This time we'll cover the Union Pacific's Los Angeles Limited passenger train in Victorville from late 1946 through 1947 and 1948, and then we'll look at five more weeks of work on gluing down flextracks to form the 10-track A Yard and the adjacent 7-track B yard in staging. where the A Yard tracks enter the big curve at the end.
For this second report on the LA Limited passenger train, I'll be using information kindly supplied again by UP researcher Jeff Koeller, as follows:
Los Angeles Limited 1946-1948
New Operations Begin After the LA Limited and Transcon Are Consolidated on November 10, 1946
In response to the immediate rush of post-war passenger traffic, Union Pacific (UP), along with other railroads, initiated new train services that eventually became superfluous once the volume of passengers began to return to more normal operations.
The Transcon (Nos. 3 and 4) was inaugurated on June 2, 1946, to handle coaches and Coast-to-Coast sleeping cars running between Chicago and Los Angeles. Operating on a schedule similar to the LA Limited’s new post-war times of 49 hours, 15 minutes westbound, and 48 hours, 35 minutes eastbound, the Transcon was only 5 minutes slower westbound and 20 minutes slower eastbound.
However, Union Pacific decided to consolidate the two trains as a cost-cutting measure, thus ending Transcon service after five and a half months (not as a result of the Transcon derailment west of Oro Grande on Santa Fe’s Cajon Pass line on September 26, 1946).
In a notice published in the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, October 16, 1946, UP passenger traffic manager W.T. Price announced that the Los Angeles Limited and the Transcon would be consolidated, effective Sunday, November 10, 1946. New public and employee time tables were issued reflecting the changes.
LA Limited E7s at Summit with Steam Helper 3544 on 12-15-46
After cutting off the eastbound LA Limited, UP 3544, a 2-8-8-0 type, has backed onto the helper engine track at Summit on December 15, 1946. Meanwhile, two trainmen work to close the lead unit’s pilot coupler doors over the retractable coupler. The road engines are EMD E7s 931A, 963B and 930A.
Although the two UP-C&NW jointly-owned cab units were ordered in March 1945 for planned City of Portland daily service, the units were delivered in August 1946 without train name lettering since the expanded schedule could not be implemented for several months. Instead, the units operated system wide, primarily on the Cities streamliners, but here they are in charge of today’s LA Limited. Don Duke photo.
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The Los Angeles Limited (Nos. 1 and 2) was now Union Pacific’s primary non-Streamliner train between Chicago and Los Angeles, handling all three of the Coast-to-Coast sleepers previously carried by the Transcon: two cars to New York City (one via the New York Central and one via the Pennsylvania Railroad), as well as a single car to Washington via the PRR. These heavyweight sleepers were painted either Pullman Green or Pennsy Tuscan Red, all of which were lettered for owner Pullman.
At the same time, the three Chicago-Los Angeles 48-seat lightweight coaches, formerly handled by the Transcon, were cut back to a single Two-Tone Gray coach, reflecting a reduction in passenger traffic.
The LA Limited continued to handle three Chicago-Los Angeles sleeping cars: lightweight 2-4-4 and 6-6-4 sleepers, plus a heavyweight 12 section-1 drawing room sleeper in Pullman Green, as well as the Minneapolis-St. Paul to Los Angeles 6-6-4 sleeper via the C&NW between the Twin Cities and Omaha. All these lightweight sleepers were painted in Pullman’s post-war 2-stripe Two-Tone Gray scheme.
LA Limited with COLA 924A ABB at San Bernardino 2-15-47
The eastbound LA Limited is about ready to depart San Bernardino on February 15, 1947, with UP 4-10-2 5099 helping a 3-unit set of E-units displaced from the City of Los Angeles by new E7s. The diesels include E6s 924A and 926B, both of which were later transferred to the City of San Francisco for daily service. Although the COLA train name is prominent on the carbody sides, the lettering will soon be painted out leaving just a blank, red name board, which was more useful in the general diesel pool. Jack Whitmeyer photo.
