Southern Pacific "Lark" overnight train Dallas-San Antonio

[De Luxe]

Hello,

today I found this photo on the internet, which totally surprised me:

I never knew about the existance of that train! I also wonder why it has the same name like the famous Lark streamliner between Los Angeles and San Francisco, which was introduced in 1941. The only named passenger trains of the SP that crossed Texas that I know are the Sunset Limited, the Argonaut, the Apache, the Alamo (all on the Sunset Route), the Golden State Limited, the Imperial, the Californian (all on the Golden State Route that crossed Texas on the Rock Island), the Sunbeam and the Hustler on the Dallas-Houston routing. But never knew that there was also a Dallas-San Antonio night train. I´m very interested in Southern Pacific passenger trains in Texas, so any info about this train would be appreciated. For example I would like to know when it was inaugurated and discontinued, and also if it was a heavyweight train for all the time or also a streamliner. And a sample consist with motive power of course as well. Can anyone help me with that?

[DSchmitt]

There is some information here:

http://www.wcroberts.org/Pass_ops.html

[Deggesty]

From the link DSchmitt gave, apparently the overnight service was inaugurated about 1923 and ended in 1938. Given this time frame, it never had any lightweight equipment. According to the June, 1930, Guide, it carried two 12 section-drawing room sleepers.

[ZephyrOverland]

Deggesty

From the link DSchmitt gave, apparently the overnight service was inaugurated about 1923 and ended in 1938. Given this time frame, it never had any lightweight equipment. According to the June, 1930, Guide, it carried two 12 section-drawing room sleepers.

From my reviews of Official Guides of the era, the Dallas-San Antonio Lark appeared in the mid 1920's and the train was cut back to a San Antonio-Hearne operation in the summer of 1932, and discontinued entirely shortly thereafter.

There was another instance of the SP using the same name on two trains on different routings.  The Owl; San Francisco-Los Angeles and Houston-Dallas.  The Texas Owl existed in the mid-1920's.

 

 

 

[De Luxe]

Thanks for the information! Now does anybody of you know what steam locos might have pulled that train? P Class Pacific´s, MT Class Mountains or maybe even one of the GS-1 4-8-4´s?

About the the Texas Owl: which cities did it connect?

[Deggesty]

De Luxe

About the the Texas Owl: which cities did it connect?

Dallas and Houston. In 1930, it also carried a Denver-New Orleans car, which was carried between Dallas and Denver on the C&S/FW&D, and between Houston and New Orleans on the Sunset Mail.