I just read that something like in the 50's or end of it.... some real passenger train s did away with the observation so that it did not have to turn them around for the return trip.I was wondering if our Lionel Santa Fe red stripe 2500 series would of been using that practice with out the observation car..txs daniel
Replies sorted oldest to newest
ATSF did do away with the "boat tail" observation cars -- at least on all-coach trains -- supposedly for that reason. Cross-country sleeper trains ended up being sent to the coach yard for cleaning and re-supply. At LAUPT (Union Station), the platform tracks were fed through a wye, one leg of which led to the coach yard and San Diego, so the train could easily be turned when being placed at the platform for the next trip out. I'm not sure where UP's coach yard was located, but SP's coach yard was also south of the terminal near Santa Fe's so turning those trains wouldn't have been a big deal either.
Thanks! I can not find a newer PWC 2561 Santa Fe observation for separate sale.. SO in the mean time I can always explain I 'm modeling Santa Fe Passenger line from the 60's.......... lol daniel
Did Santa Fe actually have red stripe passenger cars?
As Alan has patiently explained, you can link to a website containing photos to illustrate your point. In this case:
http://www.trainweb.org/fredatsf/flyer39.htm
The images are a quick click away and you’re not violating any copyright in doing so since the images aren’t being separated from the source.
First off all Santa Fe lightweight/streamlined passenger equipment was solid stainless steel. They never had any red stripes.
The Super Chief, Chief, and El Capitan had round end cars till different times. The Super Chief and Chief had them till 1954. Then Santa Fe sent the round end cars to Pullman to have them turned into blunt end cars. Those lasted from 1955-1958, when they were removed from both trains, with just a regular sleeping car bringing up the rear. Here's a photo of the Super Chief from 1957 at LAUPT with a blunt end observation car: https://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=366306
El Capitan kept the round end observation car till 1956, when the entire trainset was replaced with Hi-Level equipment.
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
