The Daily Commuter

Ever been a train commuter? Can you remember what was it like before automatic sliding doors, air conditioning, PA announcements, and passengers tuned to their  electronic gizmos?

I experienced the life of a daily commuter during the summers of my youth, and later, when trains took me to my local JC. My memory is full of small moments that made lasting impressions. If you're interested in commuter trains, stay tuned for a Wheels of Time announcement, coming soon.

In the meantime, to satisfy your inner old-school railroading habit, I'll share some of my memories, some of the daily rituals I had on SP's commute trains before Caltrain, before the internet, and all the gizmos we use to block out the world.

Inside SP's suburban coach. Newspaper from my collection.What was it like? ... I remember reading the Chronicle in the morning, and the Examiner in the evening; flipping the 'walkover seat' to face backwards to have a friendly chat with a fellow passenger; playing a hand of poker on the wooden board located at each end of the commute car - provided by "your friendly SP."
(Need to catch up on your sleep? No problem. The conductor would rattle your seat with his ticket puncher to wake you in time for your stop.)

Eastbound (by timetable) evening SP commute train stopping at San Bruno in March 1983. Notice the red marker light on the suburban coach ("subs" were class 72-IC-1, 2, 3)
I remember the smooth but gentle swaying of the coach with the ever-familiar click-clack on the jointed rails. It was pretty easy to guess the speed of the train by the timing of the click-clack.

I remember the conductor singing out each stop ... "BROAD-way,  broad-WAY", and hearing the release of air brakes and the slamming of the vestibule trap doors, and the scurrying of passengers with their briefcases and Chronicles.

I remember the conductor's wave of the hand to the engineer that all were onboard. Vestibule trap doors closed and trap doors on the other side (where the platforms will be located at the next station-stop) are opened.

My first Cal-Trans Southern Pacific monthly pass, pre-Caltrain era

The conductor and the brakemen collect our money, punch our tickets, and wedge a zone stub into the clip on the seat, actions repeated a thousand times a day.

As the train makes its way through the many tunnels in San Francisco, passengers instinctively close their windows. The final stop is called: Fourth and Townsend. The train eases it way through the maze of track work before you reach the depot. The brakeman opens the trap doors and vestibule doors, and gets a head start on ratcheting the car's hand brake. The train squeals to a stop and everybody rushes off. Out of the sea of humanity, a commuter waves good morning, reaches up and gives his Chronicle to the engineer. As the sun sets, the tide of humanity is reversed and the rhythm is played over again.

Train Action around Stockton

I like trains. It's my hope that this passion is reflected in the work I do at Wheels of Time, and especially in our commitment to authenticity. Authenticity in train modeling comes from a connection to the past. I've had a lot of opportunities to explore sites that are no more: It's sad to see beatiful and interesting sites disappear, but the memories serve to keep my love of trains alive. Here are photos that I took in Stockton, California on July 19, 1997 -- a fascinating site where the former Santa Fe Railway, Southern Pacific Railroad, and Western Pacific Railroad converged. The context: in July, 1997, the Santa Fe Railway had merged with Burlington Northern seven months prior; Western Pacific had already disappeared under a sea of UP yellow and Southern Pacific was headed that way too. Fast forward 13 years: warbonnet Santa Fe diesels, BN green livery, SP scarlet, red and gray are all now just snap-shots of history. Central California Traction survives, in contrast to expectations in 1997, but much has changed. The venerable interlocking tower is gone.

What period in history do you model? Return with me to the busy and varied action back in July 19, 1997. Maybe your next layout could model this interesting crossroads of history?

Surprised: Westbound BN geep running abnormally long hood-forward with a string of pigs bound for Richmond. Maybe the lead engine went dead and was set-out.Horns blowing, southbound Amtrak San Joaquin announces it’s arrival.Minutes later another westward BNSF piggy-back train lead by Santa Fe’s Warbonnet GE C40-8W heads across UP's ex-Western Pacific diamondInterlocking tower provides traffic control on BNSF’s Stockton Subdivision and UP lines; here Southern Pacific engines head up a northbound UP freightCentral California Traction, originally conceived in 1905 as a streetcar system providing the people of Stockton mobility (hence “traction” in the name). At one time, 600-volt “juice jacks” provided locomotion for it’s trainsEMD GP7 No. 60 at the CCT shops, remembering the better days as Reading Railroad No. 607CCT No. 1795, an ex-Rock Island GP18, slumbering

More of Robert Diepenbrock's Harriman Headend Cars

As is plainly visible from these pictures, Robert is a master at model building. We've featured his kitbashing before, and I am always impressed.  Here's more of his work drawing from Wheels of Time stock.  They are SP Class 69-BP-30-3 RPO -Baggage-Express cars that we produced a number of years ago. Thanks again for the pictures, Robert!



A Kitbash: Southern Pacific Class 60-P-5 Railway Post Office Car

Robert Diepenbrock appears in the current N Scale Railroading magazine (Sep/Oct) writing about his SP San Joaquin Daylight kitbash. He sent us some photos of the project, which benefits from Wheels of Time parts. The car is a Southern Pacific Class 60-P-5 Railway Post Office (RPO). SP only had one RPO with this kind of window arrangement: this car type was more common on the Union Pacific Railroad. Thanks to Robert for sharing his fine work with us.

MOW Series Plus More! Latest.

Production for MOW Series Plus More is being finished up as we speak. Will be shipping from HK to the States this Wednesday or Thursday. Yeaa! Can't wait. Give or take a few days, if no problem at Uncle Sam (a.k.a. U.S. Customs), then it should be shipped to all around June 4-10th.

Heading to Milwaukee on July 16-18 for the 75th Anniversary NMRA Train Show?
See Wheels of Time at booth # 091. Do drop by and say hi.

Best Regards,
Matthew