Nostalgia & History > Coast Starlight 1987

(I posted this over in the Western board but thought maybe I should have stuck it here instead. Thus I'm re-posting.)

Whenever SP wanted to run biz cars on Amtrak they would throw one or two of their own units on to assist with the increased tonnage. This shot was taken on Januaty 2, 1987 near Bradley at the south entrance to the Salinas Valley. SP SDP45s 3207 and 3201 fly the flag on the head end while on the rear are three biz cars from SP's "Phantom Fleet:" Power car 295, lounge 291 and biz car 150 "Sunset."

Once Caltrain took delivery of their F40 fleet SP assigned all but two of the SDPs to freight service. 3201 and 3207 were repainted in Kodachrome colors and held back for biz car moves like this one.

(FYI, I believe the term Phantom Fleet was coined by "SP-ologist" Joe Strapac to to describe SP's business car fleet after the cars were upgraded and repainted during the mid-1980s)

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sweet shot! Recognized the location right away with those low telephone lines in the way. Have a shot of the brass riding on the rear?

Well I do have a shot of the rear but it isn't scanned. No brass were on the rear platform. Probably too breezy for them :)