SP 1909 Cab-in-Front - 35 Years of Continuous Improvement

I am a great failure who never felt motivated to learn the 'originating railroad's name' connected with a particular Whyte system wheel arrangement ... Northern, Pacific, Texas ... or Selkirk.

As a pre-schooler, the strange engines in this post were identified to me as being a Cab-in-Front and they were perhaps the first and only 'type' I could identify by name - rather than resorting to the Whyte numeric system. 

As John B Hungerford mentions in his 1959 booklet Cab-in-Front, these engines were also called: Back-Up, Cab-Forward, Cab-Fronter, Cab-First, Stack-in-Back. 

Looking at the roster which will follow, you'll see that the official SP nomenclature used those 'Whyte descriptors' (blended with 'Mallet' where applicable) in abbreviated form to designate the different classes of Cab-in-Front locomotives as MC, AC or MM. 

The ACs are probably the engines most people would know or recognize.

*  *  *

Here is a brief, contemporary overview of the Southern Pacific from:

Handbook of American Railroads; Robert G Lewis; 1951; Simmons-Boardman. 

While I will persist in calling it the SP Railroad, I believe it was properly called a 'Company' or a set of 'Lines'.

Handbook of American Railroads; Robert C Lewis; 1951; Simmons-Boardman.

Handbook of American Railroads; Robert C Lewis; 1951; Simmons-Boardman.

Handbook of American Railroads; Robert C Lewis; 1951; Simmons-Boardman.

If you notice the position of the line connecting Sacramento to Reno - you're looking at the entire territory (over the summit of the Sierra Nevada) for which the Cab-in-Fronts were designed. 

More precisely, these engines were conceived by the Southern Pacific and built by Baldwin for use in the mountains between Roseville, California and Sparks, Nevada. On that line, an extensive network of snowsheds and tunnels, and steep grades of over 2% in both directions, were causing significant operating problems. The line rose to an elevation of about 7000 feet ASL, and the location receives the greatest amount of snowfall when considering all of the lower 48 States.

... To move trains of 60-70 cars of 25-30 ton capacity on 'The Hill', six 2-8-0 engines were often necessary: headend, 2; mid-train, 2; ahead of the caboose, 2. 

... Using 6 engines to move a train of 2000 tons or so seems really inefficient. However, people only had horse or mule traction on the Old Overland Trail for comparison, so it probably seemed like a cutting-edge modern marvel to most onlookers at that point.

These 2-8-0s were hand-fired coal engines, and compounding was all the rage at that point. The steam would move from a 'small' high-pressure cylinder on one side, to a 'large' low-pressure cylinder on the other side, to get the most useful energy from the steam before it was lost up the stack.

The trains on The Hill would travel at 12 mph, unless their progress was interrupted for some reason. In that case, they would average 8 mph because it took so long to get the train moving again on the grades.

You can imagine how foul the air in tunnels and snowsheds would be after 6 hard-working steam locomotives operated through them.

As noted in a previous post, heavy oil production in California did not lead to the SP using it generally as a fuel until about 1905-1910. 

Then, the SP made a decisive move to address the challenge of The Hill. 

Cab-in-Front; John B Hungerford; 1959; Hungerford Press.

SP purchased the 2-8-8-2 compound No 4000 (above) and 4001 from Baldwin in 1909. The small high-pressure cylinders are fed directly from the steam dome and the second-hand steam is passed on to the low-pressure cylinders at the pilot.  

A veteran engineer came out of retirement to operate the engine on its first trial trip, with the future road foreman of engines serving as his fireman. 

The trip was a great success, but it almost killed the engine crew. The exhaust gases left the stack at over 700 degrees Fahrenheit and swirled around in the tunnels to blast the occupants of the cab.

An enduring 'solution' - which will come back to haunt a future post - came from this experience. The railroad devised a 'respirator' (not an 'FDA-approved medical device') which took air from the main air reservoir, ran it through a reduction valve and a ... 'purifier' ... and the air terminated in masks which could be worn by the members of the engine crew. 

The 'respirator' did nothing about the heat from the exhaust gases or the deafening noise confined within the close tolerances of the tunnels. 

