Golden Gate (train)
The Golden Gate was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe). With bus connections, it provided service between San Francisco and Los Angeles via California's San Joaquin Valley.
History
In 1912, The Santa Fe tried to compete with Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) for passenger service on this route by establishing overnight trains which included through cars to and from San Diego, the Saint train northbound and the Angel train southbound. The Santa Fe route was via San Bernardino and Barstow, which was appreciably longer than the SP's route via Glendale and Lancaster. These trains were withdrawn from service in 1918.[1]
In 1936, the completion of (1) highway improvements on the Ridge Route highway between Los Angeles and Bakersfield and (2) the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge gave the Santa Fe a new opportunity to compete with the SP by offering faster service on these sections of the route. The lightweight Golden Gate streamliners were assigned train Nos. 60–63, and ran daily between Oakland (station was actually in Emeryville) and Bakersfield. Santa Fe buses connected between San Francisco across the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge to Oakland and between Bakersfield and Los Angeles, most with stops at North Hollywood and Hollywood and some with stops at Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena. The Oakland transfer point was later moved to Richmond with buses making stops at Oakland and Berkeley.[2]
A direct competitor to the Southern Pacific Railroad's San Joaquin Daylight, the Golden Gate's scheduled 9-hour and 25-minute transit time bested that of the Daylight because of the long railroad route between Bakersfield and Los Angeles. After a series of public hearings and legal challenges were concluded, the first all-new, six-car consists entered revenue service on July 1, 1938. Standard fares were $6.00 for one-way travel, $10.80 round-trip, rates that were matched by the SP. The entire route comprised 312.8 rail miles and 112 bus miles.
In 1939, an additional train, the Valley Flyer was added to the Bakersfield-Oakland route[3] to provide more access to the Golden Gate International Exposition. After 1940, with the Exposition over, this train was moved to the San Diego to Los Angeles route.
The Golden Gate was all but eliminated on April 11, 1965 though No. 62 was reassigned as No. 8 and took over the duties of the southbound Fast Mail Express. Service was ended once-and-for-all on April 28, 1968. Today, Amtrak California's San Joaquin runs the same route from Port Chicago to Bakersfield.
Timeline
- January 20, 1912: The Santa Fe begins service between Los Angeles and San Francisco via Barstow and Bakersfield with overnight trains with through cars from/to San Diego, the Saint northbound and the Angel southbound.
- December 31, 1918: The Saint and the Angel are discontinued.
- October 8, 1935: The Santa Fe applies for permission from the Railroad Commission of the State of California to operate "one-ticket, point-to-point, streamlined train service" between San Francisco and Bakersfield, with coordinated motor coach (bus) service extending the route south to Los Angeles.
- November 12, 1936: The San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge opens.
- July 1, 1938: Revenue operations for the coordinated rail-bus service commence.
- June 11, 1939: The Valley Flyer is added to the route to serve the Golden Gate International Exposition.
- 1940: The Golden Gate consists are expanded to seven cars with the addition of two "chair" cars.
- 1940-1941 Valley Flyer reassigned to service between San Diego and Los Angeles.
- 1942: Consist expands to 7 cars, and each logs 626 daily miles.
- July, 1949: Valley-type 6-6-4 sleeping cars are added to train Nos. 60 and 61.
- 1957: Train Nos. 62 and 63 add railway post office cars to their consists.
- 1958: The use of round-end observation cars is discontinued.
- February 2, 1958: Train No. 61 is quietly withdrawn from service.
- June 15, 1958: Northbound rail service is cut back to Richmond.
- April 11, 1965: Train Nos. 60 and 63 are withdrawn and No. 62 is redesignated as No. 8.
- April 28, 1968: The Golden Gate makes its last run.
Equipment used
Initial Golden Gate consists (two lightweight trainsets), July 1938:
The Golden Gate consists (two trainsets) as of March 1948:
- EMC E1A Locomotive #3LA, #4LA, #5L, #7L–#9L (shared power with the San Diegan)
- Baggage-"Chair" car / Coach with newsstand (36 seats) #3490–#3491
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3116, #3119, #3137–#3166
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3116, #3119, #3137–#3166
- "Chair" car / Lounge #3117–#3118
- Fred Harvey Company Lunch Counter Diner #1500–#1507
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3116, #3119, #3137–#3166
- Leg Rest "Chair" car / Coach (44 seats)* #2861–#2911
- Sleeper Valley-type (6 sections, 6 roomettes, 4 bedrooms)
- Round-end "Chair" car / Coach-Observation (58 seats) #3243–3244
- *Extra car added between Chicago and Oakland during the summer months.
Golden Gate consists in 1958:
Nos. 60–63
- any lightweight Baggage
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3101, #3108, #3111, #3115, #3119, #3144–#3158
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3101, #3108, #3111, #3115, #3119, #3144–#3158
- Bar-Lounge #1388–#1399, #1346–#1349
- Fred Harvey Company Lunch Counter (Diner) #1500, #1503–#1507
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3101, #3108, #3111, #3115, #3119, #3144–#3158
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3101, #3108, #3111, #3115, #3119, #3144–#3158
No. 62 only
- Railway Post Office-Baggage #3402–#3408, #3600–#3606
- any lightweight Baggage
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3101, #3108, #3111, #3115, #3119, #3144–#3158
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3101, #3108, #3111, #3115, #3119, #3144–#3158
- Bar-Lounge #1388–#1399, #1346–#1349
- Fred Harvey Company Lunch Counter (Diner) #1500, #1503–#1507
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3101, #3108, #3111, #3115, #3119, #3144–#3158
- "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) #3070–#3101, #3108, #3111, #3115, #3119, #3144–#3158
In May, 1960 two-unit ALCO PA sets replaced the F-units. Car #1346 was converted to a "Vend-O-Lounge" vending machine car in May 1964 (operated by the Harvey Company), though it failed to gain public acceptance and was subsequently replaced with a standard 1500-series Lunch Counter Diner the following September.
See also
References
- ^ Duke and Kistler, pp. 63,65
- ^ Duke and Kistler, pp.99-101
- ^ Duke and Kistler, pp. 102-103
- Duke, Donald; Kistler, Stan (1963). Santa Fe...Steel Rails through California. San Marino, CA: Golden West Books. ISBN 0870950096. http://books.google.com/books?id=N3VEAAAAIAAJ.
- Duke, Donald (1997). Santa Fe: The Railroad Gateway to the American West, Volume One. Golden West Books, San Marino, CA. ISBN 0-87095-110-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=eBHjRQAACAAJ.
- Frailey, Fred W. (1974). A Quarter Century of Santa Fe Consists. RPC Publications, Godfrey, IL. http://books.google.com/books?id=bXZMGQAACAAJ.
- Pelouze, Richard W. (1997). Trademarks of the Santa Fe Railway and Peripheral Subjects. The Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society, Inc., Highlands Ranch, CO. ISBN 9781933587066. http://books.google.com/books?id=f2FPHQAACAAJ.
- Signor, John R. (2005). "The Golden Gate Trains". The Warbonnet 11 (1): 6–25.
- Wayner, Robert J., ed. (1972). Car Names, Numbers and Consists. Wayner Publications, New York, NY.
- Zimmerman, Karl (1987). Santa Fe Streamliners: The Chiefs and Their Tribesmen. Quadrant Press, Inc., New York, NY. ISBN 0-915276-41-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=TZY-AAAACAAJ.
External links