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In addition, the LA Limited continued to transport the St. Louis to Los Angeles lightweight 48-seat coach and a lightweight 6-6-4 sleeper between Cheyenne and Los Angeles, both in Two-Tone Gray. After the Utahn was inaugurated on May 14, 1947, these cars were handled by Nos. 3 and 4 west of Cheyenne. The LA Limited also carried several Chicago to Portland cars that were transferred to the Portland Rose at Cheyenne (a lightweight 48-seat coach and two lightweight sleepers in Two-Tone Gray).
Also continuing in LA Limited service were the heavyweight 13 section dormitory cars, which were former 12 section-1 drawing room sleepers converted to Tourist Car sleepers in 1940 and renumbered in November 1941 into the 5000-series. For LA Limited service in 1946 cars 5009, 5023, 5024, 5025, 5034, and 5035 were painted Two-Tone Gray with PULLMAN on the letterboard (car numbers from a UP interdepartmental letter dated March 19, 1946).
These heavyweight 13 section dorm cars were located at the head-end of the train and are an excellent spotting feature for identifying the Los Angeles Limited in late-1940s photographs: if the dormitory car is not there, the train is not the LA Limited.
Operating ahead of the dormitory car, a baggage car or an RPO-baggage car shows up in the LA Limited consists; however, their use is not well-documented beyond what can be seen in photographs. They are usually UP Harriman-roof cars, but C&NW clerestory-roof baggage cars have also been noted. Depending on the day and location, sometimes no head-end car is present.
LA Limited with COLA 924A ABB at San Bernardino 2-15-47
The eastbound LA Limited is about ready to depart San Bernardino on February 15, 1947, with UP 4-10-2 5099 helping a 3-unit set of E-units displaced from the City of Los Angeles by new E7s. The diesels include E6s 924A and 926B, both of which were later transferred to the City of San Francisco for daily service. Although the COLA train name is prominent on the carbody sides, the lettering will soon be painted out leaving just a blank, red name board, which was more useful in the general diesel pool. Jack Whitmeyer photo.
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Lastly, the LA Limited normally had heavyweight dining and club-lounge cars, but a second heavyweight diner regularly operated, which ran as a coffee shop diner for coach passengers. These cars could be painted Dark Olive Green or Two-Tone Gray.
Los Angeles Limited Consist:
Motive Power in The Late 1940s
The first road diesel set to operate regularly on the LA Limited was a three-unit, 6,000 hp set of Fairbanks-Morse diesels built at General Electric’s plant in Erie, Pennsylvania, in December 1945. The units were ordered in August 1945 and assigned numbers 50-M-1A, 50-M-3B and 50-M-2A. After testing they were purchased by UP in May 1946.
According to the book by Kratville and Ranks, Motive Power of The Union Pacific, on page 226, the Fairbanks-Morse diesels arrived on the property on December 28, 1945 and the first test in road service was on a westbound freight of 62 loads and six empties totaling 3,100 tons out of Council Bluffs on December 30, 1945. The units had a 68:19 gear ratio for 75 mph operation.
The text says that, “After many test freight runs, the units were shopped and re-geared to 63:24 ratio [102 mph] for passenger service. The conversion and the application of Automatic Train Control to the units for passenger operation was [completed] at Los Angeles on May 5, 1946… The units were assigned to the City of Los Angeles from May 5 through June 2 of 1946 and then they were put on the Los Angeles Limited and later into regular pool service, mainly on the Los Angeles Division.”
LA Limited WB UP FM 982A ABA at near Summit on 4-4-47
Fairbanks-Morse “Erie-Built” diesels 982A, 983B and 981A are heading uphill with the westbound LA Limited about 1/4 mile below Summit, Calif., on April 4, 1947. Renumbered from 50-M-2A, 50-M-3B and 50-M-1A in August 1946, the units were equipped with dynamic brakes which will be helpful going down the westward slope of Cajon Pass.
The consist has a UP 69’ Harriman baggage-RPO, a Pullman 13 section dorm car, a UP 5331-series coach, a UP 5300-series coach, and a UP heavyweight coffee shop diner, all in Two-Tone Gray, followed by four heavyweight cars most likely including the three Coast-to-Coast sleepers. Chard Walker photo.
