my ESPEE MODELERS ARCHIVE

California's Railroad to the U.S. 1861 - 1996

Southern Pacific Passenger Train Paint Schemes

Additions welcome. Other List Subjects also solicited.

This information has been compiled from postings to the SP Mailing list.

Southern Pacific Passenger Car Paint Schemes: 1937-1971 - Jim Lancaster

The Southern Pacific had several paint schemes for passenger cars.

1. Prior to 1937 all SP passenger cars were heavyweight cars and almost all were painted dark olive green (similar to Pullman Green). Some cars retained this color into the early 1960s.

2. In 1937 the lightweight, streamlined Daylight went into service between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The cars were red and orange with a black roof. This became known as the Daylight color scheme and lasted officially until 1958 but in fact until about 1965-66. In the same time frame the joint SP-UP-C&NW streamliner City of San Francisco began running on the SP Overland Route painted in the UP yellow and leaf brown. A few Daylight-style chair cars painted dark green also went into service on the Overland and Golden State Routes.

3. In 1941 the lightweight, streamlined Lark went into service between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The cars were two-tone gray with a black roof. In the late 1940s to mid-1950s many heavyweight cars were repainted in these colors. This color scheme lasted until about 1970. The last cars in two-tone gray were probably official cars.

4. In 1947 the City of San Francisco went to daily service and additional cars were needed. SP provided a number of cars painted in UP yellow and gray with red striping (the gray had replaced the leaf brown in 1941). More cars came in this color scheme in 1949-50. It lasted until May 1971 when Amtrak took over operation of all passenger trains in the US.

5. In 1947 the SP and Rock Island streamlined the joint Golden State Limited. The paint scheme was Daylight red for the upper sides and roof and silver or stainless steel for the lower sides. This was known as the Golden State scheme and lasted until about 1953.

6. In 1950 the streamlined Sunset Limited went into service between Los Angeles and New Orleans. The cars were stainless steel with a red letterboard. This was known as the Sunset color scheme. It lasted until 1958. When the Golden State cars lost their Golden State color scheme beginning around 1953 they were gradually repainted in the Sunset scheme.

7. In 1958 the SP adopted a simplified Sunset color scheme as their standard for all passenger cars with the following exceptions:
   1. cars for the City of San Francisco remained yellow and gray, and
   2. all lightweight and heavyweight headend cars (baggage, mail, etc. except the Sunset Limited mail-baggage cars) and commute coaches were painted solid Lark dark gray (like the locomotives).

You can find photos with examples of all of these color schemes in the SP section of my Trains Page on the web at: Jim Lancaster's Train Page

In 1950 the most common assignments were:

1. Daylight cars - Coast Daylight, Starlight (except for headend), San Joaquin/Sacramento Daylight, Shasta Daylight, Sunbeam/Hustler
2. Two-tone Gray cars - Lark, Cascade, Overland, Starlight (headend)
3. Red/Stainless Steel cars - Sunset Limited
4. Red/Silver cars - Golden State Limited
5. Yellow/Gray cars - City of SF
6. Pullman Green cars - Secondary trains

Around 1953 the Golden State Limited lost it's Red/Silver scheme in favor of the Sunset Red/(Simulated) Stainless Steel (SSS) scheme. At about the same time the Overland cars started to get the Yellow/Gray scheme since UP had abandoned the two-tone gray in favor of yellow/gray in 1952.

Sometime in the mid-1950s (1955-56?) SP began to assign cars as needed. Examples: Daylight painted chair cars on the Cascade; Sunset sleepers on the Lark, etc.

In only a couple of years the mix got to where a single scheme was needed. In 1958 the Red/Stainless Steel "Sunset Limited" scheme was adopted as the standard for non-headend cars and solid dark gray for headend cars. The exceptions were the cars assigned to the City of SF which remained Yellow/Gray. Even then the City cars wandered onto the Cascade at times and red/silver cars ended up on the City, and so forth.

Additions:

SP Dark Olive Green is different to Pullman Green.

Considered opinion is, that the best match for SP Dark Olive is: Accuflex 16-65 (GN Empire Builder Green).

