Let's Play: Now here is a question for you. How in the heck did the SP, Del Monte get all the way down to San Bernardino, Ca.? To the left of it is one of Santa Fe's many short order commute's. See if you can come up with some off the wall scenario.
Just in case you don't know the history behind the Del Monte. The SP's name sake train that ran from Monterey, Ca., to San Francisco, Ca., round trip daily. The train got it's name when it used to haul fresh fish, catch of the day, from the Monterey Fisherman's wharf and canned fish products from the Del Monte cannery in Pacific Grove, Ca.. All hot shotted to San Francisco, CA. via the Del Monte. The first trains were made up of the following consist: A ice bunker refrigerator car, combine baggage and a observation club car on the tail end. Passengers that rode the Del Monte consisted of mostly military officers from Fort Ord and the Presidio. I recently visited Monterey and the new Aquarium and was disappointed to learn the tracks from Fort Ord to the old Spanish Presidio and out to the Del Monte Cannery are no longer used. What a lose to these communities. Instead the gumbies built a four lane freeway into Monterey...go figure! Oh well it is what it is. Back to the layout: Today the Del Monte showed up at the San Berdu train station...on my layout. The idea is to figure out some sort of story that would justify why and how it got there? Your ideas are solicited. So, feel free to allow the creative juices to flow freely and let's see what you can come up with. Unless you don't want to...grin! Have fun!
Or was there another SP short passenger train that would show up at the Santa Fe Passenger Station, San Bernardino, Ca.? I wonder?
George, That's good. Let's see that's a hard left just south of Mojave, from the SP tracks, headed east bound on the ATSF tracks, a hard right at Barstow and a slow run down the ATSF tracks on Cajon Pass. Is that what you had in mind? I wonder what the DS was thinking, "Must be another one of those darn UP specials". But how did the train end up on Tehachapi Pass? That is if indeed it came over Tehachapi? Or did it come out from WillyBoy's L.A.U.P.T. on the UP tracks only to be turned back at Yermo, Ca. and then back to San Bernardino. If so then how did it get to Los Angeles and the L.A.U.P.T.?
A 'midnight run'...no moon..dirty loco...in california no less...everything was perfect...LMAO!! :tb-biggrin: .
wink: Good George, Follow this: Sounds like a bunch of drunken officers commandeered the train and decided to take it down the coast route via Salinas, Paso Robles, Cliff and into the L.A.U.P.T. One of them being a train nut wanted to run up and down the Cajon Pass to Yermo and we catch them on the return trip back through San Bernardino, Ca. LOL AND LMAO Well that's one scenario. You know we could try starting with a thought and each one of us add to it and see where it goes.
Ok..ok I got it. The Del Monte derailed Santa Cruz by the boardwalk and got stuck on the rollar coaster...and...and er...and, was thron off on a curve...and...er,,, the 'slingshot effect threw it 400 miles SE...er..a um...WELL IT COULD HAPPEN !!!!!!!
AND.........the crew originally tarped the passenger cars while the passengers slept all night. The locals all thought they where all just flat cars loaded with some more military hardware that Governor Schwartzenegger ordered to protect L.A. from the 'The Outsiders' during Micheal Jacksons memorial service Tuesday... :tb-wink: .
Ummmmmmmmm Rick?....... Me thinks Marty started celebrating the 4th of july about 24 hours to early...:tb-wink: Rollercoasters???...say what....ROFLMAO !! .
SP Del Monte in Southern California California State Law makers have accepted offer by the Southern Pacific to inspect ways to find more money. The last batch of I.O.U's paid out to the Southern Pacific RR have bounced. The Del Monte is being sent to collect Cash from the City of Los Angeles which was overpaid during the last Election. The Del Monte was the only train that the SP had in low revenue service. The Santa Fe RR has co-operated as they too, have a large amount of I.O.U.'s they would like to cash in.
George, LOL LOL Hawhawhaw heeheehee Someone needs to be celebrating. Did you note Jim157 didn't celebrate his birthday in the usual warm and fuzzy ways. Hell-0.... of a way to remember a special friends birthday. Marty, Roller Coaster...makes sense to me. LOL & still chuckling. Jeff, I.O.U's... That could be for real..well...sort of. To funny, just too funny. Now the creative juices are flowing. Funny!
