SP Cascade (11 October 1950)SP Cascade (11 October 1950)
This page depicts the typical consist of Southern Pacific's Trains 11/12,
the Cascade,
after the addition of two chair cars to the
original all-Pullman lightweight consist.
It is based on information from an article by
Jim Lancaster
(see bibliography below).
SP's Cascade provided overnight
service from Oakland to Portland on Train 12 (railroad eastbound),
with through sleepers to Seattle on Northern Pacific's Train 407.
SP Train 11 was the southbound version (railroad westbound),
with Seattle sleepers carried to Portland on NP's Train 408.
(The Coach Yard
is producing a
model of the 1950 Cascade,
with and without chair cars.)
Overview
Consist
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Alco PA-1/2 ABA set.
Shortly after the streamlined Cascade debuted,
Alco shipped the Southern Pacific's first PA-2s,
a pair of ABA sets in class DP-8
numbered SP 6019-6022 (PA-2s) and SP 5918-5919 (PB-2s).
While equipped with improved 244 engines and electrical equipment,
their external appearance matched the six PA-1 sets which they
had joined at West Oakland by the time the
Cascade's chair cars were added.
|
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SP 6088 or 6092 (70-B-8), mail storage (baggage) car. These two cars were built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding of San Francisco in 1927 as part of a group of ten Harriman star baggage cars (SP 6083-6092) and were streamstyled in 1941. | |
 |
SP 6600-6602 (83-B-1), baggage car. Delivered by Pullman-Standard in June 1949 (lot 6805, plan 7568A), these cars had a 30-foot RPO section but were lacking the necessary postal equipment and thus were classified as simple baggage cars. One by one, this equipment was added and the cars were redesignated baggage-postal cars (83-BP-30-1), acquiring new numbers in the process: 6602 became 5011 in 1950, 6601 became 5012 in 1953, and finally 6602 became 5013 in 1962. | |
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SP 2425, 2431, 2433, or 2437 (77-C-3), two 44-seat chair cars. All four of these cars were built by Pullman-Standard in 1937 (lot 6515, plan 7376A) as 48-seat chair cars and painted dark green, SP 2425 for the Challenger and the other three for the Californian. Ten years later, in 1947, SP 2431 and 2437 were reassigned to the Golden State Limited and named Golden Load and Golden Ore, respectively. In 1949, all four cars were modified with 44 leg-rest seats, then in 1950 they were repainted in two-tone gray prior to their assignment to the Cascade. | |
 |
SP 9300-9304, 22 roomette sleeper, built by Pullman-Standard in 1950 (lot 6872, plan 4122B). Five cars in this group provided equipment for both an Oakland-Portland car (this one) and Oakland-Seattle car in each train. | |
 |
SP 9400-9401, 12 double bedroom sleeper, built by Pullman-Standard in 1950 (lot 6873, plan 4139A). Oakland-Portland. | |
 |
SP 10280-10282 or 10283-10285, Cascade Club triple-unit kitchen/dormitory - dining room - bar lounge car, built by Pullman-Standard in 1949 (lot 6816, plans 7576, 7577, and 7578, respectively). These remarkable cars, featuring 110 feet of unobstructed space which provided flexible use as dining or lounge space as required to meet passenger demand, were delivered in August 1949 at the end of Shasta Daylight equipment and immediately entered service on the heavyweight Cascade, providing a tantalizing taste of the full streamlined, lightweight train that would debut a year later. They also had the distinction of being the last articulated passenger cars ordered by the Southern Pacific. (SP 10280-10282 have been preserved.) | |
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SP 9030-9035, 10 roomette, 6 double bedroom (10-6) sleeper, built by Pullman-Standard in 1950 (lot 6874, plan 4140C). Oakland-Portland. | |
Seattle Portland  Oakland |
 |
SP 9118-9120, 4 double bedroom, 4 compartment, 2 drawing room (4-2-2) sleeper, built by Pullman-Standard in 1950 (lot 6871, plan 4069M). This car provided the most desireable accomodations on the Cascade, Oakland-Seattle. |
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SP 9030-9035, 10 roomette, 6 double bedroom (10-6) sleeper, built by Pullman-Standard in 1950 (lot 6874, plan 4140C). Oakland-Seattle. | |
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SP 9030-9035 or NP 364-365, 10 roomette, 6 double bedroom (10-6) sleeper, built by Pullman-Standard in 1950 (lot 6874, plan 4140C). Operating four 10-6 sleepers in each train, two Oakland-Portland and another two Oakland-Seattle, required ten cars. Southern Pacific purchased eight, including two with blunt ends for end-of-train use, while Northern Pacific filled out the pool with two cars in full Cascade colors including the Cascade logo. Common on other roads, these were NP's only 10-6 sleepers. In later years, at least, it appears they usually operated in this position. Oakland-Seattle. | |
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SP 9300-9304, 22 roomette sleeper, built by Pullman-Standard in 1950 (lot 6872, plan 4122B). Oakland-Seattle. | |
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SP 9053-9054, 10 roomette, 6 double bedroom (10-6) sleeper, built by Pullman-Standard in 1950 (lot 6874, plan 4140D). These cars had a blunt end, slightly rounded with no diaphragm, wraparound paint, a package of lights, and drumhead for use on the end of the train in lieu of a true observation car. Their floor plan was the same as the other three 10-6 sleepers in the train. SP 9053 consistently operated with Cascade Club set SP 10280-10282 while SP 9054 operated with SP 10283-10285. Oakland-Portland. (SP 9053 has been preserved.) | |
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