Union Pacific City of Los Angeles, 1956-1960

Fred Klein, 2013

The City of Los Angeles was one of Union Pacific’s most premier streamliners serving the Chicago to Los Angeles route. Its first streamlined trainset (initially there was only one) was launched in 1936 and had several articulated cars. In 1947 additional cars were added and the COLA began running daily with the now-normal individual cars which could be added or subtracted as demand required, and shifted between trains and sections of trains. Dome cars were added in 1955 when the COLA became a true domeliner and the period of this model train begins. In the 1950s, the COLA had both coach class passengers and sleepers for first class. The all-coach Challenger train was a companion to the COLA, but in 1956 when ridership began to decline, the Challenger and the COLA were combined in the off-season but ran together as separate coach and first class sections during the peak seasons. Before 1955, the COLA ran between Omaha and Chicago over the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, but after that time the UP partnered with the Milwaukee Road between those two cities. The City of Los Angeles was train #103 westbound and #104 eastbound. To save money, the COLA was consolidated with the City of San Francisco in 1960. In the late 1960s, all the City trains were consolidated into one train “The city of everywhere” with cars from Chicago and St Louis merged together in Cheyenne and then split in Green River Wyoming into different trains for Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland.

 

There is some latitude when modeling a consist of the City of Los Angeles. New cars were delivered in 1955 and 1956 (including the domes), the number of cars varied according to demand, the train could be run in one or two sections, the through New York car (via PRR or NYC) was discontinued in January 1957, westbound coaches and sleepers from other cities were added in Omaha and Cheyenne, and the distinctive dome-lounge was moved from the end of the train to a mid-train position after the dome diner in late 1956. Presumably this move of the dome-lounge from the end was to facilitate switching of sleepers at the end of the train along the route. Strictly one could model a train on a specific date or a specific section of the route. The model I show is a “typical” one, even though I include some sleeper types of cars built in 1956 and have the dome lounge at its signature position at the end of the train. An excellent guide to the composition of the train during this period, with the model cars available, is the article by Mike Skibbe at the model160 website referenced at the bottom of this page.

 

 

A late 1955 view of the COLA near Hermosa, Wyoming featuring the dome-lounge-observation. Bob Collins photo from the wikipedia web page.

 

The COLA pulling into Los Angeles Union Terminal in the winter of 1958. The dome coach is after a baggage car and the baggage-coach car. The dome is followed by at least four of the 44-seat coaches built in 1950. Wayne Sherwin photo.

 

The COLA in Cheyenne in November 1956 with a 4-8-4 Northern to help with speed over Sherman Hill and make up an hour’s lost time. Note the dome coach has a couple of flat top coaches ahead of it, and there is a dark sleeper back in the consist. This is probably a Pennsylvania Rapids series sleeper in its native tuscan color or a NYC car in grey color. Stan Kistler photo from Classic Trains magazine, Spring 2013.

 

The first section of the City of Los Angeles, with the first-class sleeper cars, on June 13, 1963 at Elmwood Park, Illinois. This is peak season so the train runs in two sections. The dome diner and dome lounge are way back in the train. Bob Crone photo from the model160 web page.

 

 

The second section of the City of Los Angeles, with the coach cars, on June 13, 1963 at Elmwood Park, Illinois. This the equivalent of the former Challenger coach train, but is part of the COLA after they were combined in 1956. The dome coach is behind several flat top coaches. This is peak season so the train runs in two sections. Bob Crone photo from the model160 web page.

 

 

This model train generally follows the consist of June 1958 from the Ranks and Kratville book The Union Pacific Streamliners, but I place the dome-lounge at the end of the train and a through New York sleeper as they would appear in 1956. I also add an extra baggage car, an RPO and extra coaches as seen in photographs. The head-end baggage and mail cars varied according to demand and day of the week and are often not documented except in photographs.

 

Modeling the City of Los Angeles got a big boost with the release of the Kato passenger set in 2011. The set is not complete for any date, but additional coaches, sleepers and baggage cars from other Kato releases and a couple of sleepers from other manufacturers can make a complete train. In particular, the Kato set includes only one 10 roomette-6 double bedroom sleeper in the Pacific series (cars made by Budd in 1950), but the train generally had three of these cars.

