Nostalgia & History > ATSF Air Cargo

Douglas C54     no other info.   Possibly at the Douglas factory in Santa Monica (today's Clover Field)?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/22 14:28 by masterphots.

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There was an article a few years ago about the Santa Fe Skyway in the SFR&HS Warbonnet.

Note they weren't taking any chances that imbalanced freight would cause the tail to drop and hit the tarmac.   

Some a/c still use those...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Very cool shot!!

Larry

What's that cutoff nose section at the right
edge of the pic?

Lots more on this topic back in 2005

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,904636,page=1

Milwaukee Wrote:
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> Note they weren't taking any chances that
> imbalanced freight would cause the tail to drop
> and hit the tarmac.   

Cargo door is aft of the wing so when you're loading that first pallet or two or unloading them you can come dangerously close to the aircraft "tipping point".
Once you get a pallet or two loaded up front it's not much of a probem.

And Boeing 747 freighters still use tail stands during loading and unloading operations for the very same reason today.

timz Wrote:
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> What's that cutoff nose section at the right
> edge of the pic?

Replacement component?   That's why I think the location could be the old Douglas plant in Santa Monica, CA.   At the far left edge of the photo,  which the scan cut off,  is a United Airlines DC on the ramp.

Fun fact:  Around 1959 or so I was wandering around the UP E. Los Angeles shops on a Sunday and on the shop floor was a complete E unit cab shell,  painted UP yellow.  It had a blank EMD oval builders plate in the center of the dashboard or whatever they call it.  I assumed it was there for a repair job that might require it.  It had all windows, etc.   Why I didn't take a photo is another question.

wasn't a simulator?

dan Wrote:
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> wasn't a simulator?

I doubt it,  it was  in an area with GP hood doors and other what looked like spare parts.  Did they have simulators back then?   That said I guess they could have built a simulator using it,  but would that have roll down windows, etc.?   Who knows.  Maybe someone from the UPHS will chime in.

just thought with a frame to support it so it could pivot?

Airplane fuselages are built in sections and then joined on the assembly line during final assembly.
So a "complete" nose section is not that unusual at the factory. And Santa Monica is where Douglas assembled many aircraft.

Had never heard about the Santa Fe Skyway before, awesome photo. We love watching the planes approach the Santa Monica airport from the backyard of my wife’s grandmother. There’s a park over there as well that we enjoy, with a DC3 on display where I think the Douglas factory used to be.

As for the stand, they are still used all though I haven’t seen one surprisingly, and look what happened to the USC football team a few months ago when it wasn’t used - https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32230018/usc-trojans-team-plane-tips-backward-tarmac-coaches-staff-board?platform=amp

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

Curious that this topic popped up last week. Today I found a YouTube video on the ATSF Skyway plane service. Very interesting video with some neat old plane and train scenes.