San Diegan (train)
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The ''San Diegan'' was one of the named
passenger trains A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...
of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...
, and a “ workhorse” of the railroad. Its 126-mile (203-kilometer) route ran from
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, south to
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
. It was assigned train Nos. 70–79 (Nos. 80–83 were added in 1952 when RDCs began operating on the line). The Los Angeles-San Diego corridor was to the Santa Fe what the
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corridor was to the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...
. Daily traffic could reach a density of ten trains (each way) during the summer months. From the Los Angeles/ Orange County border to San Diego, it ran along the Surf Line (officially, the Fourth District of the Los Angeles Division), which was so named because much of its trackage came within fewer than 100 feet of the Pacific Ocean. The first ''San Diegan'' ran on March 27, 1938, as one set of equipment making two round trips a day. A second trainset delivered in 1941 made possible four
streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady flow, steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the f ...
trains each way. A set of
heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
equipment made a fifth trip in each direction. During and after
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, furlough business from San Diego's military bases necessitated extra (albeit heavyweight)
sections Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...
of ''San Diegans'', and racetrack specials during horseracing season at Del Mar added to passenger train miles.
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
continued to operate the ''San Diegan'' when it took over operation of the nation's passenger service on May 1, 1971. After extending the route to the Central Coast in the 1980s and 1990s, Amtrak rebranded the route as the ''
Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is Amtrak's third-busiest service (exceeded in ridership only ...
'' on June 1, 2000.


History


Background

Construction of the Surf Line between Los Angeles and San Diego began on October 12, 1880, with the organization of the California Southern Railroad Company. On January 2, 1882, the California Southern commenced passenger and freight service between National City and Fallbrook Junction, just north of
Oceanside Oceanside may refer to: Places United States *Oceanside, California ** Oceanside Transit Center *Oceanside, New York Oceanside is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the southern part of the town of Hempst ...
. The Santa Fe assumed control of the California Southern and on August 12, 1888, completed the line between Los Angeles and San Diego. Initially known as the "Short Line", the route replaced the Santa Fe's existing circuitous route via Temecula Canyon. In the 1930s the Surf Line hosted four round-trips per day, with an average trip time of hours.


''San Diegan''

