UP's 1947-1950 City of LA in Victorville, & More Help with Layout Buildings

In a previous entry we covered the Union Pacific's 1946-1947 City of Los Angeles train, so this time we'll visit the UP's 1947-1950 version of the train, when it began running daily with four trainsets instead of two.  Then we'll cover some help from others in making buildings for my layout. 

First, here's a color photo of UP's new E7s arriving in Chicago with the City of Los Angeles train and with blank red banners in 1947 (just after the train began daily service):

Here are some City of LA (COLA) notes from last time:

Since Sep. 29, 1946 Union Pacific's postwar City of Los Angeles train had been running three times a week, using just two trainsets (the "7th Train" and the "9th Train").

On May 14, 1947, the UP's City of LA train began running daily for the first time, as it now had four trainsets to use instead of just two, and the number of sleeping cars was reduced to five per train.  The two new trainsets were called the "16th Train" and the "17th Train."

Here is Jeff Koeller's table of cars for each of the four trainsets during this late May, 1947, time period:

But it only stayed this way for five weeks, and then the consists began to slowly change over time.  There were some major changes in 1949 and 1950, when brand new cars were produced and added.  We will have to omit all the complexities of these changes for now.  In a later blog entry we'll come back to the consists in March, 1950, when a 5th trainset was added.

Checking the COLA schedules through Victorville in these years (these trains did not stop there), the westbound train passed through town at 6:03 am, and the eastbound train came through at 7:51 pm.  I can avoid modeling these trains (they require all brass passenger cars) by not operating during those early morning and late evening hours.

The locomotives pulling the train changed quite a bit during this 1947-1950 time period, as we shall see.  Below are some notes on this from Jeff Koeller:

After the E7s were delivered in August 1946, the E2s were more or less relegated to the Los Angeles Limited, because the COLA got all the newest and most powerful locomotives.  

The use of COLA-lettered power units on the LA Limited eventually led to the elimination of the train name lettering in the red “name banners” on the locomotive sides, leaving just a blank, red banner. This was done at least by spring 1947. Note that E7s 930A and 931A never did have train names in their red name banners, as they were intended for City of Portland service, but were delivered about six months prior to the start of COP daily service.

By the time daily service began, the COLA train name had been dropped from the car letterboards, and only the sleeping cars retained their car names. The names for non-sleeping cars were dropped and just the car numbers were used (applied over the trucks). For example, Sun Valley became LA-901.  The non-sleeping cars also received the “Streamliner” logo in the center of the car side.

The sleeping cars simply had the word PULLMAN in 8-inch letters on the letterboard in a rather tightly-spaced arrangement. Individually owned non-sleeping cars had railroad ownership lettering in the letterboards, but all jointly-owned cars had 5-inch UNION PACIFIC at the left end of the letterboard, with 5-inch CHICAGO AND NORTH WESTERN lettering at the right end of the letterboard (same arrangement on both sides of the cars). 

Here is much more information from Jeff Koeller:

Four Consist Rotation

The two 15-car consists for the COLA trainsets remained essentially the same from May 1946 up to the inauguration of daily service on May 14, 1947. At that time, the amount of cars in the 7th and 9th Trains was reduced, and two new consists, the 16th and 17th Trains, were created. At this time, the number of sleeping cars was reduced to five cars per consist, and with the reduction to 12 and 13-car trains, each consist could now be handled by a 4,000 horsepower (HP) set of EMD E-units. Of course, these trains still required helper engines on Cajon Pass and Sherman Hill. 

Any two-unit combination from the COLA power pool was utilized, including engines from the jointly-owned COLA E6 ABB set and the E7 ABB set, along with UP-owned E3s. Also used as needed were UP-owned E6s and E7s from a general “Cities” power pool that also covered the requirements of the daily City of Portland and City of St. Louis trains. At this time, the jointly-owned E2 ABB engines ran mostly on the COStL (and occasionally on the City of Denver) due to their 1,800 HP limitation.

Changes

When the City of San Francisco became a daily service on September 1, 1947, two jointly-owned COLA units, E6 924A and E6 926B, were assigned to that train to help offset the motive power needs of the four COSF consists. Although these engines had previously lost their COLA train name lettering, the red train name “banners” were also removed for this assignment. 

