Nostalgia & History > SP Campaign Train in 1980

I shot this SP campaign train in Menlo Park in 1980. It was making a whistle stop tour on the Peninsula. In this shot it is pulling northbound out on Palo Alto and into Menlo Park on the southbound main. Does anyone know what candidate this was for? I could not read the placard on the front of the train.

---

Looks like it may be Rep. Anderson from Illinois.

nice nice NICE! Another reason why I need to kitbash a pair of SDP45's. Better yet, I need to kitbash four of them so I can have a pair of red and scarlet classics and a short-lived Kodachrome pair for the failed merger years of the SP officer specials.

Hey Richard or anyone else that might know. What Sunset scheme red striped SP passenger cars were on this train or if anyone really knows, what SP business cars were officially on the roster in 1980. From your picture, it looks like the SP had a bigger fleet of streamlined business cars going into that year. And of course I ask this question because I was only a few months old going into 1980... ;)

Thanks Ryan. The SP SDP45's were always one of my favorite locomotives. I think I shot most of the cars on the train. I will take a look tomorrow. I do know the car on the end was a heavyweight observation car in Amtrak colors.

The business car fleet was being to be rehab during this time so some of the cars still had Amtrak stripes.

Cars in the fleet in 1980:
151-San Jose in SSW lettering
150-Sunset
140-Stanford
141-Oakland (in Amtrak stripes as it was on the Campaign special; with none other than MDO supervising the operation)
131-Sacramento
117-Tucson
106-Oregon
100-Airlsie
99- No Name but later called the "Houston"
293-ex-Shasta Coach for use as a rider coach for crews on specials
290-Ex-Sunset Ltd diner
291-Ex-Sunset Ltd Lounge
292-Ex-Sunset Ltd Sleeper for on board service crew
295- Economy Baggage being later converted to HEP in grey and later in s/r
298- Ecomony Baggage later painted s/r
There were other streamine cars used as meeting cars in terminal.

The special, run the weekend before the 1980 election was for John Anderson and the power was 3201-3204, SP293,291,290,292 and 141, the Oakland.Deadhead to San Jose that morning and ran with stops up the Peninsula to San Francisco and power ran around the train and dead headed back to Oakland.

Notice too they are running against the current of traffic, northbound on #2 at MP 29.5 just north of Alma Avenue. Nice photo Richard, thanks for sharing.



WAF Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The special, run the weekend before the 1980
> election was for John Anderson and the power was
> 3201-3204, SP293,291,290,292 and 141, the
> Oakland.Deadhead to San Jose that morning and ran
> with stops up the Peninsula to San Francisco and
> power ran around the train and dead headed back to
> Oakland.

fjc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Notice too they are running against the current of
> traffic, northbound on #2 at MP 29.5 just north of
> Alma Avenue. Nice photo Richard, thanks for
> sharing.

Yes Frank, they were running against the current. It had something to do with a "campaign" stop at Palo Alto. I think it was because the main part of the station at Palo Alto is on the coast side and that was where all the people were. BTW, the empty lot on the right hand side of the photo where the people are standing is where the Stanford Park Hotel is now located.