Hmmm.... Very interesting... only 10-6 sleepers after 1950? So IMRC/CCS has made a number of different sleeper styles including the 10-6... but I always thought that the 4-4-2, 6-6-4 and 18 Double Bedroom styles would have been used on the Sunset Limited as well. Did IMRC/CCS just put a Sunset Limited scheme on cars that never existed on the Southern Pacific?
They really did not put the Sunset Scheme on their cars even though they incorrectly call it that. They have the "General Service" scheme without the black outline on the scarlet stripe and a simple "Ball and Wing" logo on the side. Here is a drawing from their site showing the General Service scheme. The Sunset cars had a more elaborate logo on the side. In later years a few of the General Service painted cars did occasionally end up on the Sunset but the bulk of the cars up until close to the end were the original fluted side Budd cars built specifically for the service.
For most of the 50s the SP tried to keep the all Budd consist in tact. Occasionally a car painted in the General Service scheme would show up but it was usually something like a Golden State coffee shop/lounge car that was standing in for one of the Sunset Pride of Texas coffee shop/lounge cars that had to be shopped. The Golden State adopted the General Service paint scheme in 1953. I found this photo from 1951 where they had to use steam to bring the train in from Indio to Los Angeles due to diesel problems. Things really started to go down hill for the train in about 1958 when the Argonaut was discontinued west of Houston. The Sunset Limited then picked up all the head end cars normally carried by the Argonaut so even heavyweight baggage cars were common. As passenger traffic declined the Sunset and Golden State were eventually combined between El Paso and LA.
Russ... thank-you for explaining the General Service versus the Sunset Limited schemes... it all make much more sense now. So... I'm now guessing that the General Service rolling stock could have been found in full consists in the 1950's... or as an occasional filler on any other Espee consist. I guess IMRC/CCS didn't differentiate between them because the Sunset Limited 'brand' would be more likely to sell than the mundane General Service moniker.
Like I mentioned above, the Golden State was repainted to General Service. The Sunbeam that ran between Dallas and Houston was repainted from Daylight colors to General Service about the same time. There were a few California "Local" trains between Oakland and Sacramento like the "Senator" that also received the paint job. I believe many pool cars that could show up on any train where needed got it also. Cars assigned to named trains usually had that train's logo in addition to the winged ball but as time went on, even the Sunset logo was removed and the simple winged ball replaced it.
I wish. However, I will not be making any conventions this year. The wife wants to spend this year's vacation budget on a cruse to Alaska with a train ride to Fairbanks of all things. So I guess I will go along kicking and screaming.
Russell, we did the Alaskan Land Excursion / Cruise about 6 years ago. Took the Holland America train from Anchorage to Denali. Beautiful trip! Then 3 days later picked up the ship in Seward and then down to Vancouver.
Espee had so many different paint schemes its difficult to tell which ones ran where or what time period. The Sunset Limited is by far the most recognizable scheme and probably has the largest following by NON Espee modelers. I like the Golden State scheme as well... but that scheme with Rock Island only lasted from the mid 1940's to the early 1950's IIRC. There are the Sunset Limited/General Service scheme which is very similar... and we've got lots of great detail about in this thread (THANKS TO ALL!!) I have no idea what that grey Lark scheme is all about... but I have also seem some Golden State cars painted into the same or similar grey scheme. Whats with the Golden State cars painted in the Lark scheme all about??? Espee also got some UP armor yellow and harbor grey schemes as well... I need a scorecard to keep track of Espee paint schemes!!