*  *  *

These two short biographies were published almost a decade before the characters enter our story in 1909.

In 1909, Heintzelman was superintendent of motive power on the SP. 

The Biographical Directory of the Railway Officials of America; ed: T Addison Busbey;1901; Railway Age.

Charles Browning Jr was SP engineer of tests and chief chemist at the Sacramento shops. He had been running tests on a number of the trial trips of the 4000 and 4001. In a meeting of 2-8-8-2 troubleshooters convened in Heintzelman's office, Browning recalled seeing the monstrosity pictured below. Might it contribute an idea to resolve the tunnel and snowshed problems of the new engines? He was sent to investigate.

The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads; Lucius Beebe; 1963; Howell-North.

This water-tube boiler locomotive was in use circa 1900-1905 on the North Pacific Coast Railroad based in Sausalito, California. It was terribly unsuccessful as a design and exerted enough tractive effort to pull about 4 cars ... before experiencing unwelcome flows of boiler water into the exhaust. The engineer was positioned as shown over the '21' - on the left side of the cab. The pistons are at the pilot. The tender carries oil and water in separate tanks. > The stack is at the back. 

I had only seen a painting of this unique locomotive. I was quite excited to find a snapshot of it in an obscure photo album preserved at archive.org . Then I started looking in my books and found an endless supply of different photos of it. 

It is often perplexing that all the strange or unique examples get saved, preserved, restored, photographed ... and the equipment that really got the job done is scrapped, apparently because it is so 'boring' to the people making the conservation decisions.

Fortunately ... for the Sake of Humanity ... the 21 was scrapped in 1905.

*  *  *

In 1909, Howard Stillman was SP chief mechanical engineer, based in San Francisco. 

The Biographical Directory of the Railway Officials of America; ed: T Addison Busbey;1901; Railway Age.

Stillman was well aware of SP's El Gobernador fiasco: big engine, big pistons, the engine of the future!

... But the power of a steam engine is generally determined by how efficiently large quantities of water can be turned into steam. El Gob's boiler was too small. In the years following its creation, it was sometimes brought out of hiding to impress unsuspecting visitors. 

But everyone who 'knew' was acutely aware of its pathetic, inadequate, tiny, little, boiler. 

In spite of his misgivings, Stillman directed the drafting of the 'big new design'. They told Baldwin to put a hold on the 15 additional engines the SP had already ordered until they worked through the design changes together. 

*  *  *

As mentioned earlier, The Hill territory which is central to our story is roughly between Sacramento and Reno. On this map, you can see that it was precisely between Roseville, California and Sparks, Nevada.

screencap from: Southern Pacific 1907; California National Education Association; David Rumsey Map Collection.

The map below (dating from the mid-1860s) looks east from Reno toward Sparks.

YouTube links:

The Theme! - By the man who made it a Schlager classic.

Watch out! That thing is loaded!

*  *  *

On the previous map with railroad detail, you'll see Summit near Truckee. That is the location later known as Norden. From the very beginning of railroad operations, Norden housed an impressive centre of railroad resources and highly-skilled personnel - such as shop trades, dispatchers and engineering professionals.

If you look at Norden today on Google maps, you'll see enduring evidence of a second line there which SP was building as the new engines arrived. The single track line at the summit had reached saturation with the new Californian agricultural traffic the new engines were in the process of mastering. 

What I saw east of Norden on Google maps (starting at 'Donner Pass') were abandoned concrete snowsheds. There are also feats of classic railroad drainage-system-pattern location on both sides of Norden - but particularly east of that location. 

... I have not yet determined for myself which was the original line or how the current track arrangement relates to the original. 

The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads; Lucius Beebe; 1963; Howell-North.

Snowsheds were a fire risk, but they were required at Norden because of the massive snowfalls. Notice the original enclosed turntable - no one enjoyed shovelling out the pit.

*  *  *

Here's a handy roster. 

Cab-in-Front; John B Hungerford; 1959; Hungerford Press.

There were many versions of this general cab-ahead design between 1909 and 1944 - when the last ones were built. Each added its own innovations. 