In the late 1930s
streamlined Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady flow, steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the f ...
trains were in transition. While fixed consists such as the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
's M-10000 were out (the last, the Illinois Central 121, had been built in 1936), railroads still ordered sets of equipment with the intention that those sets stay with a particular train. In 1937–1938, the Santa Fe embarked on a massive program to upgrade its passenger fleet: it introduced new sets on the '' Chief'', ''
Super Chief The ''Super Chief'' was one of the List of named passenger trains, named train, passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The then-modern streamliner was touted in its heyday as "The Train of the Stars" b ...
'' and ''
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'', and added three new trains — the ''
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'', '' Kansas Cityan'', and the ''San Diegan''. On March 27, 1938, the Santa Fe inaugurated the ''San Diegan'', operating on a schedule of hours. The single equipment set could make two round-trips per day. A second ''San Diegan'' consist entered service on June 8, 1941, doubling the schedule to four daily round trips. The ''San Diegan'' was supplemented by two conventional heavyweight trains. * December 31, 1940: Engine No. 1676, a
2-10-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere the is known as th ...
type locomotive in charge of Train 135, the "Night Coast," is bound for Los Angeles with a 40-car freight when it derails just after 9:00 p.m. and goes over a bluff south of Del Mar, with 8 freight cars following suit. Nine additional cars were derailed but did not fall. Three members of the engine crew were killed in the accident, and many days passed before all of the wreckage could be retrieved; only one car actually ended up on the beach near the water. It was determined that water seepage had undermined the trackbed where the incident took place, causing the rails to spread. * June 8, 1941: A second lightweight train consisting of six coaches, a baggage-mail car, a tavern lunch-counter car, and a round-end observation car is added to the line. Service is increased to four daily round trips with streamliners and one round trip using conventional equipment. * October 27, 1941: A fifth, steam-powered train is added to the schedule, due in part to the need to transport military personnel to and from San Diego's bases. This semi-streamlined train carries a full buffet car, a diner, and three coaches that had all previously run as the '' Valley Flyer'' between
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
and
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. The number of daily trains servicing the route increases to 16, on average. * 1942: The average number of trains per day increases to 42. Consist size expands to 13 cars, and each logs 512 daily miles. Trains consisting of 10-12 former
Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...
interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...
trailer cars, owned by the U.S. Maritime Commission but bearing ATSF markings, are fitted with conventional knuckle couplers at each end of the trainset and pressed into service to handle the additional passenger loads. * April 1943: The schedule is lengthened to three hours due to ever-increasing military movements. * May 10, 1943: Santa Fe adds a second mainline track along the San Diego line between La Mirada and Fullerton to accommodate increased wartime traffic. Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) is installed on the line. * May 21, 1952: The Santa Fe places two
Budd Rail Diesel Car The Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC), also known as the Budd car or Buddliner, is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The cars ...
s, DC191 and DC192, into service. The two cars, coupled together, make two daily round trips. One of these is a non-stop express service timed at 2 hours 15 minutes. * August 25, 1953: Santa Fe 3751 pulls the last steam-powered trains (Nos. 72 and 73) on the "Surf Line." * January 10, 1954: The use of round-end observation cars is discontinued in order to eliminate the need to "turn" the trains in San Diego before heading northward. * January 22, 1956: Redondo Junction train wreck. Bound for San Diego, the two RDCs (making up train No. 82) derail at 69 mph in an evening high-speed accident at Redondo Junction, California, just south of the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal ( LAUPT), killing 30 and seriously injuring 117. This accident ended the units' run on the "Surf Line." The radio reports of the accident were one of the first major uses of the Sigalert (known at the time as a "Sigmon Traffic Alert"). * March 1956:
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' '' Aerotrain'' makes a series of experimental runs as a ''San Diegan'' consist. Thoughts of placing it in permanent service are quickly abandoned as the entire train set has to be turned at each end of the line, and requires helper locomotives on the Sorrento Grade. * April 28, 1956: Heavyweight local trains Nos. 70 and 75 are discontinued due to losses. * Summer 1956: Santa Fe's ''
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'' makes three demonstration runs to San Diego to promote its new "
Hi-Level The Hi-Level was a type of Bilevel rail car, bilevel intercity railroad passenger railroad car, passenger car used in the United States. Car types included coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars; a sleeping car variant was considered but never pr ...
" cars. The railroad begins placing illuminated
drumheads A drumhead or drum skin is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands, so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum. Additionally outside of percus ...
(formerly mounted on round-end
observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad Passenger car (rail), passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a plat ...
s) on the vestibule gate of the trailing cars of the ''San Diegan''. Service on the line is reduced to six daily round trips. * Summer 1958: Service is further reduced to five daily round trips and weekend extra trains. * November 19, 1958: An
F4D Skyray The Douglas F4D Skyray (later redesignated F-6 Skyray) is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based supersonic Fighter aircraft, fighter/Interceptor aircraft, interceptor designed and produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was th ...
fighter jet overshoots the runway at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro and is struck by southbound train No. 74 at -per-hour. All three locomotive units and cars #3430, #3165, #3144, #1399, #3100, #3094, #3082 derail. No fatalities and only a few injuries result. * January 14, 1959: Locomotive #20C, leading train No. 75 through a blinding fog, collides with a heavy truck at a grade crossing in Irvine; the unit sustains considerable damage and is "set out" to be picked up for repairs. Multiple automotive mishaps also result from the heavy fog in the immediate vicinity. * December 4, 1959: A few minutes before 12:30 a.m., freight train 136, the eastbound "Night Coast," is on the mainline heading for San Diego when the westbound "SBX" (San Bernardino Extra) leaves the San Juan Capistrano siding without dispatcher permission. Engine Nos. 259 and 269 (both of the EMD F7 type) are damaged in the resulting collision, with several cars derailed. * July 31, 1964: Mail trains Nos. 70 and 81 are dropped as all mail between Los Angeles and San Diego is now transported via truck (Santa Fe's mail contract expired on July 1 and was not renewed). * 1965: Service is further reduced to three daily round trips (train Nos. 73–78) on a two‑hour‑and‑55‑minute schedule. * December 22, 1965: a San Diego-bound ''San Diegan'' collides with a fully loaded gravel truck at the State College Boulevard grade crossing in Anaheim. The long nose of the lead Alco PA unit is credited with saving the lives of the engine crew, but is so badly damaged that it has to be written off and scrapped. Including locomotive units 61L and 51C, cars #3084, #3156, #3152, #3179, and #3076 all derail. * February 11, 1967: In heavy fog, a San Diego-bound ''San Diegan'' slams into an Orange County rubbish truck at the Fruit Street crossing on its approach to the Santa Ana Depot. There is no derailment but 8 passengers were injured from flying glass.


