Nostalgia & History > Train time at Glendale 1959

Its a warm summer afternoon in Glendale as the Coast Daylight departs for the last few miles of its run to Los Angeles. The red caps are hualing a few pieces of baggage to the depot and grandma has arrived safely. Steam coming out of the observation car has done its job of keeping the air conditioners running thanks to steam boilers in the PA's on the other end. 45 years later the depot still serves passengers, however I dont think it still has the drama of this summer afternoon in 1959.

http://www.snowcrest.net/photobob/index1.html

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A brilliant photo -- thanks!

Cool photo--I really enjoy shots that include people-employees, passengers or the public-and tell a story. Station shots are one of the best ways to do that. Thanks for posting.

In fact, that would be a good category for a photo contest.

That's pretty darn cool Bob. Those old slides have held up very nicely.

I agree, Bob..the drama is gone. Just not the same there anymore.

Bob:
Great photo as always from you, but a question. Wasn't it the Santa Fe that used steam AC and the SP used diesel AC?
Mac

At the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA/. we are having our Thomas (the Tank Engine) event. This very day I stood trackside as one of the ex-SP Daylight chair cars in red & orange with black roof rolled past in the consist. I was taken back many years ago as some things do not change. As the car rolled past: people looking down at you from their higher seated elevation; the sound of the car's air conditioning equipment (like a muffled compressor) going as it passed by (yes, it was needed since it was around 76 degrees outside in bright sunshine); and the smell of propane exhaust as it was running the AC just as on many of the old SP cars. From the larger window configuration and non-corrugated sides, I suspect the car in our train consist is from the Shasta Daylight.

I believe when I took this photo in 1959 the Waukesha AC units had not been put on all of the cars. Many of the cars still were using the original steam ejector AC which were removed in 1960-61 and replaced by the propane operated ones. Steam coming from the rear of the train on a hot July day would not have been used to heat the train. Besides the idea of steam powered AC sounds more dramatic.

Wonderful photo, Photobob! Boy did it bring back the memories. I have in my collection an aging Ektachrome 127 transparency with a deep magenta cast, taken a year or so later of train 99 with an a set of 3 red and orange PA's on the point. The view is looking north and down on the train from the roof walk of boxcar on the siding seen in your photograph. I will never forget the day I took that photo for a host reasons, not the least of which was the announcement over the station PA system, heard by everyone on the platform. "Will the boy with the camera get down from the boxcar. You are not allowed up there". I couldn't run, and I couldn't hide. Boy was I embarassed! I will post that photo at some point in the future when I have time to apply a little Visene in the form of Photoshop.

Africansteam

Westbound Wrote:
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> I suspect the car in our train consist is from
> the Shasta Daylight.

Now called the Pacific Railroad Society's Shasta Springs.

http://www.ggrm.org/about_the_museum/passenger/sp2397.htm

http://www.trainweb.org/passengercars/Indexes/S1.htm

How well I remember those "GET AWAY FROM THERE" announcements over that PA system at Glendale. My friend Bob and I were always near our friend Norman Gearhart (a baggage man) so we never fell victim to it's embarrassing blare. Besides, one word from him to my grandfather (#1 SP conductor at the time) would have stopped our hanging around the depot permanently. Maybe some of the stations should use that tactic today. It was always pretty effective.