California Dreaming - SP/WP in the Bay Area - Niles Junction

Feb 8, 2019 22:03:15 GMT 1 Rob Albritton said:
Information on the Lightweight cars, and the prototypes we used for the tooling:

Sleeper 4-4-2:
Pullman Plan 4069 4-4-2 sleeping car were first delivered to the Santa Fe in January of 1938. This was only two Years after Pullman built Progress and Forward – two of the earliest prototypes of light weight streamlined cars. Our 4-4-2 (4 Compartments, 4 Bedrooms and 2 Drawing Rooms) is based on Plan 4069B Lot 6540, delivered to the PRR and NYC in mid 1938. The Plan 4069 4-4-2 was widely used, with over 125 produced.

Sleeper 6-6-4:
Pullman Plan 4099 6-6-4 sleeping cars were first delivered to the Rock Island, Illinois Central and Southern Pacific in April of 1938. These early lightweight streamlined passenger cars had 6 Roomettes, 6 Open Sections, and 4 Double Bedrooms. Each Section had 2 small windows for the upper berth to alleviate claustrophobia. Our Pullman 6-6-4 is based on Plan 4099, Lot 6669 with over 150 produced.

Observation:
Pullman Plan 4082, Lot 6567 “American Milemaster“ is the prototype. This experimental Sleeping – Buffet – Lounge – Observation car had a 2-1-1 configuration (2 Double Bedrooms, 1 Compartment and 1 Drawing Room.) It was built for display at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, but pressed into service with the UP in 1940 as part of the replacement set for the wrecked City of San Francisco. It later served with the SP, Rock Island, and EMD as locomotive test car ET800.

Mail / RPO:
The Mail / RPO car is based on ACF Lot 3035. These cars had a 60’ standard USPS Postal Apartment, and a 20’ section that could be used for Mail Storage or Baggage. These cars were delivered in September of 1949 for the C&NW and the UP for use on the City of San Francisco. The C&NW cars were sold to the GN in 1964. Many similar Mail / RPO cars were used throughout North America.

Dome:
ACF Lot 4097 is the prototype. These dome coaches were delivered to the UP beginning in December of 1954 for use on the City of Portland and the Challenger. They had 36 leg rest seats, and could seat an additional 24 in the dome. Below the dome were two large Men’s and Women’s Lounges. These cars were later sold to the Alaska Railroad in 1971, and the Auto-Train in 1973. Similar dome cars were used extensively across the West and Mid-West.

Baggage:
The 71’5” St. Louis Car company Lot 1821 baggage car was built for the Union Pacific in 1962. It included a desk and enclosed lavatory for the on-board baggage agent. These cars were built for general service and are an excellent representation of hundreds of baggage cars built by ACF and St. Louis for railroads throughout North America. These particular cars later worked for the Alaska Railroad and Amtrak.

Coach:
The Union Pacific ordered fifty Pullman Plan 7617 Coaches with 44 leg rest seats as a part of Lot 6844. These cars were delivered in the summer of 1950 and used in various Overland Route trains. The cars were made of smooth side aluminum using the P-S girder construction technique, with Frigidaire air conditioning and disc brakes. These coaches were typical of the streamline era.

Diner:
Chicago & Northwestern ordered 4 dining cars in ACF Lot 3040 that were delivered in April and May of 1949 for use on the City of Los Angeles, City of Portland, City of San Francisco and City of St. Louis. These Dining cars had 48 seats and separate doors to provision the kitchen and pantry. Because of the complexity and expense of the kitchen equipment, these cars were well maintained and sold to Amtrak and the Alaska Railroad. Some remain in service today.

Thank you, Rob, that was very helpful!




I really would like to use a TTG Challenger to pull some of my City of .... trains.
Now that we have LW and HW cars, how could the COP or TPR consist look like, Mark?
TTG in 1946, but armor yellow in 1950 ? 
What do you think?
Thank you!
Best, Sven

"Union Pacific had 10 two-tone gray 4-6-6-4 Challengers. These 10 locomotives were part of a group of 13 oil-burning 4-6-6-4 Challengers that UP re-assigned beginning in December 1946 from Southern California on UP's South-Central District, to the Northwestern District. The new service was between Seattle and Portland, and along the Columbia River to Huntington. This group of passenger Challengers included UP 3940, 3944, and 3968, along with the 10 locomotives in the 3975-3984 group.
For the two-tone gray locomotives, UP 3976 was the first to receive two-tone gray paint. It was completed in mid December 1946, and used for the first time to pull The Portland Rose eastbound from Portland on December 13, 1946. The story goes that Omaha directed Albina Shop in Portland to repaint the 3976 in gray, photograph it, and send the photo to Omaha for approval. Headquarters liked the new paint job and promptly wired the shop to repaint the rest of the series assigned to the pool. However, the three lower-numbered Challengers, UP 3940, 3944, and 3968, did not receive two-tone gray.
Along with two-tone gray paint, all ten locomotives also received smoke lifters, known to UP as "wind wings", a new feature added after October 1945 and intended to keep smoke out of the cabs and away from the operating crews.
The 10 two-tone gray Challengers operated mostly in passenger service, but there are photos of the locomotives in freight service. All photos of the locomotives in two-tone gray show them in service on the Northwestern District, at least until they were displaced in 1950 by additional E7 and E8 diesel locomotives.
In 1952 the locomotives were renumbered from the 3975-3984 series to the 3708-3717 series, but no photos have been found that show a 3700-class Challenger in two-tone gray paint.
The passenger Challengers had been built as coal burners in 1943, and were converted to oil burners in 1945 specifically for passenger service on the Northwestern District. They remained as oil burners after being renumbered into the 3700 series and until retirement in 1958-1961."
Source: utahrails.net/up/ttg.php