After the delivery of Fairbanks-Morse Erie-built 2,000 HP passenger diesels in November 1947, a single F-M unit regularly operated behind an EMD cab unit in one of the COLA consists. Cab unit 702 was used briefly, but normally there would be an F-M booster unit trailing an EMD E-unit. The use of F-M cab units leading the COLA is rare, although one photo has been found depicting F-M AA units powering a COLA trainset on Sherman Hill. The limited use of F-M cab units may have something to do with a lack of appropriate cab signals on the C&NW east of Omaha. 

In early 1948, UP tried using F3 ABB units on the COLA, but the use of these 4,500 HP engine sets (built in September 1947) was short-lived, as UP reverted back to 2-unit 4,000 HP combinations.

End of Joint Ownership

It should be noted that concurrent with the termination of joint ownership of “Cities” engines and passenger cars in December 1948, C&NW-owned diesels generally powered the COLA on their own rails between Chicago and Omaha, and the use of C&NW units on the COLA west of Omaha ended. 

However, motive power equilization had UP-owned E-units continuing to operate over the North Western into Chicago, with C&NW engines operating exclusively on the City of San Francisco into Ogden, Utah. This arrangement lasted into 1953, although starting in January of that year, C&NW and UP also shared power assignments on the City of Denver trains into Denver.

More Changes

Beginning in late1948, the COLA engine sets were supplemented with the addition of a single 1,500 HP F3 (usually a B-unit) taken from the groups of F3s built in 1947 and mid-1948. The COLA would soldier on with these 5,500 HP engine sets until the delivery of new 2,250 HP E8 units in mid-1950. 

Below are some excellent photos showing these motive power arrangements, with captions below them, kindly sent to me by Jeff Koeller.

Pictured in the Upper Narrows with State Highway 18’s “Rainbow" bridge prominent at right, UP-C&NW jointly-owned engines E7 931A and E6 925B lead the westbound COLA 9th Train, heading generally southward, out of Victorville in the early morning sunlight on July 12, 1947. 

According to AT&SF employee time table No. 130, effective June 8, 1947, train No. 103 was scheduled through Victorville at 6:03 am. Previously, the COLA operated over the Santa Fe as train Nos. 203 and 204, but on May 14, 1947, the Utahn was inaugurated as Nos. 3 and 4 on the Union Pacific, and the Utahn was subsequently given the COLA’s former train numbers on the Santa Fe. Thus, the COLA became Nos. 103 and 104 on the Santa Fe at that time. Photo by Chard Walker.

On January 12, 1948, UP F3s 968A, 977B and 971B are shown heading train No. 104, the eastbound COLA, into Ames, Iowa.  After receiving five ABB sets of EMD F3 passenger units in September-October 1947, the UP assigned the units to various trains to determine what would be the best use of these 4,500 HP engine sets. This test was short-lived on the COLA as UP rather quickly reverted to using two-unit 4,000 HP engine combinations. Don Christensen photograph from Grand Ave tower.

Here is No. 104, the eastbound COLA, coming into Ames, Iowa, on February 5, 1948, powered by UP E3 951A and F-M Erie-built 987B. Although no train number is shown in the engine’s indicator box, to the far left, just behind the baggage-express car, can be seen part of articulated coach LA-401, making this the 7th COLA. 

After UP’s Fairbanks-Morse engines 984A, 985A, 986B and 987B were delivered in November 1947, one of these 2,000 HP units was regularly paired with an EMD cab unit in a COLA consist. This was normally a booster unit as shown here. Don Christensen photo.

Train No. 104, the eastbound COLA 7th Train, is shown on the C&NW just west of Geneva, Illinois, on March 24, 1948. Jointly-owned E7 988J (formerly 927A) leads F-M cab unit 702 (ex 984A). Both engines were recently renumbered in March 1948. The use of an Erie-built cab unit was somewhat rare, as the F-M boosters were more common. C&NW photo.

Action at Los Angeles in late 1948 shows one of SP’s triple-unit diners at left, part of the Noon Daylight consist being backed into the station on Track 4, alongside COLA power units UP-C&NW E7 988J, UP E3 992B and a UP F3 A-unit. After bringing No. 103 into Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, this 5,500 HP engine lashup is shown pulling out of LAUPT on Track 5 and heading toward UP’s East Yard for servicing (the engine crew is now operating from the former trailing unit). 

