between Dallas and Houston as T&NO 950 and 951, providing the food and lounge service for the Sunbeam and companion Hustler.  T&NO 950 was the source of the frame for the original SP dome lounge 3606 in 1955.  Since PhotoBob’s photo was taken in the 1960s, it can’t be that car.  T&NO 951 was sold to SP in 1955 and renumbered SP 2nd 2900, putting it in the same 2900 series as the parlor observation cars, although this car was completely different inside with a 32 seat dining room, and 14 seat observation lounge and no parlor seats.  The 2900 was last regularly used on the Sacramento-Oakland Senator providing snack lounge service 1956-57.  After that, the car was stored, eventually lost all of its tables, and was strictly a lounge car.  It isn’t clear in the book if the kitchen and pantry remained, but from the photos, I assume they did remain.  “The car only saw occasional overflow chair car service and was used in lounge service between Reno and Oakland on the rear of the San Francisco Overland and City of San Francisco second sections.  On March 26, 1963, it was offered for sale at $7,000, but there were no takers.  By early 1964 it was retired and sold for scrap.” 

EDIT REVISION; And I had the book open in front of me and I didn’t verify which dome the T&NO 950 was used as the basis for.  I was incorrect in originally stating it was the 3600.  As corrected below, the basis for the 3600 was the SP 2950, on of the 1937 parlor observation cars built for the original Daylight.  T&NO 950 was the starting point for the last dome built, SP 3606.  

Lee Hower - Sacramento



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/18 14:24 by mcfflyer.

The car in this view is SP 2900, former Sunbeam T&NO 951.  It DID NOT get converted to a dome lounge car.  It came to the SP Sept. 30, 1955 and was retired during October 1965.  In this view it was a lounge observation; the kitchen was not used.

Jeff

Note the semaphore signal in the background.  I saw semaphore signals in 1962 when I passed under the SP tracks in Sacramento.  Does anyone know the extent of semaphore territory around Sacramento in that era?

overland28 Wrote:
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> The car in this view is SP 2900, former Sunbeam
> T&NO 951.  It DID NOT get converted to a dome
> lounge car.  It came to the SP Sept. 30, 1955 and
> was retired during October 1965.  In this view it
> was a lounge observation; the kitchen was not
> used.
>
> Jeff

Yup, as noted its sister 950 was rebuilt into a dome YEARS before; but Daylight parlor obs. SP 2950 was the first dome conversion.    SP 2900 also ran on the last complete roundtrip of NWP nos 4-3 REDWOOD 11/7-8/58 (San Rafael-Eureka) as an excursion with other Daylight type chair cars.  It did not run on the final eastbound run on 11/9/58.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/18 18:08 by WP-M2051.

Bob, your B&W's on these secondary trains are my favorites (though they're all good )
Thanks for catching all the consist details, a lot of guys skippped that and went for the road power shot only.
I love these second hand Sunbeam cars and especially these two Parlor-Diner-Lounges.
I did not know they were operated as straight parlor lounges once transferred to the Pacific Lines.
A question to the SP brain trust here;
did these ex-T&NO cars get the converrsion from steam ejectors to LPG power plants for the AC after transfer to the Pacific Lines?