Hello Everyone: I thought I would post some pictures taken at Travel town over the years. Whenever I get a chance to go into L.A. I always try to make an effort to visit here. 1. Stockton, Terminal & Eastern Railway was one of the locomotives being considered for a restoration to running condition recently. This photo dates back to about 1959. 2. Union Pacific Steam switcher No. 4439 had the honor of being the absolutely final steam locomotive ever to operate in the Los Angeles Area. It ran a farewell excursion over the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad as this line was now becoming part of the UP system back then. 3. Pacific Electric No. 1544 was originally built for the Northwestern Pacific and was given the name ELECTRA. She was used in freight service for a few years but she had a habit of drawing too much power so most of her runs were made at night. In 1906 the engine helped out after the San Francisco earthquake by hauling out scrap and rubble. Shortly after she was sold to the Pacific Electric where she was used in freight service, as well as hauling dirt trains during the construction of the subway. Her final assignment was as the shop switcher at the Torrance shops and she was then donated to Travel Town by the PE. 4. Santa Fe M-177 was a self propelled rail car commonly called a doodlebug. It hauled passengers and mail and express shipments from Los Angeles to San Bernardino and stopping at nearly every single station in between. A few years ago she was restored to operating condition but has not been run much these days. 5. Southern Pacific locomotive (seen here after Travel town got a make over in 1965 -66) was the very first locomotive in Travel town. I had been at the SP Taylor yard complex to be cut up for scrap but when the SP learned about Travel town needing donations the locomotive was steam cleaned and polished up and given a fresh coat of paint and then came on a flat bed to its new home. 6.Oahu Sugar Company No. 5 was donated along with a bigger locomotive (no.85) which was in running condition. The plan was to restore no. 5 to operating condition to serve as a back up loco when the no 85 needed repair. The money made available for the project was spent elsewhere and the no. 5 is now a static display. 7. This is former Pacific Electric no.1543. It was the only big red car to be painted in the two tone green colors of the Metropolitan Transit Authority back in 1959. In 1961 this car made its final run and was donated to Travel town. What they have done to this car today is hideous. One side of it is painted in PE red, while the other side retains the original MTA colors. 8. Wooden car no. 1498 is a combination baggage, express, mail and passenger car. It was donated by PE to Travel town where it was used as an office for a few years. Several years ago the car was donated by Travel town to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris. They had planned to restore the car but never got around to doing so. A wind whipped brush fire burned onto the museum grounds and this car was literally reduced to ashes. As a result of this tragedy the O.E.R. M> now has installed fire hydrants all around the grounds. Enjoy.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 12:04:45 +0000
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