When these very long engines was climbing, the design had to ensure that the fuel oil always flowed uphill to the cab where the fireman metered it into the burner. To accomplish this, the oil tanks were sealed and pressurized to 5 pounds per square inch from the locomotive's reservoir. In addition, because the viscous heavy oil was heated with live steam to help it flow, reinforcement of the tender tank and a safety valve were necessary.

Cab-in-Front; John B Hungerford; 1959; Hungerford Press.

Above: The 4002 was the first Cab-in-Front delivered from the Baldwin shops in 1910.

For those interested in 'how you would operate one of these if asked to do so' there is this interesting detail. In a compound (as seen above), the steam goes first to the small high pressure cylinders - the large low pressure cylinders sit and wait to receive the second hand steam.

As these are two separate 'engines', the high pressure engine wheels (i.e. the front eight) would turn away, presumably burning the rail until the engine became a functioning compound with enough tractive effort to get the train moving.

So ... they installed a kind of a starting valve that a skilled engineer would use to prime the low pressure cylinders so 'both engines' would exert roughly equivalent tractive effort at the same time when starting.

Unfortunately, the key word is 'skilled' - it was kind of an imperfect solution, but it illustrates an interesting aspect of this technology.

*  *  *

Cab-in-Front; John B Hungerford; 1959; Hungerford Press.

In the roster, you may have noticed the MM-2 class - here is 4206 as a 2-6-6-2 in 1911 with a 'whaleback' tender. These were designed as faster passenger engines for use on The Hill, but the pilot truck was eventually changed to a 4-wheel truck as they had a habit of derailing. Apparently, the 4208 of this class was on its first trip, pulling the Overland Limited and it derailed - taking the train down the embankment with it, on a sharp curve near Colfax.

The other difficulty with this design was that they tended to project excessively on curves and this feature often made its impression by damaging or removing the posts of snowsheds. 

This saga ended happily as these engines were sent to the Portland Division where they provided essential power in freight service as the WW2 traffic built up. 

The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads; Lucius Beebe; 1963; Howell-North.

Part of the unique subterranean world of snowsheds at Norden.

The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads; Lucius Beebe; 1963; Howell-North.

Engine 4154 on the covered turntable at Norden.

Eventually, operations on The Hill became extremely efficient. 

The booklet does not specify an exact train length - but typically a train was probably around 75-80 cars, governed by siding length, as the line was perpetually busy. 

The last iteration of train marshaling before dieselization (if three Cab-in-Fronts were used on a train running eastbound up the hill from Roseville) was #1 headend; #2 15 cars ahead of the caboose; #3 4 cars ahead of the caboose. With this configuration, the three engines could take water simultaneously at the tanks and standpipes at Colfax and Emigrant Gap. 

*  *  *

At this point, it should be pointed out that a change which really allowed the Cab-in-Front engines to come into their own occurred during the late 1920s when most of them were rebuilt as simple expansion engines. In general, the compound concept to gain power was made obsolete by steam superheating, etc. The image above is the first one presented here which reflects that change - but the engine is too long for the photographer to capture completely. 

The simplest spotting feature is that the cylinders of 'both engines' are the same size on the photos which follow.

With rebuilding, the top speed of these engines increased (allowing these 'freight' engines to take over pasenger trains), tractive effort was increased, and maintenance costs were decreased. 

*  *  *

Cab-in-Front; John B Hungerford; 1959; Hungerford Press.

However, as more of these engines with increasingly-refined designs arrived, many were reassigned outside of their original territory of The Hill. In 1939, the 4125 is seen with No 60 near Mojave (just north of Los Angeles). Typically, a Cab-in-Front engine in passenger service would be limited to a maximum of 50 mph.

The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads; Lucius Beebe; 1963; Howell-North.

This is a nice photographic study of the fireman's side of the cab as the engine sits on a turntable.

While later designs inserted a single note airhorn below the headlight for emergency warning duty,

the engines still had steam whistles.

*  *  *

Cab Interiors, 4100-class

The History of Western Railroads; Jane Eliot; 1985; Bison.

