It will take some searching but there is the book "Cab Forward" by Dr. Robert Church DDS that is a must have for Espee Cab Forward fans. It has been out of print for a while. Price is probably up there too.
Malley with passenger train There's also a nice video of the last run of a malley pulling a passenger train from sacto over donner and back. Called something like last run of a cab forward over donner. Has some nice running shots and the great malley air compressor sound...dave
If I remember right I think I paid $25 for mine in 1970. The Cab Forward book and Dr. Church's other two Daylight 4-8-4's and SP 4300's are well worth the price too. Since they are long out of print the price is going to be up there. The Daylight 4-8-4's book was reprinted after the rebuilding of SP4449 and the second version has a chapter about the rebuilding that the original dosen't.
Just received a note from his publisher, Dr. church is working on a re-issue of his Cab Forward book. This is very good news.
Russell, Thanks for the pic. I wish Athearn or somebody besides Key would put out the AC-9. It is a neat looking locomotive. I used to see them in El Paso as they pulled out of the yards heading uphill to Tucumcari NM. My neighbor was a hoghead and had the ELP - Carrizozo run by whiskers.
I've seen the Church book on ebay several times and it usually goes for about 100 bucks. Definatly a "nice to have" sometime in the future. I would also like the 4300 book as well, but have yet to see it on the 'bay for a decent price. I have seen pics of the AC class heading up mail trains and heavyweight passenger consists, but not any streamliners. Of course all the photos were over mountainous terrain. I also saw a random pic of an AC-10 pulling a milk train into LA with about 25 PFE 50' green reefers, but cannot find it again on the web. Russell, that is a great pic of the AC-9, arguably one of the coolest looking articulateds ever made (plastic somebody please!!)
It looks like I'm getting in on this on the tail end. Willyboy and all tuned in, Yes, Those big AC's pulled all kinds of passenger trains east and west bound over the Tehachapi's, Beaumont Hill, Donner Pass, in and out of LAUPT. My dad worked as an REA agent out of Mojave, Ca. He told many a story about the AC's / Cab Forwards /"Back-ups". Resource Information you can check out: The video, Southern Pacific 4274, Last Run Of A Cab Forward Over Donner Pass is a Video Rails production. In the video it reveals that the cab forwards pulled passenger trains on a regular basis. Charles Smiley's, SP Vintage West, shows a Cab Forward pulling a string of mixed heavy weights heading in to LAUPT from off the Sunset line. Perhaps, because of Beaumont Hill. Pentrex, Railfanning Southern California for the 1950's, shows a "Back-up" pulling a string of mixed heavyweights heading in to LAUPT. Somewhere,in one of these tapes I thought I saw an AC pulling a string of streamline cars off the coast route heading into or out of LAUPT. If you will indulge me a story my dad shared? Even though I will be "Rehashing" a bit of folk lore and family history. Warning: Some of you have already followed this story and you know how it panned out... as written on another website. Today you get the Readers Digest Condensed or short version. My dad told a story of an early "Daylight" diesel that came through on the point of a SP night train. The train was a mixed mail and all Pullman train. East bound Bakersfield to LAUPT. Tied in to the four unit set was an "AC" or "Back-up" as he and other rails referred to them. He continues to tell the story, the four unit diesels failed and the AC or "Back-up" brought the train in. It was his first sighting of SP's four unit diesel set and he swore the one in the lead was the "Daylight" and the rest were all painted black. I've chased this so called "Daylight" engine believing it to be an early FT, F3 or F7 dressed in the "Daylight" as in Red and Orange Sunset paint scheme. Until...years later, as Dad spent his last days in my home. I asked him to point out the "Daylight" engine he saw that night. With a long pause he looked over the pictures I presented him and he pointed to the "Black Widow" paint scheme. Explaining, "It was this diesel that pulled SP's day trains... thus it's what he called the "Daylight Diesel Locomotive". I should have caught on earlier. I've spent most of my adult life...researching and/or chasing a "Daylight" locomotive like the proverbial "Dutchman's Mine". I've enlisted retired SP employees and other SP experts only to be denied this elusive loco. The only F type unit, I came up with was a solo "Daylight", a "Cotton Belt" in the Sunset colors with the Cotton Belt herald on the nose and one deviation, it had a silver roof. At one point in my research for this locomotive... I asked dad if the diesel he saw that night, was painted in the orange and red colors and he responded saying "Yes" there was a red and orange stripe. On the nose! I thought he meant a red and orange stripe across the whole engine. Go figure! Grin! Yep, that's one on me. LOL
Probably a set of the first F3s. They were geared too high for the mountains so toasted their traction motors regularly. They finally shipped them all east to the T&NO flat lands and got F7s with lower gearing.
Thanks Rick, I really enjoyed your story. I have an AC-12 on pre-order with Chuck at Feather River. I have an email to Con-Cor hoping they can help me out with a passenger consist for Train #59 (LA - Sacramento). I will see what happens. When I get my LAUPT built, it is going to have some very nice trains going in & out of that station. Can't wait.
