| Southern Pacific
GS-4 #4449 is still running today, and is believed to be
one of the most well known and most photographed locomotives
ever made.
The
GS-4 runs on four massive 80” drivers, 300lbs psi boiler
pressure, and puts out a roaring 5,500 horsepower at 55mph,
with a maximum speed of 110 mph. The large drivers gave
the locomotive a high top speed; the telling mark of a
steam engine built for passenger service. The GS-4 was
built for the Southern Pacific Railroad by the Lima Locomotive
Works and delivered in the early 1940’s for the SP’s premier
passenger trains, finding its way to the Daylight series
of name trains. One of the more unique specifications
for the GS-4 by the SP was its Mars light, a necessity
with the large amount of grade crossings and fog present
on the West Coast. The Mars light, like ditch lights on
modern locomotives, was utilized as a warning for grade
crossings that a high speed train was approaching, its
shifting light patterns serving as an eye catcher in foggy
conditions.
Southern
Pacific “Morning Daylight”
In
the 1940’s, the Southern Pacific “Morning Daylight” was
possibly the world’s most beautiful train, its orange
and red striping being reserved for the SP’s premier train
lines. This “Morning Daylight” consist ran between Los
Angeles and San Francisco along the beautiful California
coast, past cities such as Ventura, Santa Barbara, Salinas
and San Jose. Heading up the “Morning Daylight” was the
specially built steam locomotive, the GS-4, one of the
most well known steam engines ever designed.
The
SP “Morning Daylight” was an all Pullman built lightweight
passenger train consisting of:
1
Baggage-Chair car (44 seat) 1 Coffee Shop (1st third of
articulated car)
1
Kitchen car (2nd third of articulated car) 1 Dining car
(final 3rd of articulated car)
10
Articulated Chair cars (each 46 seat) 1 Chair car (44
seat)
1
Tavern car (56 seat) 1 Parlor car (27 seat) 1 Parlor Observation
car (22 seat)
The
“Daylight” cars are fitted with operating outer diaphragms,
which makes the entire train appear as one contiguous
unit rather than separate individual cars. Cars were added
and subtracted from the consist as traffic warranted.
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