From 1902 until 1968, the Southern Pacific and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific combined to operate the Golden State Limited. Connecting Chicago with Los Angeles, this train’s route was, for the most part, crossing the continent at a lower altitude than the other routes, with the highest elevation being 6,600-feet (2,000 m) near Corona, New Mexico. This also resulted in the longest distance to travel between these two cities, with a distance of 2,340 miles. From Chicago, the train traveled on the Rock Island through Kansas City to Tucumcari, New Mexico, where it was handed off to the Southern Pacific. The SP from Tucumcari traveled through El Paso, Texas, and the westward through Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, to Los Angeles. Westbound, the train was numbered 3, with 4 being the number of the eastbound train. Which is a long setup to explain why Southern Pacific 4-8-4 4449 has the Number 4 in its train indicators as it passes the railroad's West Colton Yard on its way to the World’s Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 1941-built Lima locomotive, resplendent in its Daylight paint, will be treading the same route as the eastbound Golden State Limited from LA to El Paso for the first stretch. (Colton, California – May 15, 1984)
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
