Golden Gate (train)

The Golden Gate was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe). It ran on the railroad's Valley Division between Oakland and Bakersfield, California;[1] its bus connections provided service between San Francisco and Los Angeles via California's San Joaquin Valley.

Golden Gate
The Golden Gate c.1938
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
LocaleCalifornia
First serviceJuly 1, 1938
Last serviceApril 28, 1968
Former operator(s)Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Route
TerminiOakland
Bakersfield
Stops7
Average journey time9 hours 25 minutes
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)60/61/62/63
On-board services
Seating arrangementsChair cars
Catering facilitiesLunch-counter dining car
Baggage facilitiesBaggage car
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Operating speed53.3 mph (85.8 km/h)
Route map
bus connection
to San Francisco
Oakland (ATSF)
Berkeley (ATSF)
Richmond
Pittsburg
Stockton
Merced
Fresno
Hanford
Bakersfield (ATSF)
bus connection
to Los Angeles

History

In 1912 The Santa Fe tried to compete with Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) with overnight trains that included cars to and from San Diego, the Saint train to San Francisco and the Angel train to Los Angeles.[2][3] The Santa Fe route via San Bernardino and Barstow was longer than the SP route via Glendale and Lancaster and the San Francisco to Los Angeles schedule was 16 hrs 45 minutes, compared to 14:45 for SP's Owl and 13:45 for the Lark. The Saint and Angel were withdrawn in 1918.[4] Although rumors soon flew of their return,[5] Santa Fe later cited competition by bus services as preventing restoration of the Saint and Angel schedules.[6]

In 1936 the completion of improvements on the Ridge Route highway south of Bakersfield and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge gave the Santa Fe an opportunity to compete with the SP with faster service. The lightweight Golden Gate streamliners were assigned Nos. 6063 and ran daily between Oakland (station was actually in Emeryville) and Bakersfield. Santa Fe buses connected 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 moved to Richmond in 1958 with buses making stops at Oakland and Berkeley.[7]

A competitor to the Southern Pacific Railroad's San Joaquin Daylight, the Golden Gate's scheduled 9-hour and 25-minute time bested that of the Daylight. After a series of hearings and legal challenges, as well as public displays of the new rolling stock,[8] the new six-car consists entered service on July 1, 1938. Coach fares were $6.00 one-way, $10.80 round-trip, rates that were matched by the SP. San Francisco to Los Angeles was 312.8 rail miles (503.4 km) plus 112 bus miles (180 km).

In early 1939, the Golden Gate was involved in what was believed to be the first collision between a modern streamlined train and an automobile when it was struck by a car in Richmond.[9] In 1939 another train, the Valley Flyer, was added to the Bakersfield-Oakland route[10] to carry passengers to the Golden Gate International Exposition. In 1940 the Exposition ended and this train moved to the San Diego to Los Angeles route.

Citing losses of up to $421,000 in 1963 (equivalent to $4,024,211 in 2022), the Santa Fe applied to discontinue the Golden Gate.[11] The California Public Utilities Commission held hearings on the discontinuance of the service in 1964[12] and authorized discontinuance of the service in March 1965 stating that "the public reaction [to discontinuing the service] was apathetic to say the least."[13][14] Yet just seven years earlier in 1957, passenger feedback was cited as the reason to adjust the Golden Gate timetable about one hour earlier in the day.[15] The Golden Gate was all but eliminated on April 11, 1965,[16] though No. 62 was reassigned as No. 8 and took over the duties of the southbound Fast Mail Express. That service ended April 28, 1968. Since 1974 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: Santa Fe's coordinated rail-bus service starts.
  • June 11, 1939: The Valley Flyer is added to the route to serve the Golden Gate International Exposition.
  • 1940: The Golden Gate consists expand 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 (1,007 km).
  • 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: round-end observation cars are discontinued.
  • February 2, 1958: Train No. 61 is withdrawn from service.
  • June 15, 1958: rail service is cut back from Oakland to Richmond.
  • April 11, 1965: Train Nos. 60 and 63 are withdrawn[16] 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) #32433244
*Extra car added between Chicago and Oakland during the summer months.

Golden Gate consists in 1958:

 Nos. 6063

  • 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 acceptance and was replaced with a 1500-series Lunch Counter Diner the following September.

See also

References

  1. Armitage, Merle (1984) [1948]. Corle, Edwin (ed.). Operations Santa Fé (reprint ed.). Hawthorne, CA: Omni Publications. p. 124.
  2. Santa Fe Railway (October 23, 1912). "(untitled advertisement)". The Los Angeles Evening Express. p. 12 via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. "Fourteen Years Ago: Santa Fe Adds Two Trains". The Redondo Reflex. December 19, 1924. p. 7 via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. Duke & Kistler (1963), pp. 63, 65.
  5. "Put On Saint and Angel". San Bernardino News. December 26, 1918. p. 3 via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. "Bus Halts Return of Saint, Angel". The San Bernardino County Sun. March 1, 1922. p. 12 via Newspapers.com. open access
  7. Duke & Kistler (1963), pp. 99–101.
  8. Kester, Frank (May 27, 1938). "Santa Fe to Show Train". Oakland Tribune. p. 39 via Newspapers.com. open access
  9. "Auto Hits Crack Train". The Press Democrat. Santa Rosa, CA. United Press. January 20, 1939. p. 3 via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. Duke & Kistler (1963), pp. 102–103.
  11. "Rail Losses Are Declared Higher Than PUC Estimates". The Sacramento Bee. Associated Press. November 17, 1964. p. 18 via Newspapers.com. open access
  12. "PUC Hearing On Trains Is Today". The Selma Enterprise. Selma, CA. October 15, 1964. p. 11 via Newspapers.com. open access
  13. "San Joaquin Valley Rail Service Cuts Approved". The Los Angeles Times. March 4, 1965. p. 3 via Newspapers.com. open access
  14. "Santa Fe Train Cut Permitted". The Hanford Sentinel. Hanford, CA. UPI. March 3, 1965. p. 1 via Newspapers.com. open access
  15. "Santa Fe Train to Change Schedule". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, CA. July 10, 1957. p. 3 via Newspapers.com. open access
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