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by px320
Posted: 13 years ago

Sorry to take so long in getting back, but I’ve been swamped getting ready for 2 charter trips and a TV commercial.

This is indeed Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation’s Century Ranch location in Malibu Canyon. The property was given to the State of California in 1976 and is now Malibu Creek State Park.

Short Line Enterprises purchased the Fox train collection in 1972. It included ex-Dardanelle & Russellville RR 4-4-0 #8, Cooke 1888. a Davenport Gas Mechanical locomotive, 17 freight and passenger cars and ½ mile of track and switches.

The photos show an ex-D&R combine, ex- D&R coach, a Rockdale Sandow & Southern baggage car, ex-V&T coach #17 and an ex-Tonopah & Tidewater caboose.

The two D&R cars are now part of the San Diego Railroad Museum collection in Campo, CA. The baggage car is owned by a private party. V&T coach #17, the T&T caboose, 4-4-0 #8 and the Gas Mechanical switcher are all part of the Nevada State Railroad Museum collection at Carson City, Nevada.

Coach #17 was purchased from the Central Pacific RR by the V&T in 1876 as a hotel (business) car. The car was turned out by the CPRR in Sacramento in August of 1868. It was part of a 2-car set – a hotel car and subsistence car – and is the car that carried Leland Stanford and party to Promontory, Utah for the Last Spike Ceremony in May of 1869.

The car was assigned to Charley Crocker and became known as “Charley Crocker’s Hotel Car.” By the time it was sold to the V&T the CPRR had built or purchased other cars that were far more luxurious and this car was no longer needed. It was modified to operate without the Subsistence Car (looked like a single door baggage car). V&T officials used it on rare occasion and it was converted to coach #17.

I have a book now being typeset by a publisher which will, among other things, give more information about this historic car.

Stan Garner