Nostalgia & History > S P QUESTION

 Was there ever any passnger service on the Modooc line?

I don't have my copy of Dill and Bowden's "The Modoc" handy, so others will have to supply an exact timeline, but these three timetables show the evolution.

1) Pullmans ran on the Modoc for about a year after it opened. Timetable date: 9-15-1929

2) An all-coach, three times per week consist ran for a few more years. Timetable date: 3-1934

3) After that, only a three times per week Alturas - Lakeview mixed train survived. It was yanked not too long after this 2-6-1938 timetable was issued, if memory serves.

Regards,
Ed Gibson
Wx4.org



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/19 08:18 by hogheaded.

---

---

---

Strrrreeeetching the topic somewhat.

As regards Ed Gibson's first illustration; the Portland-Chicago routing: a bit of digging shows that SP's trains 15-16 (the Portland-Klamath Falls portion)
were known in 1929 as the "West Coast" having been re-named so from their immediately former name of Southern California Express southbound
and Puget Sound Express northbound on June 1, 1927. Train numbers 15-16 had been in use on the San Francisco (Oakland) to Portland route
almost continuously since the driving of the last spike on the Siskiyou line on December 17, 1887.

Even though Ed's public timetable which, by the way was the first timetable on SP's then new Alturas cut-off,
showed the through Pullman service between Portland and Ogden arriving at  Sparks at 10:00PM.
The direct routing between Alturas and Reno afforded by the former Nevada-California-Oregon Ry. (N-C-O-) could not
have been used account of the sale to the Western Pacific in 1917 of the southernmost 64 miles of N-C-O track between
Hackstaff (later Herlong) and Reno, 33 miles of which became WP's Reno branch and the remainer being abandoned. 

Rather the routing would have been over the new railroad SP had just built between Texum (Klamath Falls) and Alturas;
thence former N-C-O narrow gauge now widened to standard gauge, (after October 1927), from Alturas to Wendel,
then SP's Susanville Subdivision, (former Fernley & Lassen Ry, started by Central Pacific in 1912), Wendel to Fernley.
At Fernley the Pullman carrying train continued on to the station at Sparks, an additional 29.9 miles where the sleeping car
would have been added to an eastbound, most likely No. 20, the Pacific Limited  which was due in at 2:35AM before continuing
their journey.  This eastward scenario works very well according to the SP's Sacramento division employee timetable
effective July 22, 1928 in the collection of Tim Zukas and posted on Ed's Wx4.org website.

What dosen't 'fit', using the same timetable is a westward connection handling the same Ogden-Portland Pullman.
The most likely candidate wound be train No 1, the San Francisco Overland Limited but somehow I don't conjure that
premier train handling a set-out Pullman at Sparks or even more far-fetched, at Fernley,  even if it was destined to Portland. 
It would be really great to have a Salt Lake division employee timetable effective 9-15-1929 to be able to compare. 
Done stretching now.

Charlie

 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/19 20:53 by cewherry.

Coincidentally, I passed through Lakeview and Alturas last week and I wondered about the exact same thing. I checked my 1940 Official Guide and by that time the schedule showed a Reno to Klammath Falls bus via Alturas and a connecting Alturas to Lakeview bus, both daily. Lakeview and Alturas stations are still in good shape, both used as private residences.

WWII internment trains carrying Japanese-American citiizens to Internment camps on the Modoc, but no regular passenger trains that I'm aware of after the above mentioned trains. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/19 22:57 by trackplanner.

After re-reading your original question:

SP's predecessor on portions of what are called the Modoc line, the Nevada-California-Oregon (N-C-O), operated
3 foot narrow gauge freight and mixed trains over their 275 mile route between Reno, NV and Lakeview, OR.
They also operated excursion trains of exclusively passenger equipment and also dabbled in passenger motor cars.
Following the SP takeover and standard gauge-ing the final regular passenger service was provided by rail motor car
trains No. 317-318 in December 1937.
  
N-C-O and Southern Pacific operations on the Modoc are covered in David Myrick's Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California Vol. 1. and 
John Signor's Rails in the Shadow of Mt. Shasta.
 
Charlie
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/19 16:36 by cewherry.

My August 1931 Official Guide shows Service from San Francisco to Klamath Falls  via Fernly, Wendel and Alturas on trains 22 & 21 with coaches SF to KF and an All Day Lunch car from Sparks to Alturas. These trains connected with the Pacific Limited at Reno/ Sparks. Train 17-21-20 shows coaches Kalamath Falls and Ogden. Eastbound, #19-22-16 just shows coaches, Klamath Falls and Ogden.

1200v Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My August 1931 Official Guide shows Service from
> San Francisco to Klamath Falls  via Fernly,
> Wendel and Alturas on trains 22 & 21 with coaches
> SF to KF and an All Day Lunch car from Sparks to
> Alturas. These trains connected with the Pacific
> Limited at Reno/ Sparks. Train 17-21-20 shows
> coaches Kalamath Falls and Ogden. Eastbound,
> #19-22-16 just shows coaches, Klamath Falls and
> Ogden.

Best I can figure is that Nos. 22-21 was the Nevada Express which handled the coach(s) between Oakland and Sparks 
Nos. 19-20 was the Pacific Limited which would have handled the car(s) from Sparks to Ogden which leaves
unnamed Nos. 16-17 to handle them from Sparks to Klamath Falls via Fernley. Guessing here without employee timetables.

Charlie