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In August 1946 new jointly-owned and UP-owned Electro-Motive Division E7 diesels were delivered, which released several of the older model E2 and E6 engines from UP-C&NW City of Los Angeles service for operating on the LA Limited. Also, UP-owned E6s and E7s occasionally appeared, but only those units that show up in photographs can be reliably known to have operated on the LA Limited, as these units also ran on the City of St. Louis and the City of Denver.
LA Limited Down-on View at San Bernardino
This down-on photo of the eastbound LA Limited at San Bernardino was taken from the Mt. Vernon overhead viaduct and shows the train coming off “the short way” from Rana, which allowed passenger trains to by-pass the congestion of Yard B. UP-C&NW E2 921A (reno’d from LA-1 in 8-46) heads up an E2B-E6B lashup, followed by a Pullman 13 section dorm car and a pair of UP 5300-series lightweight coaches, all in Two-Tone Gray livery. After stopping at the depot, a steam helper will be coupled on for the climb up to Cajon Pass.
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LA Limited on Santa Ana River bridge 6-1-47
This often-published photo of the eastbound LA Limited on the Santa Ana River bridge on June 1, 1947, is useful for studying the motive power and train consist. The diesels are UP-C&NW jointly-owned E2 921A, E2 923B and E6 926B, all of which have had their City of Los Angeles train name lettering painted out for general pool service.
The consist includes a Pullman 13 section dormitory, two UP lightweight coaches ( a 5331-series and a 5300-series), followed by two UP heavyweight dining cars, the first of which is running with its kitchen to the rear as a Coffee Shop diner for coach passengers. Next is a heavyweight club-lounge car with a roof-top radio antenna, then four heavyweight sleepers and three lightweight sleepers bringing up the hind end. All of the cars, except for the heavyweight sleepers, are painted in the Two-Tone Gray scheme. Don Duke photo.
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Due to poor water conditions and the added cost of water treatment facilities in desert areas, UP intended to dieselize the Los Angeles & Salt Lake route in the mid-to-late 1940s by purchasing a number of passenger and freight diesels from various manufacturers, although it wasn’t possible to completely eliminate steam power for passenger road engine service on the LA&SL until July 1948.
East of Salt Lake City the LA Limited was generally powered by steam locomotives such as oil-fired 4-8-4s in Two-Tone Gray with “elephant ear” smoke lifters, while on the Chicago & North Western between Omaha and Chicago the train could be handled by E7 diesels or steam locomotives such as their streamlined 4-6-4 Hudsons.
LA Limited with FEF 821 at Ogden on 9-3-47
Steam power still reigned east of Salt Lake City on the LA Limited as evidenced by UP 4-8-4 821 shown arriving at Ogden, Utah, with westbound No. 1 on September 3, 1947.
A major change in operating procedure occurred coinciding with the inauguration of City of San Francisco daily service on September 1, 1947. Beginning on that date the LA Limited and the City of Los Angeles were routed through Ogden via the south wye, thus by-passing their regular stop at Union Station. This was implemented, much to the consternation of local citizens and the Chamber of Commerce, to save time by having to pull the trains backwards into or out of the station.
In this view, the LA Limited is coming under the Bamberger Railroad overhead bridge on left-hand-running Track 2, and will presently cross over Tracks 3 and 4 (to the right of the train) and proceed to the south wye to continue its trip to Salt Lake City. Emil Albrecht photo.
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More EMD products came to the LA&SL in October 1947 in the form of 15 passenger F3s delivered in five ABB sets, numbers 964A-968A and 969B-978B. These were renumbered to 900-904 and 900B & C to 905B & C in April-May 1948. Then in May-June 1948 twelve additional F3s were delivered in three ABBA sets, numbers 905-910 and 905B & C, 907B & C, 909B & C.