The train leaves San Francisco with two torpedo boats (or two FP-7s, running back-to-back). The consist is two RPO/baggage, one coach, two club and two express box/refrigerator, two Harriman subs and one bi-Level. In San Jose, the switchers take apart the train while the second FP-7 (if operating that motive power consist) goes to College Park to be turned. The switchers take the commuter cars from the train and put them somewhere else. The Monterey section consists of one of the RPOs, the coach and one club car and an express car. The other section, that in San Bernardino, consists of the RPO, the other club car and the other express car. The Monterey section leaves first. The second section leaves for Vasona Junction, Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, Aptos and rejoins the main at Watsonville Junction. In the first leg of its trip, it operates as an accomodation train. In the second leg, it operates more or less as an express, stopping only for flags for passengers, express or mail, or on demand of a passenger to get off. It arrives LAUPT via the SP Coast Route, then operates on ATSF trackage rights to San Bernardino, once more as an accomodation/commuter train. It operates to those destinations due to the terms of a funny mail contract with the POD for a California mail train. You could even throw in a GN, SP&S or WP head end car, and make it a true California-long train, and have the Hill line bring the head end car to Keddie, Oroville, Bieber or wherever it is in California where the Hill lines and WP interchanged where the WP picks it up and sends it to San Jose. In that case, you could leave out one RPO from SF. The trade-off is that ATSF gets to run one freight train daily over the Dumbarton bridge to its SF yard, thus eliminating the need for its car ferry. In the steam era, the train leaves SF powered by an MT class or an ex-SSW 4-8-4. You substitute another Harriman for the bi-Level, unless it is 1955-1957, in that case, bi-Levels did run behind steam. In San Jose, the MT takes the accomodation train while a P class, another MT or even another ex-SSW 4-8-4 can take the Monterey section. In its later years, the rich folks in Monterey riding to SF for a long weekend kept it on the tracks. I did ride it occasionally to Monterey on the weekends, there were a couple of passengers. The crew was pretty good, and they would even let me have a beer or two in the club car, even though I was obviously under age, as long as it was just one or two and I acted right, that is. Usually, if I rode it, it was on the Peninsula and in the commuter cars, as they would not let anyone board the cars from Monterey unless you were going all the way to SF. I frequently got off at intermediate stops. The consist was usually two coaches, a baggage car and the club, at that time. Two torpedo boats often powered it, but occasionally there were the FP-7s. By that time, I suspect that the turntable in Monterey was gone, which was why they kept the two F-units even beyond San Jose, where, they probably neeeded only one locomotive for the four cars.
Brokemoto, That takes the cake. And it sounds very plausible. Must do a feasibility study. LOL Good to hear from someone who actually rode the Del Monte. Thanks for the input here. To ALL! Have a good fourth of July. I'm headed off to run a sound system for a Church Program. Take care and I will check back in with you later today.
Del Monte Rick, Brokemoto, I may be wrong but I think I remember that the Del Monte had some smoothside passenger cars of some type that were two tone green that were used in the 1950s along with Harriman commuter cars. I could be wrong as it was a long time ago. I grew up along the SF-San Jose line back in the 1950s. Saw the end of Steam on the SP.