Amtrak

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
assumed control of most intercity passenger trains in the United States on May 1, 1971. It retained two of the ''San Diegan's'' three round-trips. Between November 1971–April 1972 the long-distance '' Coast Daylight''/''
Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland, Oregon, Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, ...
'' operated along the entire length of the Pacific Coast from Seattle to San Diego. The ''Daylight/Starlight'' was cut back to Los Angeles in April, and Amtrak restored the third ''San Diegan'' round trip to maintain the same level of service along the corridor Beginning in 1976 the state of California funded additional service: a fourth round-trip on September 1, 1976, a fifth on April 24, 1977, a sixth on February 14, 1978, and a seventh on October 26, 1980. Between April 29, 1984, and April 28, 1985, Amtrak experimented with an express service between Los Angeles and San Diego. This was targeted at business customers and made fewer stops than the regular ''San Diegan'' trains. Dubbed '' Metroliner'' after the high-speed service on the Northeast Corridor, it was unpopular and suffered from low ridership. After its discontinuance Amtrak restored the seventh ''San Diegan'' and introduced Custom class on the route. * June 26, 1988: One round trip per day is extended north to Santa Barbara. * 1995: One round trip extends as far north as
San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...
. * July 1996: The IC3 Flexliner is put into two-week trial service during the height of the Del Mar
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
season. * November 1998: An eleventh daily round trip is added. * June 1, 2000: The train is renamed the ''
Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is Amtrak's third-busiest service (exceeded in ridership only ...
'', with eleven round trips from San Diego to Los Angeles. Five continue to Santa Barbara, and two continue to San Luis Obispo.


Equipment used

The original ''San Diegan'' consist included a baggage car, two coaches (60 seats each), a lunch counter-tavern car, and a parlor-
observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad Passenger car (rail), passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a plat ...
. Motive power consisted of a single EMC E1A locomotive sporting the familiar ''Warbonnet'' paint scheme. These units would, in time, be replaced by
ALCO PA The ALCO PA was a family of A1A-A1A diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains. The locomotives were built in Schenectady, New York, in the United States, by a partnership of the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and General Electric (G ...
and PB power and
EMD F3 The EMD F3 is a B-B freight- and passenger-hauling carbody diesel locomotive produced between July 1945 and February 1949 by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant. A total of 1, ...
and F7 locomotives. Santa Fe's lone trio of
Fairbanks-Morse Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Founded in 1823 as a manufacturer of weighing scale, weighing scales, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinder ...
(FM) " Erie-built" locomotives and the odd GE U28CG could also be seen occasionally running the line. A lone pair of 90-seat self-powered
Budd Rail Diesel Car The Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC), also known as the Budd car or Buddliner, is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The cars ...
s (RDCs) were acquired for express service. They operated "back-to-back" as a single train unit from May 21, 1952, until the Redondo Junction derailment on January 22, 1956. Three additional coach units were added for weekend traffic. The ''San Diegan'' also enjoyed almost exclusive use of Santa Fe's " pendulum-suspension" chair car, No. 1100, after World War II. In June 1941, the railroad added a second eight-car trainset, also built by Budd, to handle the high demand. Its original consist was similar to the above save for an additional coach. Subsequent consists varied according to traffic levels. A representative, all-lightweight consist from the Summer of 1955: *
Baggage Baggage, or luggage, consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transit. A modern traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, small possessions, tr ...
-Mail car * RPO-Baggage car * "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) * "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) * "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) * "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) * Bar-
Lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge or train lounge (e.g., Amtrak's Acela Lounge), a premium ...
-"Chair" car (#1398-#1399 assigned) * "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) * "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) * "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) * "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats) Under Amtrak ex-Santa Fe
Hi-Level The Hi-Level was a type of Bilevel rail car, bilevel intercity railroad passenger railroad car, passenger car used in the United States. Car types included coaches, dining cars, and lounge cars; a sleeping car variant was considered but never pr ...
coaches were used in the early 1970s. Modern
Amfleet Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger car (rail), passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Budd Metroliner, Me ...
coaches arrived in 1976. For a six-month period in 1978 service on the route was supplemented by the '' El Camino'' cars owned by
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.


Route and station stops

*
Los Angeles Union Station Los Angeles Union Station is the main railroad station in Los Angeles, California, and the largest passenger rail terminal in the Western United States. It opened in May 1939 as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, replacing La Grande Sta ...
* Norwalk * Fullerton *
Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...
* Orange * Santa Ana * Irvine * San Juan Capistrano *
San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement" ) is a coastal city in southern Orange County, California, United States. It was named in 1925 after the Spanish colonial island (which was named after a Pope from the first century). Located in the O ...
*
Oceanside Oceanside may refer to: Places United States *Oceanside, California ** Oceanside Transit Center *Oceanside, New York Oceanside is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the southern part of the town of Hempst ...
* Carlsbad *
Encinitas Encinitas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. Located in Southern California, it is approximately north of San Di ...
* Del Mar * Linda Vista *
Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...
* Santa Fe Depot


See also

*
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
''
Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is Amtrak's third-busiest service (exceeded in ridership only ...
'' * Passenger train service on the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...
*
California and the railroads The establishment of America's Transcontinental railroad#United States, transcontinental rail lines securely linked California to the rest of the country, and the far-reaching transportation systems that grew out of them during the century tha ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway

California State Railway Museum

Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society


''Rails and Trails'' web page
Passenger trains operating on the eve of Amtrak
{{Authority control Railway services introduced in 1938 Passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway North American streamliner trains Former Amtrak routes Railway services discontinued in 2000