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Some Questions About SP Passenger Service In The San Joaquin Valley
Author: Holly Gibson
Date: 12-13-2009 - 00:19
With all the talk about High Speed Rail and routings through Pacheco Pass, Altamont, etc., I began to ponder the following:
From Tracy to Oakland, why were more SP passenger trains routed via Martinez rather than over Altamont Pass? For example, wouldn't the OWL and SAN JOAQUIN DAYLIGHT have been able to operate on a faster schedule if they were routed via Altamont? The OWL probably would have since its routing via Los Banos already shaved off a few miles, compared to the SAN JOAQUIN DAYLIGHT's routing via Modesto.
I have a July 1956 Official Railway Guide, and the Altamont Pass line was already freight-only by then. When did the line lose its last passenger train? What train was it?
Was the mindset not so much on running a fast schedule but more of, "let's run the trains via Martinez so they can connect there with Overland and Shasta Route trains."
From Tracy to Oakland, why were more SP passenger trains routed via Martinez rather than over Altamont Pass? For example, wouldn't the OWL and SAN JOAQUIN DAYLIGHT have been able to operate on a faster schedule if they were routed via Altamont? The OWL probably would have since its routing via Los Banos already shaved off a few miles, compared to the SAN JOAQUIN DAYLIGHT's routing via Modesto.
I have a July 1956 Official Railway Guide, and the Altamont Pass line was already freight-only by then. When did the line lose its last passenger train? What train was it?
Was the mindset not so much on running a fast schedule but more of, "let's run the trains via Martinez so they can connect there with Overland and Shasta Route trains."
Some Questions About SP Passenger Service In The San Joaquin Valley