The engineer's seat is facing forward toward the front cab windows (which are behind the camera). At his left shoulder would be the cutoff/reverser. To his right is his doorknob to exit the right side of the engine. The throttle is seen at the top of the boiler backhead - I think mounted on a horizontal quadrant. Notice the ergonomic presentation of gauges by his left shoulder.

Below the throttle is the door of the firebox - you can see that its small viewing window has its disk-lid swung open. Under dark operating conditions, the bright oil flame window would be covered with the disk, so the engine crew could maintain its night-vision. 

In one of my books, it is suggested that the sight glass and brake handles can be also seen. I'm not absolutely sure, so I'll avoid the risk of steering you in the wrong direction.

The History of Western Railroads; Jane Eliot; 1985; Bison.

On the fireman's side, the controls are really interesting. I believe the fireman's forward-facing backrest is at the lower edge of the photo - right of centre. We are looking toward the same doorknob over on the engineer's side of the cab. The front cab windows are to our left. I believe the seat for the headend brakeman would be in the corner of the cab beyond the left edge of the photo. 

If you've been following this series you'll probably recognize the firing valve handle on the upper quadrant at the left. Below it is the damper lever. The handle for the 'blower' or 'atomizer' which creates the necessary fine mist of heavy oil is labelled but not visible (unfortunately!). Above them is the steam gauge. 

Of special interest is the smallest gauge which apparently gives a readout on the pressurized tender.

The large injector priming valve handle is at the top right corner of the photo, attached to the boiler backhead. 

I Like Trains; ed: David P Morgan; 1980; Kalmbach.

The irrepressible Ward Kimball took hundreds of photos for this last run portrait of a Southern Pacific engineer. The article appeared in October 1948 Trains and was reprinted in the anthology noted in the caption.  

To get this view, Kimball would be standing between the engineer and fireman's workstations - in front of the firebox door.

If the interiors and exteriors match, Bascom Farrow's last run was made on engine 4246, leading No 60 from Bakersfield to Los Angeles. 

Like many advanced engines built at the end of steam, the 4246 had a relatively short lifespan of less than 16 years.

The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads; Lucius Beebe; 1963; Howell-North.

In Sparks, Nevada near the end of steam. You can see the ease of handling for the oil fuel. The engine would line up once, and the hostler or fireman could fill both sections of the tender at the same time without the need to spot the engine again.

*  *  *

from: The Train; Jonathan Glancey; 2004; Carlton.

Finally, above and below you can see an early engine from 1910 compared to another from the second-to-last series delivered by Baldwin in 1943. 

While a direct side-to-side comparison is not possible, the refined aesthetics of the engine-building craft and the sophisticated end-stage technology of the steam power era can be clearly seen. 

Steam's Finest Hour; ed: David P Morgan; 1959; Kalmbach.

end

SP 1900 The Montalvo Cutoff and The Gap

Old maps, newspaper articles and employee timetables describe Southern Pacific's Tunnels - Nos. 26, 27 and 28 on the Montalvo Cutoff. 

from: screencaps of, Map of the Route of the Southern Continental Rail Road, 1869. David Rumsey Map Collection. 

The 'original route of the Southern Pacific' is shown above in 1869. Back then, everyone was all: 'We're going round the Horn in sailing ships!' and 'Miners, Forty-niners and their daughters Clementine!'. 

San Francisco was the place where everyone went and it was where the Southern Pacific was headquartered. 

Someone looking at this map in 1869 asks:

You're not going to build to L.A.? Where? Los Angeles! Why? It only has a population of 5000.

Why have you built to San Diego, then? Because it's in our charter! We're supposed to build down the coast connecting San Francisco & San Diego. We'll complete that coastal route some day but going down the coast is too much to take on at this point. Look at all the mountains.

This is my last question, then. How well are your 1869 operations doing between San Francisco, San Diego, and beyond to the east? 

... Er ... well ... didn't that Rolly Martin Country blogger guy explain that 1869 map he decided to post? 

... Do you see, where it says Gilroy ... just south of San Francisco? See the red writing ... 'Completed'? 

... Right now we're very successfully running between San Francisco ... and Gilroy! 

... The rest of the map is ... very strongly ... projected.

 [Santa Fe reached San Diego in 1885. Espee gained access to San Diego in 1919.]

*  *  *

From the Official Guide of 1887

from: Official Guide 1887.

The Southern Pacific reaches Los Angeles! But look closely at the location of 'Los Angeles'. 

... In 1892 Collis P Huntington and the Southern Pacific started construction on the 4720 foot long Santa Monica Pier. It opened as the deep water port of 'Los Angeles' in 1894. Track was laid on the full length of the pier to serve the deep water anchorage which had been created. The pier included coaling towers as oil was not yet in use as a locomotive fuel.

In 1897, the federal government decided that San Pedro would become the location of The Port of Los Angeles. The dwindling shipping to the SP Santa Monica pier finally ceased in 1913. The remaining portion of that Santa Monica pier was dismantled in 1933.

Below are the officers, and the subsidiary railroads which made up the Southern Pacific. You can see some of the subsidiaries labelled on the SP route above.

from: Official Guide, 1887.

*  *  *

The Montalvo Cutoff

Background:

Part of my 'sudden' blogging interest in this area stems from having various types of contact with it. 

My sister, Allison, was at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara during the summer of 1995. 

Circa 1990, to urgently fill a hospital staffing gap, my spouse was sent to a week-long course in Los Angeles at the Terasaki Institute. I paid my way and went along for the ride. While she worked, I drove around. From Disneyland to Santa Barbara, I took in all the sights and reviewed attractions for her to see on her days off. At Long Beach, the 'Spruce Goose' was in the process of being moved, but one evening we did get aboard the Queen Mary. Our hotel was in Canoga Park and we did a daily commute along Topanga Canyon Boulevard. 

In the mid-1990s, to help evaluate a new hospital computer system, I was repeatedly sent back to San Bernardino. A group day off was spent in San Diego, another was spent around Palm Springs, and Santa Monica was another port of call. Walking back from the Santa Monica Pier, one evening, the head of our IT department was singled out by a loud confronting stranger for his part in a CIA plot. At one point we did an intensive and interesting site visit to one of Oxnard's hospitals. 

(At some point in the future, a Californian may discover this breathless account of local geography ... and find it amusing.)

It has been really interesting to learn the history of some of these places during the research for this ongoing series of posts. 

*  *  *

The fabulous employee timetable collection available at archive.org from the California State Railroad Museum has been a tremendous revelation during the last couple of weeks. 

Fellow railway museum volunteer Ross Robinson spoke very highly of this museum, and so much can be learned from just a brief amount of time spent with their timetable collection. 

*  *  *

Southern Pacific Employee Timetable From 1899 

Above: It would be great if all old employee timetables had maps! Particularly if the maps documented the construction progress of some of their lines as they were built.

As the Southern Pacific was not really near the coast of southern California in 1887 (see the Official Guide map, farther above), building well-engineered, direct routes in that direction eventually became a priority. 

The Montalvo Cutoff was one name for the project to connect Oxnard with Chatsworth Park. This would require significant rock cut and fill work, as well as costly and challenging tunneling through the Santa Susana mountains and similar features.

 

To show you that the old route was too slow, here are two timetables ...

The two timetables below show the route between: 

          Montalvo (near Oxnard) and Saugus. READ UP (Page 8).

And then between Saugus and Los Angeles. READ DOWN (Page 7).

https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_000244/mode/1up

A peculiarity of these two timetables is that the mileage distance in the column to the left of the station names is measured from San Francisco. As that era's inland main line reaches the Los Angeles region at Saugus, the mileages increase in both directions from Saugus. 

To borrow a helpful British convention, the trains departing Saugus to the west and to the southeast are 'down trains' from San Francisco - when considering the timetable mileages. 

The same timetable map, repeated below, for your convenience.

https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_000244/mode/1up

https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_000244/mode/1up

*  *  *

Newspaper Accounts of the Montalvo Cutoff Construction from 1900

This two first articles on the Cutoff (left) and The Gap (right) are illegible - see the transcriptions below the clippings.

When there were public timetable changes during this era, it was common to put them into a paragraph in a local newspaper.

from: Oxnard Courier, 14 July 1900. Google newspapers.

 Transcription:

"SOUTHERN PACIFIC CHANGES TIME

"The Line Now Operated to the Tunnel.

But Slight Changes Made in Trains Connecting with the Present Main Line.

The new time table on the Southern Pacific went into effect July 1st, opening the branch to the new terminus, Santa Susana. The only other change applicable here is the arrival of the morning train from the Ojai at 8:45 instead of 8:25. As before, trains leave Los Angeles at 8:50 a.m. and 3 p.m., arriving here at 12:35 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.; and leave Oxnard for Los Angeles at 7:15 a.m. and 5 p.m., arriving there at 12:10 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Trains leave for Ventura and Nordhoff direct at 6:20 p.m. and arrive from there at 8:45 a.m.

Out over the new line the first run was made Monday and the return trip brought two passengers, one from Santa Susana and the other from Strathern. The stations and distances are as follows: Oxnard, 0 miles; Leesdale, 4.3; Sucrosa, 5.8; Camarillo, 8.8; Somis, 11.8; Lagol, 15; Ternes, 16.4; Moorpark, 19.3; Strathern, 24.1; Santa Susana, 29.7.

The train leaves here for Santa Susana at 12:30 a.m. and arrives at Camarillo at 12:45; Somis, 1:05; Moorpark, 1:45; Santa Susana, 2:20. Returning the train leaves Santa Susana at 2:30 p.m. reaching Moorpark at 3:05; Somis, 3:41; Camarillo, 3:51; Oxnard, 4:15. Moorpark is the station on the branch nearest Simi, from which a stage may be taken for Chatsworth, connecting with the Southern Pacific into Los Angeles.

A comparison of distances is interesting. Oxnard is now 501 miles from San Francisco, but the Coast Line when connected, will reduce this by 100 miles. The present route to Los Angeles is 92.41 miles long and the trip requires 3 hours and 25 minutes. The distance to Santa Susana is 29.70 miles; then there is a gap of from 6 to 8 miles, and the remainder of the trip from Chatsworth to Los Angeles is 39.40 miles, a total of 69.10, or a saving of 23.31 miles in the distance from here to Los Angeles, which is equal to nearly a quarter. If the same reduction is made in time when the new road goes clear through, we can reach Los Angeles in about 2 hours and 30 minutes. As it is now, even if connections were made with the Simi stage to Chatsworth, it would require 1 hour and 50 minutes to Santa Susana, an hour on the stage, and an hour and 25 minutes from Chatsworth to Los Angeles. The fare, too, would be higher. Via Saugus it is now $2.60; but the other way it would be $1.50 to Santa Susana, 55 cents stage fare, and $1.25 from Chatsworth to the city, or in all $3.30. The longest way around is the shortest and cheapest way across in this case.

If the occasion demanded it the Southern Pacific could arrange another route between this valley and Los Angeles, by shortening the time, reducing the rates and making connections between the stage and trains. Then we could advertise a new route to the city, avoiding the heat of Saugus, and in its place a delightful ride over the mountains, with their picturesque scenery and soft breezes."

End of Transcription.

... The Map Below and the Timetable Reflect These Changes

https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_000334/mode/1up

https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_000290/page/n7/mode/1up

*  *  *

DIGRESSION ON THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC 'GAP'

The Gap ... referred to the completion of the railroad line along the coast, west of Santa Barbara.

Together with the Cutoff, this would complete an efficient main line from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Transcription:

"WORK ON THE S. P. GAP. 

[The stations appear on the long Coast Division map, below. This article is from July 1900.]

"Line North of Santa Barbara to Open November 1st. [1900]

The Santa Barbara correspondent to the Los Angeles Times writes about their Coast Line gap as follows:

If no unforeseen delay occurs, the Southern Pacific gap bids fair to be a thing of the past by November 1. The route from Santa Barbara to the terminal above Gaviota is covered by an army of 2000 men. With that force the grading can all be done by September 1, ready for the viaducts, of which there are six in the seventeen miles between terminals, comprising the gap proper. These immense structures must wait till the grading is finished and rails laid, because the massive steel material is too heavy except to be handled on cars. Between Gaviota and the Alegria cañon terminal, about two miles, two viaducts must be put in. As everything is ready for their erection it will be possible to lay the rails to Gaviota by August 15th. By the time the Gaviota viaduct is completed the southern terminal will be at Arroyo Hondo, where the last spike will probably be driven in October, leaving only track ballasting to complete the long-talked-of Coast Line. This can be done in time to establish a running service early in November."

End of Transcription.

The Gap in 1898.
https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_000182/mode/1up

More specifically, the Gap refers to the uncompleted section of the Southern Pacific line joining Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. On the timetable map above, you can see the extent of The Gap in 1898 using the map scale.

The Gap was closed 30 December 1900 and the line was opened for operations on 31 March 1901.

On the 1906 map, below, you'll find Santa Barbara at the bottom of the map. The line follows the coast up to San Luis Obispo, where it continues inland.

Southern Pacific Coast Division circa 1906
screencaps from: https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_000600/mode/1up

END OF DIGRESSION ON THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC GAP

*  *  *

BACK TO SANTA SUSANA/CHATSWORTH TUNNELS

https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_000334/mode/1up

* 1901 *

Railroad press releases often went out on the wires and were convenient to fill in newspaper column-inches.

from: Lewistown [probably Illinois] Democrat; 30 May 1901. Google Newspapers.

*  *  *

The Oxnard Courier was published 1889-1994 and has been a valuable source of information on this project.

The charming Camarillo [9 miles to the east of Oxnard] column includes commercial and social news.

The railroad information in this column starts at the hi-lite marks.

from: Oxnard Courier; 22 June 1901. Google newspapers.

* 1902 *

from: Philadelphia Record; 17 June 1902. Google newspapers.

* 1903 *

A Salt Lake City Newspaper ...

The Railroad Page: A Wreck on the UP and check your railroad stocks!

The Santa Susana/Chatsworth Tunnel (#26) breaks through!

from: Deseret Evening News (Salt Lake City); 19 August 1903. Google newspapers.

The train seems to have been running from Los Angeles to Chatsworth, 

but I could find no location named 'Driver' ...

from: Lewiston [Maine] Daily Sun; 6 October 1903. Google newspapers.

* 1904 *

Tunnel Opening

from: The Daily Californian [Bakersfield] 19 March 1904. Google newspapers.

*  *  *

The Tunnels on a 1903 Topographic Map

... and Today

The Santa Susana Tunnel is #26, with the shorter #27 and #28 just to the east.

from: Topographical Map, Santa Susan Quadrangle, edition of 1903.
https://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/california/txu-pclmaps-topo-ca-santa_susana-1900.jpg

from: Google maps, circa 2026.

*  *  *

The Montalvo Cutoff 40 Years After Opening

Only twelve trains per day are scheduled on this timetable from the last few months of World War Two. The 80 miles of single-track Ventura Subdivision between Burbank Junction and East Santa Barbara are traffic-controlled by timetable and train orders. ABS signalling protects movements from collision. 

What the timetables do not show are freight extras carrying war materiel, and scheduled freights and passenger trains running in sections, and troop trains - also probably running in sections. 

Accounts of that period indicate that many veteran railroaders postponed their retirements ... and probably some came out of retirement. Experienced young railroaders were in demand - as the US military still considered that railroads were strategic to warfare on land.

These operations would have been something to see - particularly if we were watching over the dispatcher's shoulder.

screencaps from: Southern Pacific employee timetable 183, Los Angeles Division, 8 July 1945. archive.org
https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_001553/page/n1/mode/1up

screencaps from: Southern Pacific employee timetable 183, Los Angeles Division, 8 July 1945. archive.org
https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_001553/page/n2/mode/1up

screencaps from: Southern Pacific employee timetable 183, Los Angeles Division, 8 July 1945. archive.org
https://archive.org/details/cscrm_2021_02_001553/page/n19/mode/1up

*  *  *

Before the creation of Tunnels 26, 27, 28, Chatsworth station was the terminal for that branch.

This whole area was convenient for movie and TV producers from nearby Los Angeles to use.

With this YouTube link, you can see the second Chatsworth station with a rented train of SP equipment.

Hollywood Outtakes: the Ghost Train to the Empty Station

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