Nostalgia & History > Some detouring passenger trains in central California

A few photos from the Western Railway Museum Archives of passenger trains detouring on unfamiliar rails:

1) Unfortunately, photographer Al Rose didn't label this negative, so we are on our own to figure out what we're seeing here.  While Rose took quite a few images of Santa Fe's slant-nosed E1's on the Golden Gates and San Diegans, this appears to be the only time he shot the bulbous-nosed E2's that powered the City of San Francisco and City of Los Angeles on SP, UP, and C&NW rails.  He probably only got this one because the train was making a wintertime detour through Rose's home base of Modesto, CA (the first grade crossing would be K St. just north of the SP depot).  My first thought was that this was the eastbound City of San Francisco running via the valley because of trouble on the train's regular route over Donner Pass and possibly also on WP's nearby line through the Feather River Canyon.  Squinting closely at the nose of the lead unit, however, I'm not seeing the SP herald below those of C&NW and UP, the feature that most prominently distinguished E2A SF-1 from its sister LA-1, suggesting that's the LA-1 coming at us in the photo:

SF-1: https://digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/1093937
LA-1: https://digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/1104323

I don't know how common it was for the two E2A's to moonlight on each other's trains, but if it didn't happen often, then perhaps this is actually the westbound City of Los Angeles on a lengthy detour via Donner Pass and the San Joaquin Valley to get around some blockage on the LA&SL?

2) The storms of December 1964 that ravaged the Northwestern Pacific in the Eel River Canyon also played hob with other rail lines in northern California and southern Oregon.  An article in the December 24, 1964 edition of the Porterville Recorder reported that, "Southern Pacific has cancelled its passenger service between Oregon and California at least until January 1.  Western Pacific's Feather River Route is blocked and it is routing the California Zephyr through Barstow."  Other articles report multiple slides in the Feather River Canyon between Belden and Virgilia, and that the CZ would use Santa Fe rails between Stockton and Barstow and the UP east of there (technically from Daggett) to get back to its regular route.  On Christmas Eve, 1964, Arthur Lloyd caught the eastbound California Zephyr pausing at Santa Fe's Calwa yard office in the southern part of Fresno, CA.

3) This photo appears on page 10 of Southern Pacific: The Photography of SP Employee Bill Wolverton, Volume 1: Roseville and the Sacramento Valley, 1971-1975, Featuring the last F7's.  WP's California Zephyr was detouring over SP's Donner Pass line because a WP freight had put 54 cars on the ground at Gerlach, NV.  Wolverton borrowed his dad's car to drive over to Rocklin, CA to shoot westbound No.17 in the fading light.  SP F7 6394 pilots the train.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/24 23:34 by Evan_Werkema.

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4) This photo of CB&Q Silver Horizon carrying the markers didn't make the book.

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Evan,
Thanks for sharing some classic motive power shots. 

Kent in CArmel Valley

Neat material Evan,  I recently was looking at the Rocky Mountain railroad clubs newsletter the "rail report" from jan or  February 1968    It had these dec 67  detours that I  never heard  have never seen any pictures for but that would be great if some turned up the super chief via Ogden and also the California zephyr sure is neat how they used to get things done back in the day...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/24 02:55 by dan.

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Nice post, Evan!

texchief1

Back then, the RR's did everything they could to get their trains through in the event of any problems.  Today, Amtrak just cancels their trains for the most minor of projected weather issues 3 days before it is supposed to happen, and the passengers are just left to fend for themselves with no alternate transportaion provided.

Back then, the RR's did everything they could to get their trains through in the event of any problems.  Today, Amtrak just cancels their trains for the most minor of projected weather issues 3 days before it is supposed to happen, and the passengers are left to fend for themselves with no alternate transportaion provided.

Did the CZ regularly have Pullman-built sleepers as in pic 4? What is that one?

Thanks Evan for another interesting series.

Larry 

I 'm wondering if the detouring UP train is the result from the massive March 1938 flood damage to the LA&SL. Although all three southern California railroads were effected, I think the LA&SL was hit particularly hard throughout southern Nevada and California. This would then be the City of Los Angeles. Is there anything on the negative that would discount this from being in the 1938 time frame?

The train in Modesto is for sure eastward?
Probably too much daylight for it to be the
eastward CoSF.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/24 09:32 by timz.

timz Wrote:
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> Did the CZ regularly have Pullman-built sleepers
> as in pic 4? What is that one?

foreign road sleepers always were in front of the obs car, early on NYC and pennsy would alternate days thru service to new york, so anything could show up with tour groups and stuff.  I wonder who's car that is?  ACL?   So many different cars can be seen in pics  over the years.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/24 11:58 by dan.

Don't recall whether 14 roomette - 4 DBR cars
existed -- that the first thing to check?

In the spring or summer of 1963 I was driving north, parallel with SP's San Joaquin Valley route, on the 99 Highway (now Freeway) in Ceres, CA., just south of Modesto. I was surprised to encounter the Santa Fe's San Francisco Chief, pulled by several F units, running at a good speed, heading railroad east  -  toward Fresno - the opposite direction I was heading, on SP's mainline. I have never heard of the reason for that detour nor seen a photo documenting it. I had no camera with me and was driving my employer's truck, so could not have turned around and given chase, nor could I have ever caught up with it. A year later I saw Guy Dunscomb and mentioned it to him and he was surprised, said if he had known about it he would have photographed it. 

The photos here are certainly remarkable. The first one, from 1939, has the train arriving at the Modesto depot, which is just out of sight about 100 feet to the right. Train is running railroad east, toward Bakersfield. Great Post !

This entire post is amazing.  In the late 60's the CZ had four sleepers available for each of the 6 trainsets.  To meet demand in the summer, a fifth sleeper was operated.  It might have been a matching CB&Q car, but many other foreign cars were used as well.  BSB 

timz Wrote:
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> Did the CZ regularly have Pullman-built sleepers
> as in pic 4? What is that one?

That looks like an ACL "Bird" series 7 bedroom 2 drawing room car.   Those were rebuilt circa 1962 from 14 roomette 2 drawing room cars.  Such non-CZ cars were common in the summer months for tour groups. There were few spare CZ sleepers available for tour groups, so the Pullman Company would assign other railroad's sleepers that they had available.

It wasn't just the California Zephyr that was detoured via Barstow and the Santa Fe line through the San Joaquin Valley in December 1964.  Western Pacific freight trains also this detoured that way.

I took a photo of a detouring California Zephyr at Sandcut (at the bottom of the Tehachapi grade) during this period.  I regret not trying to get a photo of a detouring WP freight train.

Topfuel Wrote:

> That looks like an ACL "Bird" series 7 bedroom 2
> drawing room car.

ACF cars are known to have fluting like that?

I see Pullman built some 14-roomette-2DBR
cars for Southern. That sound possible?

timz Wrote:
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> I see Pullman built some 14-roomette-2DBR
> cars for Southern. That sound possible?

SOU had "Valley" series Pullman built 14 roomette-4 double bedroom cars.  In the 60's Pullman moved them around as needed.  More often, I saw the SOU 14-4's on SAL trains; and almost never on a SOU train by the 60's.

did southern cars have the tappered skirt area in the late 60's, by each end, letterboard seem correct?

the cutout around the wheels, i almost can see three words on the letterboard?

Really triggered by a pic i think i had seen of ACL car in a CZ pic  in colorado i think

that said, did pennsy have any run through cars built for trains to miami that were similar?
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/24 21:34 by dan.