Nostalgia & History > The Lone Star - into the siding - for the Sunset

Jan 77
I think I posted these a long time ago but here are some rescans.
(1)
Only 25 miles into its journey to Chicago, the Lone Star is headed in a siding on the SP in Sugar Land,Tx. The Imperial Sugar plant in the background was still in business.
The SP put the train in the siding not for a freight but the Sunset Limited which was waiting patiently on the main.

(2)
Baggage-dorm #1401 was built by St.Louis Car Co. in 1952 as an Army Medical Service car

(3)
1162 was an ex-Santa Fe baggage car built by ACF in 1955

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(4)
Ex-Santa Fe 10-6 sleeper Palm Loch was built in 1951 by ACF.
Looks like the Sunset also had an ex- Army car with an ex-Santa Fe baggage.

(5)
A nice end to the Sunset with ex-California Zephyr Silver Solarium (CB&Q - Budd 1948).

Gary



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/21 12:39 by gcm.

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Great shots, as always.  Looks like the CZ dome obs has the white back-up light turned on, as well as the red side marker lights.

Old SP RR San Antonio, TX based passenger train and engine crews worked to and from Houston on the Sunset Limited.  Old Santa Fe RR Temple, TX based passenger conductors and head brakemen worked  Temple-Cleburne-Houston-Temple.  Galveston based rear brakemen  and the Cleburne, TX based engine crews all worked between Cleburne and Houston on the old Lone Star.

You saved the best for last.
Bob

Topfuel Wrote:
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> Great shots, as always.  Looks like the CZ dome obs has the white back-up light turned on, as well
> as the red side marker lights.

That top light should have had a red lens over it as it was not a back-up light but rather an oscillating red marker light.

This was a really fine series!  Thanks for sharing these great images.

Railbaron Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Topfuel Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Great shots, as always.  Looks like the CZ
> dome obs has the white back-up light turned on,
> as well
> > as the red side marker lights.
>
> That top light should have had a red lens over it
> as it was not a back-up light but rather an
> oscillating red marker light.

Au contraire : )  The CZ cars, as well as the dome obs cars built for the TCZ, and also the 1947 SAL tavern lounge obs cars (all Budd-built) had a Mars light that was on a "turntable", so to speak. There was a red light facing one way and a white light facing the other.  It was operated by controls in a cabinet at the rear of the car.  The lenses were built into the mechanism.  So when it was in "back up" mode (for reverse moves) a switch would be thrown in the cabinet and the light would rotate so the stationary white light faced to the rear.  When the train was going forward, and the obs car was in it's normal rear-end position, the mechanism would be rotated so the oscillating red light would face to the rear.  Kind of hard to describe but hopefully that sort of explains it.

Wow, that's wild - learn something new every day as I had never heard of that. Thank you.

Here's a shot of the back-up cabinet in the Silver Crescent.  Hopefully Bruce won't mind me posting his picture.

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Topfuel Wrote:
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> Here's a shot of the back-up cabinet in the Silver
> Crescent.  Hopefully Bruce won't mind me posting
> his picture.

Is that brass handle a brake valve?

There were some oscilating headlights on some F uniits like that too with red on one side and the regular oscilating headlight on the the other side.

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



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/08/21 18:56 by wabash2800.

Slumbercoach Wrote:
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>
> Is that brass handle a brake valve?

Yes, that is for back-up moves.  You can also see a valve for a small horn that is under the obs end of the car.

Nice series, early Amtrak didn't look half bad in those days...

JG

Posted from Android

Topfuel Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Railbaron Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Topfuel Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Great shots, as always.  Looks like the CZ
> > dome obs has the white back-up light turned
> on,
> > as well
> > > as the red side marker lights.
> >
> > That top light should have had a red lens over
> it
> > as it was not a back-up light but rather an
> > oscillating red marker light.
>
> Au contraire : )  The CZ cars, as well as the
> dome obs cars built for the TCZ, and also the 1947
> SAL tavern lounge obs cars (all Budd-built) had a
> Mars light that was on a "turntable", so to
> speak. There was a red light facing one way and
> a white light facing the other.  It was operated
> by controls in a cabinet at the rear of the car. 
> The lenses were built into the mechanism.  So
> when it was in "back up" mode (for reverse moves)
> a switch would be thrown in the cabinet and the
> light would rotate so the stationary white light
> faced to the rear.  When the train was going
> forward, and the obs car was in it's normal
> rear-end position, the mechanism would be rotated
> so the oscillating red light would face to the
> rear.  Kind of hard to describe but hopefully
> that sort of explains it.

There is a quick shot in this video of that type of Mars light flipping around:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1UMnRbaqgc

 

That is a great set of meet shots!  Love those SDPs.

RC Lundgren
Elgin, TX

jgilmore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice series, early Amtrak didn't look half bad in
> those days...
>
> JG
>
> Posted from Android

Those cars were full of opaque plastic windows, bad order everything and vile interiors.  I don't miss them one bit.

Excellent sequence--LOVE that candy-stripe scheme and those full amenities on the 'Sunset. Thanks for sharing.

You hit the nostalgia button with this one. I grew up 15 miles back towards Houston and in the summer before took advantage of Amtrak’s All Aboard fare promotion. Two weeks took me to New Orleans on the Sunset and next day boarded the real Southern Crescent for DC. In DC made the short jog to Amtrak HQs before boarding the DC section of the Broadway. Next day arrival in Chicago and boarding the Empire Builder for Seattle. From Seattle down to LA on the Coast Starlight and next day on the Southwest Chief back to Chicago. Final leg was on my old favorite Texas Chief which was now the Lone Star. With the exception of the first leg to New Orleans in coach the rest of the trip was in a Roomette. Overnight in a hotel was in New Orleans, Seattle, and LA. The fare for all this came in at just under $300, a sum that was doable even for a grad student. Liked that you also captured the Sharpstown Center billboard featuring Foley’s Department Store. Both icons for many Houstonians my age.

At 1:02 in the video.

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

BigSkyBlue Wrote:
--
> There is a quick shot in this video of that type
> of Mars light flipping around:
>
>  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1UMnRbaqgc
>
>