I rode the DelMonte in the late 1960s to early 1971, just before AMTRAP came and discontinued it >>Cue up Sir Douglas' RailPax killed the DelMonte <<. At that time it had the silver cars with the red stripe that are in the OP photographs. It may have had different cars in the 1950s when diseasels were pulling it. The funny thing is that I have seen photographs of it in its last days, as well as actually seeing it in its last years. I have also seen photographs of it under steam. In steam days it used either HWs or Standard Harriman cars. I may have seen them, but I can not recall seeing photographs of its being pulled by diseasels in the late 1950s or early 1960s. The commuter cars were on the train only between SF and SJO. The station crews uncoupled them in SJO before the train left for Monterey. It usually just left them on the track as it departed; the San Jose station switcher usually moved them later. In SJO, the San Jose station switcher added the commuter cars to the train and the whole business left for San Francisco. Between San Jose and Monterey it was the four silver-with-red-stripe cars, as a rule. Del Monte, Part 1 Here is a link with photographs of the DelMonte. My memory must be imperfect, because it shows the later train without the baggage car, and just the two coaches and a lounge. It does show the torpedo boats as motive power, as well as the dB equipped passenger GP-9s. When the GP-9s pulled it, they did cut off one of them in SJO, as I remembered. It was rare that you saw the FP-7s, but I do recall that they did not cut off one of the cab units in SJO, so the turntable in Monterey must have been gone by the late 1960s. The GP-9 would operate LHF, which was not usual SP practice, but most SP RS-configured passenger power had dual control stands. The site also shows the two-tone grey that the other poster mentioned, although he said two tone 'green'. Perhaps the dirt made the grey appear green. Check out the link, it has some good photographs.
Jeff, Regarding the odd baggage car you mentioned . At the Monterey Aquarium which is the former Del Monte Canning Company they have preserved the baggage car. Disclaimer: IMSMC. I believe it is a two tone green. The roof is pullman green and the sides are a darker version of the S.P., M.O.W. green. Does this fit your memories of such? Do you by chance have a picture of this odd baggage car? As a youngster we would drive over to to Monterey, Ca. from Hollister, CA to visit Fishermans's wharf, The 17 mile drive and picnic on the beaches. We moved to Seaside 59-60 and I could see from our living room window the Del Monte, leave town in the a.m. and return in the p.m. I do remember the last time they used a steam engine. The passenger consist that day was made up of the odd baggage car and a standard heavy weight club car/observation. Drew Jackson a Monterey, resident has taken pictures of the Del Monte. I've attached one of his photos. This best resembles my memories of the later day Del Monte's. Best reflected by the one on my layout. Brokemoto, Again thanks for your input here. I appreciate the website and found it helpful. To All tuned in here: Seems we've gone full circle. Thanks for your participation here. It was fun! .
This one has the two GP-9s on the Monterey Branch, which was unusual. It also has a Harriman, which did occur, at times, but usually it was all silver, in its last days.
Del Monte Rick, sorry no photos, I was a very young and taking photos was not very high on the agenda. I could kick myself for not taking photos as it would of been wonderful now to look back at them. All I have are my memories and they seem to be fading fast. I am greatfull to have been able to see alot of the end of Steam on SP though it was only the San Francisco-San Jose line. I can remember seeing a working Cab-Forward pulling a string of Box-cars, before the scrapers got them. Enjoy.
Jeff and all tuned in, The San Jose to San Francisco SP line saw the last steam to operate on the SP. You were lucky to be there during that time. Like you my memories of much of this is fading. I was to young to remember details let alone pay attention to such. I was down the road from you (allegedly growing up) on the Hollister SP spur line. We usually saw a daily local in from Watsonville, to set out empties for the canneries and pick up those loaded box cars filled with canned goods headed east. For a short period of time we had a Del Monte cannery. They left town and now the San Benito canning company is the only one remaining. The founding fathers/town merchants, canneries (at one time there were three in town) cattle ranchers and truck farmers loved their small rail line using it to ship cattle, sugar beets, oil products and much more. Seems the new arrivals... gumbies and right wing green tree huggers have done their best to discourage it's use and push it out of town. Seems they are also in the mode to shut down the Feather River Water Project and end irrigation to the farmers. We've always been a desert or dry state, what today some call a drought... is nothing new here. This explains why we put so much interest into our dam projects and water ways. I hate to think what will happen to California's major industry of row cropping and the tax base it provides should these radicals get their way. Railroads have played a major key role along with the cattle ranchers and row cropping truck farmers in building our economy into a viable and financially secure state. Well, we used to be. We even had a surplus until Gray Davis signed it away to Enron. Me thinks I just went political. OOPs! Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. ***Perhaps the Del Monte is a special train to show and/or illustrate the benefits of the Feather River Water Project and what it means to California. Stopping in San Berdu... as part of a public information project. Gumbies and radical tree huggers not allowed to board or demonstrate within 30 miles of said train. laugh: It's my model railroad and I can enforce that. LOL
