Hundreds turned out to see classic steam engine visit San Luis Obispo
Chuffing, hissing and moaning, steam engines are like mythic creatures — dragonlike spectacles that draw a crowd wherever they go.
But in October 1956, the era of daily steam engines was ending in San Luis Obispo.
Southern Pacific was 90 percent dieselized, and on Oct. 3, 1956, the company announced that 45 employees had been dropped from the payroll.
Steam required many more hours of maintenance and a reliable supply of clean water to fill the boilers.
And as nostalgic as they may be, rail shareholders don’t subsidize poetry, even though a steamy romance continues with songwriters and filmmakers.
The nation had been connected by steel rails and steam just a few years before the centennial in 1886, with more rails being put down each day.
One hundred years later, in the mid-1970s, the American Freedom Train helped celebrate the bicentennial.
According to a story written by Larry Wines, commodities broker and rail fan Ross Rowland decided to celebrate by putting a steam train back on the tracks for what was billed as the only nationwide celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The train featured a mobile display of Americana, including Judy Garland’s dress from “The Wizard of Oz,” Joe Frazier’s boxing trunks, a moon rock, George Washington’s copy of the Constitution and the original Louisiana Purchase.
According to one website, more than 7 million visitors saw the display before the tour ended in Birmingham, Alabama.
The former #4449 Southern Pacific Daylight locomotive was one of two steam engines that pulled the display, and it still goes on excursions today. It is at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland.
It is the last of the classic streamlined art deco steam engines still in operation.
The Central Coast Railroad Festival is this weekend. Check the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum website for details.
Kay Ready wrote this story April 27, 1977, as the steam engine was headed from Alabama to Portland.
Steaming through San Luis
Hundreds of train enthusiasts lined the tracks at San Luis Obispo’s railroad depot Tuesday for the arrival of the celebrated Freedom Train steam locomotive.
Hundreds had joined the vigilant watch by the time the train whistled its way into the station at 6:05 p.m. — nearly two hours behind schedule.
The delay failed to dampen spirits, however. The diligent train fans converged on the locomotive and its 18-car train for a close look. Cameras clicked crazily and excited toddlers bounced up and down on their parents’ patient shoulders.
The train’s 600 passengers — many of whom had been on board since the cross-country journey began in Birmingham, Ala. — had to do battle with the crowds to deboard for overnight accommodations in San Luis Obispo. Some boarded waiting buses while others left in private cars that jammed nearly every available inch of depot parking lots and spilled over onto nearby streets.
The Southern Pacific locomotive was the same engine that powered the 1976 Freedom Train across country. The foundation that operated the Freedom Train ran out of steam (and money) in Birmingham. And, to get the locomotive back to its owners in Portland, Ore., Amtrak used it to draw passengers to its regular routes.
The locomotive, train and passengers continued their journey northward at 8:05 a.m. today.