Heavyweight Daylight Painted Passenger Cars - Bob Pecotich

Further to the earlier threads asking what SP heavyweight cars were painted in Daylight colors, I have come up with a more complete list and data:

Baggage/Postal 70 foot (40 foot baggage/30 foot RPO) Harriman arch roof:
TNO 141, 148 - Pullman-built 1916

Club Lounge 75 foot Harriman arch roof:
2920, 2929 - ACF-built 1924-1923 in baggage club series 3211-3228
and rebuilt at Sacramento in 1937, painted Daylight 1947
2980 - Pullman-built 1913-14 in baggage club series 3229-3232
rebuilt by Sacramento 1940, painted Daylight 1947

Baggage/coach 60 foot Harriman arch roof:
3176 - Rider coach for the San Joaquin Daylight Lathrop-Tracy midday layover move.
3176 does not appear in the 1933 Pacific lines diagrams but does appear in a January 1, 1952 equipment roster.
Painted Daylight 1941.

Storage Mail 80 foot (20 foot baggage/60 foot RPO) monitor roof:
4301 - St Louis Car-built 1937. Originally 7242 of 7240-7249 series,
part of the 4300-4302 series on the 1/1/1952 roster. By the 5/6/1959
SP car assignment list (59CA), listed as an 80 foot baggage, repainted
simulated stainless steel and assigned to the Golden State.

Baggage-Postal 70 foot (40 foot baggage/30 foot RPO) Harriman arch roof:
5069-5070 Pullman-built 1927 in series 5065-5070. Painted Daylight Sacramento 1941.
By 59CA, 5069 was painted simulated stainless steel, with both cars assigned to Trains 39-40.

Baggage-Postal 70 foot (40 foot baggage/30 foot RPO) Harriman arch roof:
5124 - Standard Steel Car-built 1925 in series 5123-5128.
Painted Daylight 1942.

Baggage-Postal 80 foot (20 foot baggage/60 foot RPO) monitor roof:
5217-5219 - St Louis Car-built 1937. Originally 7247, 7248 and 7240 of 7240-7249 series.
By 59CA, all painted Daylight with 5217-8 assigned to SJ Daylight and 5219 assigned to Trains 57-58.

Baggage 60 foot Harriman arch roof:
6029 - Pullman-built 1909 for O&C 6025-6034 series.
Painted Daylight 1941 for the San Joaquin.

Baggage 70 foot Harriman arch roof: 6083, 6085, 6091, 6092 - Bethlehem Shipbuilding-built 1927 for series 6083-6092.
By 59CA, car/color/train assignments were:
6083/gray/11-12,
6085/Daylight/51/20-19/58,
6091/gray/11-12,
6092/Daylight/9-10.

Baggage 70 foot Harriman arch roof:
6204 - Pullman-built 1912 for series CP 6203-12.
Painted for the San Joaquin in 1941.

Baggage 70 foot Harriman arch roof:
6448 - Standard Steel Car-built 1928 in series 6444-6453.
Painted Daylight 1946. By 59CA, color was still Daylight and train assignment was 51/20-19/58.

Baggage-Postal 80 foot (20 foot baggage/60 foot RPO) monitor roof:
6506-6507 - St Louis Car-built 1937. Originally 7229, 7230. Painted
Daylight 1950. By 59CA, still painted Daylight and assigned to Trains 51-52.

Diner 77 foot monitor roof:
10038, 10040 - Pullman-built 1926. Painted Daylight 1946.

Diner 77 foot Harriman arch roof:
10115, 10117 - Pullman-built 1926 as part of series CP10108-10117.
Painted Daylight 1946.

Diner 77 foot monitor roof:
10148 - Pullman-built 1926 as part of series CP10148-10157.
Painted Daylight 1946.

Diner 77 foot Harriman arch roof, rebuilt from 72' 6" observation by SP Sacramento in 1921, becoming 10096:
10503 - Converted to Hamburger/Grill by SP Sacramto 1952,
probably painted Daylight when converted. Doesn't appear on 59CA.

Diner 77 foot Harriman arch roof, 10098:
10505 - Converted to Hamburger/Grill by SP Sacramento 1952,
probably painted Daylight when converted. Doesn't appear on 59CA.

For information on SP model paint suggestions and formulas: see Rick Blanchard's - Southern Pacific Color Formulas

For information on Golden State consists and other Rock Island information, see the Rock Island Technical Society's equipment page.