LA Limited with F3 964A above Sullivan’s Curve in 1947
This view shows UP’s first passenger equipped F3 diesel set, engines 964A, 969B and 970B, heading uphill above Sullivan’s Curve with the eastbound LA Limited shortly after their delivery in October 1947. Although running unassisted in this scene, this 4,500 hp diesel set would’ve been somewhat underpowered for the climb up the west slope of Cajon Pass. UP supplemented their original five 3-unit F3 sets with three 6,000 hp sets of F3s in mid-1948, after which whenever F3s operated over Cajon Pass they would appear in the ABBA configuration. Don Duke photo.
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LA Limited with UP E6 957A at Summit in 1947
This photo shows the westbound LA Limited at Summit in 1947 powered by a lashup of UP E6s with 957A on the point. The train has slowed to allow the sacked mail to be tossed up into the Dark Olive Green baggage-RPO car by the agent on the ground. The second car is a 13 section dorm followed by two UP 5300-series lightweight coaches and a heavyweight Coffee Shop diner, all in Two-Tone Gray. Next are a couple of Pullman Green heavyweight sleepers. The switch in the foreground is where the wye track begins. Malcolm Gaddis photo.
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In September 1947 American Locomotive Company (ALCo) delivered two ABA sets of their PA and PB model passenger diesels. These six units, numbers 994A-997A, 998B and 999B, were renumbered in March 1948 to 600-603, 600B and 602B. Then in January 1949 eight additional ALCo units were delivered, numbers 604, 604B, 605, 605B, 606, 606B, 607 and 607B.
LA Limited with ALCo PA 996A above Sullivan’s Curve on 11-28-47
A matched set of two-month-old ALCo road diesels 996A, 998B, 994A glisten in the afternoon sunlight as they power the eastbound LA Limited unassisted uphill above Sullivan’s Curve on November 28, 1947.
This 3-unit diesel was one of two sets of ABA road engines built by American Locomotive Company in September 1947. In the background just to the left of the diesel’s pilot, part of the westward track can be seen. The consist includes a heavyweight Pullman dorm car, two lightweight UP 5300-series coaches, a UP heavyweight coffee shop diner, and three lightweight sleepers, all in Two-Tone Gray paint. Don Duke photo.
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In November 1947 four Fairbanks-Morse Erie-built diesels were delivered with a new style carbody featuring large windshields. Numbered 984A, 985A, 986B and 987B, they were renumbered in March 1948 to 702, 703, 702B and 703B. Then in March-April 1948 six additional F-M units arrived on the property, numbers 704-707, 704B and 706B. These units also had the large windshield carbody, but were equipped with ALCo PA-type trucks.
Photo caption goes here.
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In the next installment, we will look at how an influx of new passenger equipment delivered in 1949 for upgrading the “Cities” streamliners brought a number of changes to the Los Angeles Limited consists.
Thanks to Jeff Koeller for all of the above text, photos with captions, and consist table.
Here are some notes on modeling this train in HO, thanks to Robert Rogers' quick reply today:
As for layout progress since last time, on March 8 I wrote this first bi-weekly report:
Two weeks ago I had finished gluing down Tracks A1-A10 and B1-B7 in the straight part of the A and B Yards on the staging deck. My next step was to start laying down the A Yard curves where the 10-track yard has to curve around at the end of the big peninsula. Using my pencil track plan for the curves, I tried to find where the center point of the curves was, and I used some old poster-board temples of various curves to locate them, as seen here:
Using the poster-board template for a 36" radius curve, I began to locate each of the 10 tracks as it starts to curve around:
And here's the other side of the Sand House and Bin:
There were three buildings in a row inside the Victorville wye, and Bill has now completed all three of them! I set them up as they will appear on the layout, with the Sand House and Bin, then the Elevated Fuel Oil Tank, and then the Boiler House: Here we see them all along the local switcher spur track:
And then from the opposite side, where the mainlines and helper loco tracks were located:
I noted that there were two wide tanks to the right of the four tall tanks, and my track plan left room for those two tanks. Craig seems to be interested in modeling the two wide tanks, as he sent me this photo, showing a concept for how he might model them:
