Thoroughly enjoyed this issue. Had a bit of a “deja vu” on page 48. The top photo shows the CZ at Oakland on June 13, 1968 preparing to load and depart for Chicago. I took that very same train on that date! It was the third leg of a Super Chief/SP/CZ trip. The SP portion LA - San Francisco was thrown in no charge. I did “splurge” on a parlor car seat for an additional $2.75. Windows were badly fogged. The usual tourist train stuff - Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Orange Empire Trolley Museum, others. Got off SP at San Jose, rented a car to Roaring Camp and Big Trees. San Francisco for cable cars. Drove north thru Napa Valley to Ft. Bragg for the Skunk. South from there on the coast highway (No.1) to S.F.
My Ektachrome of the front end shows the number board (805-D) is upside down and only one car behind the engines. Dave Ingles photo shows that it was corrected, and a string of cars behind. I’m guessing Ingles also took that train. My next slide is looking along the train forward, porters standing next to the foot steps and the doors, same baggage cart in the distance. Haven’t looked at these slides in years.
Many great memories!
During September 1970 I did a similar “circle tour:” Chicago - ATSF #1 - Richmond / San Francisco - SP #98 - Los Angeles - ATSF #18 (Super Chief) - Chicago. A few days before I left “Baghdad-By-The-Bay,” I payed a visit to the ticket office at 4th & Townsend. There, in line with Southern Pacific’s policy towards passenger trains, I had to fight with the agent over securing a parlor car seat, San Francisco to Los Angeles.
First he told me there were no parlor cars available. I told him otherwise. Next he told me, “Well, I don’t know if we will have a parlor car available on the day you plan to depart.”
“I don’t care,” I shot back, “if I have to ride coach on a first class parlor car ticket. I want to buy a parlor car ticket!”
Regrettably he sold me one.
On the day of departure, there it was: a shiny clean, Southern Pacific parlor car bringing up the markers. As I recall, I was the only passenger who covered the entire route, but there were maybe five others who completed segments of the journey. If the Railroad’s charming chairman, Mr. Donald Joseph Russell, ever found out that no. 98 ran with a parlor car that day, I bet he would have gone apoplectic!