Nostalgia & History > Excursion to Tustin, California, mid-sixties?

I saw a photo earlier today with suggested that the ATSF ran some sort of an excursion to Tustin in the mid-sixties. Does anyone have any information on this trip, if indeed it really did happen.

Orange Empire Trolley Museum, Fallbrook-Tustin excursion, November 5, 1966. Details later.

I'll dig up some details, too, when I return from WDC later this week. For one thing Mr. Sweetzer, I checked my sources(both photographic and written (note Myford Browning notes herewith) and confirm that consist was indeed made up of eight cars--correction noted.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/15 09:15 by SteveD.

john1082 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I saw a photo earlier today with suggested that
> the ATSF ran some sort of an excursion to Tustin
> in the mid-sixties. Does anyone have any
> information on this trip, if indeed it really did
> happen.

The train was powered by two 2651 Class GP7s.

It operated from LAUPT to Fallbrook and return, with s sidetrip up the Tustin Branch (backing up one way) on the southbound trip.

Ahh! My very first excursion! It was also my 15th birthday present, maybe one of the cheapest, but most valuable presents I ever got! Anyone remember the fare? It was $8.75. Too bad I hadn't gotten into cameras yet, as I have no photos or slides of the trip.

Great Trip!
There was an open end observation on the train (1509?)and it backed into Tustin and out the other leg of the spur to Kathryn. In the days when there was heavy citrus movement on the spur, the jobs backed out onto the spur since the switches were arranged in a way that required it. The train was a surprise to residents along the line into Tustin.

In addition to the trip on the Venta Spur, the train went to Oceanside and was met by the high school band. The train went first to the Escondido Dist Junction wye to be turned and passed the band without stopping. After a stop for lunch at Oceanside, the excursion went to Fallbrook. On the return trip, the DS let the excursion train out of Fallbrook Junction out ahead of number 77. The two 2650 class GP7s couldn't out run the PA powered San Diegan and the excursion went into the hole at El Toro and shortly later 77 raced past at high speed.

Myford Browning

Thanks for the write up you guys.

I am the one that put it all together and in the 1960's railroading and railfanning was FUN! and raised funs for the Museum.

Guess one would have to charge $150.00 if it were possible today.

What brought this question about was a photo at the Tustin Historic Society office; they were open for the Chili Cookoff on Sunday and it was a real surprise to see this big photo of the obs car!

Now I need to get a map or two and figure out where the end of the line was. I hav no doubt that I drive by every day, but there is no sign of a station along Newport.

The excursion actually started from Pico Rivera, not Los Angeles Union Station.

I, along with other passengers, got a big kick out of seeing the reactions of residents when the train went up to Tustin on the Venta Spur. The railroad right-of-way was very narrow so it was quite a novelty for them to see a passenger train (supposedly the first ever on the branch) practically in their back yards.

The Fallbrook branch passed through about 14 miles of the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton, another highlight of the trip. It was a surprise to see deer in the backcounty of the base.

The open-air observation car on the end of the train was No.599. Power was steam-generator-equipped GP7s 2651 and 2654.

More information on the Venta Spur, also called the Irvine Spur at various times, can be found in a article Steve Donaldson wrote in the August 1985 issue of Pacific RailNews, pages 10-14. The California State Railroad Museum Library would probably be able to photocopy the article for those interested (Donaldson made one small error: he wrote that the excursion train had 8 cars when it actually had 5).

Question to Mundo or Myford Browning: Did the excursion go all the way to Kathryn or just to Francis? The map in the flyer that came out before the trip suggested the train was only going to Francis.

I found my notebook that has the trip in it. The Connist was GP7s 2654 and 2651, baggage car 1303, coaches 3074 3153 3078, OET ex-CPR open observation car 599, coaches 3071 3151 and open platform obseration 1509.

The train did go to Kathryn, but stopped well before the Jeffrey Road crossing. Before the Irvine Valencia Growers packing house was build and the line extend to serve it (that is when Kathryn was established)in the late 1920s, the track extended about half way between the packing houses at Frances and the packing house at Kathryn.

The AT&SF tracks in Tustin were stud-ended at Newport Ave. There were three tracks there, two serving the Golden West packing house and a track that served as a team track and was used for switching. The Tuston Cement Pipe Co. was located between the two sets of track. The location in Tustin is the shopping area that contains the Ruby's resturant.

Another highlight of the trip was Miss Fallbrook riding in the cab of one of the geeps as they ran around the traion at Fallbrook.

Thanks Mundo and all the others that made these trips possible. I liked the Orange Empire Trolley trip since they often used interesting equipment on freight only trackage.

Other notes from that day: 11-5-66
Number 75 at Fallbrook Jct PAs 51L(EMDized) 68L 7 cars
Number 76 Oceanside 78L 57L 8 cars
Local power Oceanside GP9s 709 715-724
Number 77 El Toro 57L 78L 8 cars
SP Local Santa Ana 1172 4 cars
SDX Santa Ana 740 2680 2764 745 710 83 cars
AT&SF 1500 S4 roadswitcher SP 1102 Holly Sugar switcher at Santa Ana

Myford Browning wrote:

>The consist was GP7s 2654 and 2551...

You must mean No. 2651 (I took a photo of the engines at Fallbrock and have the print next to me as I type this).

I was wrong when I stated the train had five cars. I looked at another photo I took (this time with a magnifying glass) and yep, the train had eight cars.

John you are correct that I typed the wrong number and I have corrected 2651's number in the post.

Rudy's or Ruby's?

I'm sitting in Tustin right now, at the Tustin Brewing Company, 1/2 mile from the end of that line. Ain't WIFI great!

BTW, great beer, too.

This is really cool, I read the other "way back thread" on TO.  I was on this excursion and I was about 7 and remember it as well as a 7 year old could.  Thanks all for the time machine, wish it was possible to still do things like this.