Model Train Journal

Too bad there isn't an FM Trainmaster on the other end of those gallery cars. I lived in Menlo Park for a year and it's a nice town -- or at least it was before the cost of living went from "high" to "crazy". The FMs were long gone when I was there but the heavyweight coaches -- what the local railfans (incorrectly?) called Harriman cars -- were having their swan song behind SD45s (if I recall correctly). I have photos somewhere....

Jim

Jim, this is what they yank it around now with.

Trolleys



And subways!

I wish I had been around to see this:


The photo was unattributed but I believe that bridge is between the Menlo Park and Palo Alto stations. I remember there was a grade crossing nearby at the time and that you could see the bridge from El Camino Real. Again, the Trainmasters were gone by the time I got there but the mix of bi-level gallery cars and heavyweight coaches lasted until the mid-1980s (long after this photo was taken).

On a related note, I found a single set of silk-screened sides for an SP gallery car on eBay many years ago:


They are similar in style to the Holgate and Reynolds cars for the CN&W (and other railroads?) but they're full length. I never have found any information about the providence of these. Anybody know anything about them? I sure would like to have a couple of more, though just one and a pair of H/W coaches would make a fine train.

Jim

I remember FM's there. I was in the Bay area (TI) in 1969....well, Feb 69 to FEB 70. They were starting to drop BART in the bay, has a demonstrator BART train in Jack London Square, I think.
Lots of F units on the peninsula, too.

Must be different now...we spent weekends in The City, riding trolleys (PCC) and cable cars, cannot ever recall seeing three cable cars stacked up like that.

They started digging up Market when we were there...supposed to be BART on the bottom, trolleys next, auto and bus on top....I don't think they did that.

Not been downtown since.

These were the 2 locomotives I saw at the terminal that were being used:

cannot ever recall seeing three cable cars stacked up like that.

The cars were just backed up to the turnaround waiting for passenger loads. They’re still run one at a time.

Wow! That must have been some party over the weekend. You do know that there was an O Scale layout in that depot for a very long time?

2railjon wrote:

cannot ever recall seeing three cable cars stacked up like that.

The cars were just backed up to the turnaround waiting for passenger loads. They’re still run one at a time.

True, but like I said, in 1969 never saw them backed up at the turntable. We'd get off, they'd turn the car, we'd load up and pass the next one coming down the hill.

I prefer the California St. line.

Is this a GP something?

Cf7...ex ATSF, rebuilt from F units at their Cleburne shops. They've landed all over the place.

big bad jim wrote:Cf7...ex ATSF, rebuilt from F units at their Cleburne shops. They've landed all over the place.

There's a book about them, appropriately titled CF7 Locomotives: From Cleburne to Everywhere, and Pecos River Brass imported models of them.