UP normally operated ABB engine sets, which required the locomotives to back across the Los Angeles River bridge (in the far right background), then reverse direction and proceed around the connecting track to Pasadena Junction to get onto UP’s East Bank Line with the cab unit now in front. Harold E. Williams photo. 

UP engines E3 991, F3 903B and E6 992 with COLA No. 104 are about to cross First Street South as the train comes into the Salt Lake City passenger station in early 1949. Starting in late 1948, UP began to add a single 1,500 HP F3 unit to the COLA consists to create 5,500 HP motive power sets. Note that the leading unit has received carbody vents along the center side panels for better engine room ventilation (the cooling system air intake grills at the top of the locomotive were part of a separate, sealed system). The trailing E6 has yet to be modified. Louis A. Marre collection.

COLA train No. 104 is shown leaving LAUPT in early 1949, headed up by UP E7 999 (ex 960A), 990B (ex 990BJ, ex 929B) and F3 900C. That’s Terminal Tower looming above the train with Signal Bridge No. 1 overhead. Following the baggage express car are C&NW articulated coaches 3408/3409, recently renumbered from LA-401/LA-402, but with the joint UP-C&NW lettering still intact. The cars will soon be lettered simply CHICAGO AND NORTH WESTERN. Robert O. Hale photo, M.D. McCarter collection.  

This completes our coverage of the 1947-1950 COLA trains.  Here are now are some layout progress reports covering the two weeks up to Sep. 15.

I sent no progress report on Sep. 1, as I'd been too tired, apparently battling Long COVID.  I was a little better the next week, but my wife and I were gone to Victoria, BC, for our wedding anniversary (as usual).

Before we left, I received in the mail the latest masterpiece by Craig Wisch -- his cardstock model of the old Santa Fe Hotel that was across the tracks from the depot in Victorville.  I posed it on my layout beside the other two most recent models he has sent me -- Peterson Feed and Hayward Lumber:

Meanwhile, Craig had begun work on modeling the La Paloma Cafe, which stood just to the right of the Santa Fe Hotel.  Here's a blurry old photo of the Cafe, reflected in a puddle:

This is the only image we have that indicates that it had a rooftop that sloped down toward the rear (same as the hotel), as implied by the step-down side wall seen on the left.

My trip to Victoria that week produced quite a few model railroad images that I shot when we toured the Miniature World attraction, which is on the north side of the Empress Hotel.  They have a large HO model railroad that runs through various scenes depicting the railroad history of Canada.  Here's one scene with a pond behind the train:

Here's a scene with a logging operation:

Here's a city scene with some railroad spurs:

In a separate large display, they have circus and carnival scenes, as seen here in the background:

I have an interest in circus and carnival trains, and they have a scene with a circus train being unloaded at the far end of the town:

All of the detailed modeling in this Miniature World museum is amazing to see!  You can see some of their other exhibits at their website:

 https://miniatureworld.com/exhibits/

I wrote on Sep. 15:  I'm apparently still battling Long COVID -- the kind that makes you sleepy and tired all day long.  So I have no layout progress to report on again, but I'll share some photos anyway.

Craig Wisch has been working on a cardstock model of the La Paloma Cafe that stood just to the right of the Santa Fe Hotel, across the tracks from the Victorville depot.  Here's one of the few photos we have of the cafe, but this one was shot after it closed for business:

Here's a progress photo that Craig sent me, showing the front and right sides of his model under construction:

We have no photos showing where the windows and doors were on the sides or rear, so he gets to make his best guess on those.  Here's his progress photo of the front and left sides, where the walls have not yet been cut down to size:

Many thanks to Craig for all his work on this latest model.

A distant friend heard that I'm building a model railroad, and he asked to see some photos, so I went downstairs and shot a few new ones and sent them to him.  Here's one showing the return loop tracks in the staging room:

Here's one showing the tracks as they exit the staging room and curve past C Tower:

Here's a photo showing some tools arranged on the right and some models of the bunkhouse and section houses on the left, in the main layout room:

On the opposite side of the layout, here are some models of Victorville buildings arranged beside the mainline tracks, with some of my bookcases full of train books in the background:

That's all for now.  I hope I get my strength back before long!  I'm behind on posting these blog entries, so I need to catch up.