Southern Pacific Morning Daylight, 1940-1954

Fred Klein, February 2005

Southern Pacific’s daylight trains were known as “the most beautiful trains in the world”.  The bright colors and streamlined styling of the late 1930’s were like bright sun compared to the gloom of the older black locomotives and Pullman green passenger cars.  The morning daylights left San Francisco (#98) and Los Angeles (#99) in the morning and reached the opposite city after a day on Southern Pacific’s 400 mile coast route.  Scenery along the coast route through California’s coast range mountains is spectacular.  The train was often sold out.  The cars had large picture windows and corrugated sides above and below the windows.  When other railroad’s streamliners were fully articulated (UP, CB&Q, IC), Southern Pacific (along with Santa Fe) wisely opted for individual cars that could be added or subtracted from the consist as use required.  Most of the coaches and the coffee shop-diner cars were articulated to save weight.

The morning daylight began daily service in 1937.  In 1940, the train was re-equipped with new cars and a GS-4 locomotive, and is the train modeled here.  A noon daylight was also added in 1940, which used the 1937 daylight consist.  The noon daylight was cancelled during the war, and cancelled for good in 1949.

After WWII in 1946, the lettering on the tender was changed from “Southern Pacific Lines” to “Southern Pacific”, and the lettering on the cars was subsequently changed too.  The model cars shown here are lettered with the earlier name, and the tender is lettered with the latter.  During 1947-49 and after 1953, E7 diesels began powering some of the daylight trains, and Alco PA’s were added in 1953.  The morning daylight was renamed the coast daylight in 1952.  New, non-articulated coaches were added in 1954.

The Key brass passenger cars duplicate the specific morning daylight cars that entered service on January 5, 1940, including the car numbers.  The consist is from Ryan and Shine’s Southern Pacific Passenger Trains vol. 2, Day trains of the coast line, page 127.  The cars are prototypical to this morning daylight train.  The model set includes only one articulated coach, but the prototypical train typically had three articulated coaches.  The number of articulated coaches varied between two and six as traffic demanded.  In later years the consists varied somewhat, for example an articulated chair car could be placed between the tavern and parlor cars.

 

Car type, number	Car maker, date	Model car
4-8-4 GS-4 steam locomotive	Lima 1939	GS-4 daylight 4444, Con-cor
Baggage chair, SP 3302	PS 1939	Key brass SP 3302
Articulated 92-seat coach, SP 2442-2441	PS 1939	Key brass SP 2446-2445
Articulated 92-seat coach, SP 2444-2443	PS 1939	Key brass SP 2446-2445
44-seat coach SP 2439	PS 1939	Key brass SP 2439
Articulated coffee shop, SP 10252	PS 1939	Key brass SP 10252
Articulated kitchen car, SP 10251	PS 1939	Key brass SP 10251
Articulated diner, SP 10250	PS 1939	Key brass SP 10250
Articulated 92-seat coach, SP 2446-2445	PS 1939	Key brass SP 2446-2445
Tavern lounge, SP 10314	PS 1939	Key brass SP 10314
38-seat parlor car, SP 3002	PS 1939	Key brass SP 3002
Parlor observation, SP 2952	PS 1939	Key brass SP 2952

 

Steam locomotive

As Southern Pacific’s premier train, the morning daylight received the new Lima GS-4, 4-8-4 locomotives.  They could generally handle the train over the hilly coast route by themselves, but expanded consists required helper power over steep sections like the Cuesta grade.  The Con-cor model is highly detailed and complements the passengers beautifully. 

First coach section

The train had two coach sections separated by an articulated coffee shop-diner car in the middle, and a tavern car and two parlor cars at the end.  The first car was always a baggage-chair car, but in 1946 it was replaced by a stream-styled Harriman baggage car.  Then came two pair of articulated coaches.  The restrooms (one in each car) were near the joint between the cars.  A single 44-seat chair car usually followed.

 

Articulated food car

The articulated coffee shop /kitchen /dining car was distinctive to Southern Pacific.  The articulation not only saved on weight, but made carrying food through the car much easier.  The coffee shop car is easy to spot because the wide gap between the windows in the center of the car concealed the waiter’s station.

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Second coach section

Another articulated chair car followed.  Additional articulated chair cars could be added here.

Parlor section

The train terminated with a tavern car (the bar was in the cnter of the car), a 38-seat parlor lounge, and a parlor observation.  During the war, these “luxury” cars were dropped from the train to save money, fuel and staffing.

 

REFERENCES

I am not a Southern Pacific modeler, but I could not resist this train.  I do not have many references, but Ryan and Shine is a good starting point.

Randall, David, From Zephyr to Amtrak, Prototype Publications, 1972.

Ryan, Dennis and Joseph Shine, Southern Pacific Passenger Trains vol. 2, Day trains of the coast line, Four Ways West, 2000.

Wayner, Robert, Car Names, Numbers and Consists, Wayner Publications, 1972.