Southern Pacific #1975

Technical Data

Builder Pullman
Class 60-C-5
Date 1914
Length 60′
Acquired February 2014

History

Built new in 1914 as Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) coach #1975; Rebuilt to Southern Pacific (SP) News Agent Car  #1975 in 1933 with the news stand and 11 rows of seats (44 passengers). Seating arrangement was modified in 1945, 1954 and 1959; In 1954 the seats were replaced with 34 reclining swivel ‘chairs’; In 1959 six rows of chairs were replaced by six tables. Labeled as an All Day Lunch it was last used in “Sun Tan Special” service, Santa Cruz, CA. There were a total of 29 All Day Lunch cars in the SP fleet. We believe that as a News Agent car, this #1975 may be unique in being lettered as “All-Day Lunch”.  The other ADL cars in the Espee fleet were numbered into the 10,000 series like the diners. Further research is needed to verify this. 

California-Nevada Railroad Historical Society (CNRHS) acquired the car in July, 1960 for $1014. This car and SP3176 combine were used in excursion service in the San Francisco Bay Area until loaned to the PLA in 1970 according to Ed Graham. Charles G. Heimerdinger, Jr. reports that both these cars arrived at Castro Point in early 1970 where roof repairs were done to both cars. He also reports that the ADL was used on joint PLA/Cal-Nevada excursion trips over the Santa Fe from Richmond to Riverbank in 1968 (behind a PA) and in 1969 (behind F units)

The car was on  loan to PLA from California-Nevada Railroad Historical Society from March 1970 until February, 2014 when Cal-Nevada made a generous donation of cars to the PLA. The conveyance of  two cars, AE 453 (aka: SP 3176; to which we plan to re-letter it) and SP 1975 was signed by Cal-Nevada on Feb. 1, 2014 by Dudley Westler, President; and acknowledged by PLA on Feb. 4, 2014 by Henry Baum, President.  The Collections Committee approved the RFA (Request For Acquisition) to recommend to the Board the formal acquisition into the PLA collection (Priority A) at the Feb. 7, 2014.  The RFA was approved by the Board of Directors at its Feb. 7, 2014 meeting.  

The car is a Steel, Harriman Standard Round Roof Heavyweight / approx. 55 tons