 

 

 

Locomotives

 

Power for the COLA was from 3 to 5 E8/E9 locomotives. These are factory painted Kato models.

 

Head end cars

 

The COLA sometimes carried extra baggage/express cars like this 74’ ACF car built in 1957. Railway post offices, like this one with 60’ of RPO space and 15’ of mail storage could also be found. The COLA normally carried an 85’ baggage/express car and a baggage-dormintory car. All are factory-painted Kato models. The first two are from older Kato sets and the last two are from the 2011 COLA set.

 

Coach section

 

Every COLA train after 1955 carried one of the distinctive dome coaches. The dome coach was followed by several (in this case 5) 44-seat coaches, which were built by ACF in 1954. The coach owned by Southern Pacific usually went to San Francisco over the SP owned rails. All are Kato models.

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Cafe-Lounge and sleepers

 

The café-lounge served budget meals directed at coach passengers. After the lounge is a 10 roomette-6 double bedroom sleeper “Pacific Guard”. This 10-6 is in the Pacific series built by Budd in 1950. I include a through-to-New York sleeper next. Cars for the Pennsylvania and New York Central were used on alternate days, but the through service was discontinued in January 1957. A Pennsylvania Rapids series 10-6 car in PRR Tuscan colors could also be used (see B&W photo above), for example from Kato’s Broadway Limited set. Next is a 5 double bedroom car with a club lounge for first class passengers. All cars are factory decorated Kato models: The Pennsylvania car is from an older set but the other 3 cars, including Pacific Guard, are from the Kato COLA set. The Pennsylvania car model is actually an older 6 section-6 roomette-4 bedroom car, which was made before Kato had molds for 10-6 Rapids series cars, which should be used for this car.

 

Dome diner and more sleepers

 

The classiest car in the COLA was the dome-diner for first class sleeper passengers. In addition to tables and dedicated waiters in the dome, a small banquet room was under the dome. These diners were built and added to the long distance City trains in 1955. Between the dome-diner and the dome-lounge at the end of the train was a series of sleeper cars. First was an 11 double bedroom car in the Placid series. In 1956 a 5 bedroom-2 compartment-2 drawing room car from the Ocean series was added. The first two cars are Kato models from the COLA set. The Ocean series 5-2-2 car is only available as a kit from American Model Builders. This Ocean car was painted by Ernie Guise. Note the UP sleeper cars are labeled “Pullman” even though the Pullman company divested itself of car ownership after 1948. These are UP owned cars, but presumably staffed by Pullman porters under contract.

 

 

More sleepers and dome-observation

 

The next sleeper is a 2 drawing room-4 compartment-4 bedroom car from the Imperial series built in 1942. This is an Intermountain model, and Kato omitted an Imperial car from their COLA set. The last two sleepers in this consist are 10/6 cars in the Pacific series. Budd built 50 Pacific 10/6 cars for UP in 1950 and used them in most of its City trains. Unfortunately, Kato only supplied one Pacific car in their COLA set and did not offer an expansion set with two more Pacifics. A Kato expansion set with two Pacifics, and Imperial and an Ocean series car was a real omission. I re-decaled two more Kato 10/6 cars as Pacific Cruiser and Pacific Shores. The signature tail car is the dome observation with a blunt end and tail sign. It was only at the end of the COLA train from the cars delivery in mid-1955 until it was moved to mid-train with a new end door in late 1956. The dome-observation is a Kato model from the COLA set.

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

Ranks, Harold E. and William W. Kratville, The Union Pacific Streamliners, Kratville publications, 1974.

Schaefer, Mike, and Joe Welsh, Classic American Streamliners, Motorbooks International, 1997.

Stout, Greg, Union Pacific Through Passenger Service in Color, Morningsun Books, 2011.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Los_Angeles_(train)

 

http://www.model160.com/n-scale-magazine-features/workbench/n-scale-passenger-modeling/passenger-consist-a-look-at-ups-city-of-los-angeles-1955-1971/

 

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