Model Railroading > Bringing Back The SP In HO, Overland Mail With New PAs

I only saw this train only once in real life, running late WB at Soda Springs and with F units, but the Overland
Mail had always intrigued me as it did with my friend Randy Cape who authored a great book on all aspects
of the train released in 2006.
With the recent release by Rapido of very accurate SP Alco PA's, I decided to lug my muliti car mail train
to Crockett, California and run it on the CRMS layout where it ran without incident.
Regards, Jim Evans

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Randy has done a great job of documented the greatly varied types of cars run over time in this train.
Over the years I have collected some examples of these cars as pictured.
 

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Apparently the SP used the train to move passenger cars around  and therefore mine has a few extra rider coaches and RPOs.
Regards, Jim Evans

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Great photos and train Jim. Your train looks great on the layout. I really like photo # 2.
John B

Posted from iPhone

Nice photo's of a good looking train Jim!  I like the third photo.

Joe Mann

Superb modeling, sir--I love mail trains, and this one's a doozy. Thanks for sharing.

Very cool  I grew up an SP fan in northern California but did start watching trains until the mid-1970's.

Jim

You assembled a good looking consist for SP trains 21, 22.  The PAs look sharp too.  Such an appropriate layout to run you train on.  There was a fine presentation at the recent SPH&TS convention in Modesto about the mail trains.  So interesting.

Gerry

Love the markers hung on the last car.

Now that is a fun train to show, thanks for sharing.
Those lightweight coach or "chair" cars would be a real treat for any regular riders on SP mail trains.
The few I rode, and many I saw, almost always had a heavyweight chair car, usually six axle, but anything could be used any day.  
For several summers I got to see "Sad Sam", the coast mail every afternoon near Glendale, CA, and rode it at least twice.
I took one ride on No. 21, the "Ghost" train in about 1965, it was at least as long as yours.
Mail trains are real worker bees of the passenger fleet, making money, carrying pass riders, stopping at many places, and interchanging with the whole nation.
A lot of that mail is still on the rails, but riding in trailers or containers on expedited freights.

Saw PAs on 27 at Sparks in July, 1966

I've always admired the SP's Mail Trains. 
This Summer's on-board-nautical-build is a pair of Mail power sets:  A PA-PB-PB set typical of #21, The Overland Mail, and a PA-E7B-E9 set typical of #91, the Coast Mail.  They're coming along, should be finished in a few more weeks.  Probably not as polished as Jason's, I suppose, but a very interesting project.
SR

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