" Mack and the Boys" would like to know what RR deserved the area of Monterey and the downtown cannery row in the 40’s 50’s 60’s.
Was there other industries worth modeling in the area ?
Chris.
Southern Pacific
http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/trans/trans.shtml
http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/work/edoview.shtml
There were SP tracks, I believe, from the Salinas Valley Line out to Fort Ord and down along Del Monte Ave in Monterey where the walking/bike trail is now.
It was the Southern Pacific and Cannery Row was about a mile or so west of downtown Monterey. The railroad actually ran to Pacific Grove, but was cut back to Monterey before the branch was abandoned. I forget the year.
The Monterey branch left the main line at Castroville (about 5-6 miles north of Salinas). Just outside the town of Marina, there was (actually still is although not now served by rail) a sand loading facility. Fort Ord, which is located between Marina and Monterey was also served by rail and there was some fairly extensive trackage within the facility. Fort Ord could be considered an “industry” and would have even seen sizeable troop trains on occasion at least into the 60’s as well as freight delivery.
The sardine canneries in what was called "New Monterey were located on both sides of the line and provided substantial seasonal traffic to the SP. However, around 1950 or so, the sardine catch went into a rapid decline and the traffic dried up, ending sometime around 1960 or so, IIRC.
The Monterey Branch was distinguished by being host to a named passenger train, the “Del Monte” right up until the formation of Amtrak. Diesel power on the “Del Monte” was always a boiler equipped GP-9 or two (usually with dual controls so they could be run either long or short hood leading). In the latter steam days (up until 1955), the “Del Monte” was pulled by one of SP’s remaining three P-6 class 4-6-2’s 2453, 2454 or 2458. The others were transferred to the T&NO in Texas and streamlined for use on Dallas - Houston trains “Hustler” and “Sunbeam”.
Until cut back to Monterey (in the 60’s I believe), the “Del Monte” terminated in Pacific Grove. PG, as it’s called, had a 75’
Southern Pacific’s “Western Region Timetable 3”, effective October 29, 1989 lists the branch going as far as Seaside. I would guess the rest was abandoned when Ford Ord closed.
I cannot confirm that these photopgrahs were taken where it is said they were taken.
http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/spcars/byclass/hopper/h070-03a.htm
http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/spcars/byclass/hopper/h070-06.htm
http://www.railgoat.railfan.net/spcars/byclass/hopper/h070-14.htm
That sounds about right. The track is still in place as far as Seaside.
Andre
Thank you very much, I have another question: do you know if the tracks ran in the streets near cannery row or behind the canneries between Wave street and Cannery row?
Chris.
There was no street running. The line ran between Wave St. and Cannery Row. IIRC, however, there were canneries (or at least annexes) along Wave as well as Cannery Row and the line ran between them. Incidentally, the street nearest the ocean was called Ocean View until renamed in 1958. Beyond Cannery Row, it still retains the Ocean View name.
BTW, there’s an outfit that can probably provide you with photos of the railroad as it relates to Cannery Row. http://www.caviews.com/.
Here’s a link to an aerial view of the station at Pacific Grove taken from a tethered baloon in 1906: http://www.caviews.com/Aerial.html
Andre
Andre,
Thank you for the usefull infos. I suppose you could find boxcars, reefers and tankcars parked on the cannery sidings?
Chris.
I seriously doubt there would be any reefers on the cannery sidings since canned goods don’t need any refrigeration. Most of the traffic at the canneries would have been boxcars. I believe the boilers in the canneries were oil fired, so there probably would have been some tank car traffic.
More useful info: http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/san_jose/long_haul/del/monte.html
http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/san_jose/long_haul/del/monte4.html
http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/san_jose/long_haul/del/monte3.html
Andre.
Andre,
I mentioned reefers because I assumed a fishing industry would have some produce to send fresh or frozen in them. Tankcars to cary fishmeal or fertilizer made with fish residue?
Chris
AFAIK, the major catch up until the late 40’s was sardines. But given the thousands of tons of sardines caught, you may have a point (at least with guts of the fish being cleaned out of them and maybe rendered into fertilizer).
The more I think about it, the more I am seriously consdering building a layout based on the Monterey Branch. Living within walking distance of the Monterey Public Library makes research a bit easier. I made an initial reconnaissance foray this afternoon and was shown Sanborn maps of the area (trackage, building locations, streets, etc.) from 1926. That really makes layout planning a lot easier. I’ll have to go to Pacific Grove for their Sanborn maps to see what it looked like in a time reasonably close to the era I want to model (late 1940’s).
I’ll be glad to post information here as I find it. For instance, I found out that the Pacific Grove station was closed in 1957, the Monterey station was modified during WWII to its present configuration and that the sand mining operation in Del Monte Forest (near Asilomar) was discontinued in 1973.
Oh, incidentally, while I was looking over the available information, I found a couple of articles on the movement of Pickering Lumber Company’s Heisler #1 from its location on Cannery Row to the facilities of the Pacific Locomotive Association. I’m a member of PLA and was one of the crew that got #1 loaded onto a lowboy. Here’s a link to a picture of the engine: http://www.ncry.org/roster/s_01/plc1.shtml
Andre
Andre,
I can’t believe I will be able to fit my Rivarossi Heisler on my layout and right on the Monterey-Cannery Row module! It is lettered for the CoosBay lumber co.
but can always be relettered !
Chris
Yeah, but only if you’re modeling the line between 1965 and 1985. *** O’Kane, who owned the Heisler, was going to run it as a tourist operation. There was an article in the July 27, 1965 Monterey Peninsula Herald. In 1985, when it became obvious that it just wasn’t going to happen, O’Kane donated the loco to the Pacific Locomotive Assn.
Are you modeling Monterey?
Andre
Andre,
In one corner of my layout,I am modeling a harbor with a wharf, canneries and a street with Western Biological Lab., La Ida café, the Bear Flag ( house of ill repute…) Lee Chong’s grocery store and of course the Palace Flophouse where “Mack and the boys” will be sitting outside catching the late afternoon sun. I got a few maps of Monterey on the internet. I plan to have a tugboat tied up to the wharf. I am a fan of John Steinbeck as you can see! I have never been in Monterey but spent a few weeks in SanFrancisco, Big Sur, Yosemite… I model the WP in an un-prototypical way…I know the WP never had a track in Monterey…But Cannery Row is a mythical place to me, so…Now if I could find pictures of those places I mentioned here, that would help me model them. I model the late 50’s, so the Heisler will work on a mine siding on the other end of the layout. I would like to go in California next summer. I will be in Orlando in March and will ride Walt Disney’s steam train with my 5 year old engineer Thomas!
Chris
Andre,
I have an historical map of Monterey showing the Palace flophouse on the corner of Irving st. and Wave st. I have another map showing it at Hoffman and Lighthouse ave. Wich is right? Same thing for the La Ida bar: one map says it was near Irving and the other map places it on the corner of David st.???
Chris
I don’t know if this will help, but check it out. http://www.thehistorycompany.com/Research/Neighborhood/neighborhood.html
and this: http://www.thehistorycompany.com/Research/Neighborhood/Core_close.html
And this: http://www.thehistorycompany.com/albums/Wing_Chong_Market/wing_chong_intro.html
Andre
Andre,
This is a wonderfull web site on the Row. I thank you so much! It is invaluable information to me. Thanks.
Christian
This might also help: http://www.monterey.org/museum/canneryrow/trains.html
At the bottom of this page http://www.monterey.org/museum/canneryrow/index.html is a map of Cannery Row as it appears today. The area marked “recreation trail” is where the rail line used to be.
Andre