California has always loomed large in the American consciousness as a place where dreams come true. In the 19th century, down-on-their-luck miners turned their sights west on the aptly named Golden State in hopes of striking it rich. In the 20th century, at the depths of the Great Depression, desperate dirt farmers — exemplified most memorably by the Joads in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath — set out on Route 66, heading west in search of a better life in the land of plenty. And even today, in the 21st century, starry-eyed creatives still lust for L.A. in hopes of making it big.
With such a storied reputation, it only makes sense that the state has a train — and a locomotive — to match its grandeur. There are, of course, many candidates for that distinction (Santa Fe Warbonnets, anyone?). But when it comes right down to it, there’s only one true answer: Southern Pacific’s famed Daylight passenger train and the GS-class 4-8-4s built to lead it.
For decades, the SP’s Coast Line between San Francisco and Los Angeles was the railroad’s premier passenger route, connecting the state’s two largest cities. As such, the railroad invested heavily in its passenger service, always assigning its newest, most powerful, and fastest locomotives to the route. In the early 20th century, that meant high-drivered 4-6-2 Pacifics, followed by powerful 4-8-2 Mountain types (long a favorite of SP enginemen), and finally GS-1 4-8-4 Northern types.
The Great Depression put a dent in Espee’s passenger counts, and the initial reaction was to cut back. But railroad president Angus D. McDonald had other ideas. In his mind, it was the SP’s duty to help the nation pull itself out of its economic rut. So, instead of folding, he went all in. The result was the Daylight. The new train featured streamlined Pullman cars exhibiting the very best in comfort available for the day. To lead the train, SP began looking for a powerful and fast locomotive. While other railroads were toying with diesel at the time, McDonald ordered the road to stay the course with tried-and-true steam. The railroad ordered six 4-8-4s from Lima Locomotive Works. While mechanically, the new GS-2 locomotives (GS standing for “Golden State”) were inspired by the GS-1s built in 1930, externally, they looked unlike anything else on rails. The new engines were streamlined with metal shrouding covering up the most unsightly workings of the locomotive, but not so much that a viewer wouldn’t mistake it for a massive, overturned bathtub (a style of streamlining that other railroads adopted with mixed results). But the most memorable trait was the paint scheme: a vibrant red-and-orange livery that shined as bright as the Hollywood spotlights.
ABOVE: Southern Pacific GS-4 4449 on an excursion at Redding, Calif., in 1984. —John F. Bjorklund photo, CRP&A Collection
The train debuted on March 21, 1937, and thanks to its nine-hour and 45-minute schedule, it immediately moved San Francisco and Los Angeles closer together by an hour and 15 minutes. The railroad’s marketing men wasted little time promoting the train, placing ads in newspapers across the country and declaring the Daylight “the most beautiful train in the West.” Soon, they got even bolder and anointed it the most beautiful in the world.
The SP would expand Daylight service and eventually roster 60 GS-class locomotives. While SP’s 4-6-2s, 4-8-2s, and the innovative 4-8-8-2 “Cab Forwards” were well-known among railroad enthusiasts, none ever garnered mainstream notoriety quite like the 4-8-4s. With the possible exception of the Union Pacific “Big Boy,” the Daylight Northerns could be the closest thing this continent has to the Flying Scotsman.
While President McDonald initially rejected combustion engine power for his premiere train, the 4-8-4s were eventually displaced by diesels. The locomotives spent their final years in freight and commuter service. Of the 60 GS-class engines the SP bought, only two survived into the preservation era: GS-4 4449 in Portland, Ore., and GS-6 4460 at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis.
Locomotive 4449 would become the most famous member of her class. In 1975, she was removed from Portland’s Oaks Park and restored to lead the American Freedom Train. Since then, the nonprofit Friends of SP 4449 has maintained and operated her. The engine is currently on display at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland but occasionally still runs on the main line. When she does, she always draws a crowd. “She turns heads,” says Friends of SP 4449 President Pat Tracy. “She always has.”
Considering the Daylight’s storied pedigree, it’s no wonder why modelers like Pete Hall have been inspired to recreate the era when “the most beautiful train in the world” roamed the California coast.
—Justin Franz
