1950's Santa Fe Prototypical Questions

[Anonymous]

I am building an N Scale, 1950's-era layout, and I have two questions:

1) I am looking at purchasing Atlas's Passenger Station kit (number 150-2841 on Walthers; click here: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/150-2841 ). Would this be prototypically correct to be used as a Santa Fe depot (located in Nebraska, on the transcontinental mainline for freight and Super Chief use)? If not, what do you recommend?

2) What paint schemes was Santa Fe using on their engines in the 50's?

[West Coast S]

The Atlas station is incorrect for the Santa Fe. SF used common company design standards for wood frame, spanish, stucco, mission and brick stations, the oddballs were the results of assuming other railroads and their designs.

The Atlas would be an acceptable compromise by reducing the peaked roof and ditching all the fancy trim, paint in company colors (Buff w/ brown trim-windows) and tell the doubters it was obtained through a merger. There were no SF operations in Nebraska in the 50s, you could base your layout on operations in Kansas..

You undoubtly know of the Warbonnet colors, red/silver for pasenger power cab units, blue/yellow for freight cab units. Freight, switchers wore basic black with white stripes on the hood ends and halfway up the cab sides, known as zebra stripes.

In the late 50s the now familar blue and yellow began to show up on hood units and switchers, but not in the familar warbonnet pattern, soild yellow ends with dark blue carbody.

Dave

[Anonymous]

I was under the impression that the Super Chief(s) ran on the transcontinental mainline. Did they have their own transcontinental line or what?

As for depots, how about these (sticking to somewhere in the midwest)?

Depot A: Actual Santa Fe depot--Could it be in the midwest in 1957? http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/152-607

Depot B: Clarksville depot--Correct for 1957 midwest Santa Fe depot? http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-3240

If all else fails, could I use the "merger excuse" for these depots or my original one without making any changes to them?

Also, with the blue/yellow engines, were they being used in '57?

Did the F7's that pulled the Super Chief haul freight as well?

[jimrice4449]

The Super Chief (and most SF transcon trains) ran across north & central Ill., crossed the very most so/east corner of Iowa through KansCity to Newton KS. there the line divided W/ most frt and some psgr going via Amarillo and Belen while most psgr cut across the S/E corner of Colo and across Raton Pass at La Junta. The two lines rejoined just west of Albuquerque and on to Calif.
SF had some "dual service f-7s in the 300 series but they apparently repainted them into yellow and blue when they were in frt as I don't think I ever saw a picture of a red and silver engine on frt. In the late 50s SF went from the silver and black Zebra stripes on their switchers and hood units to the blue body w/ yellow ends.

[West Coast S]

The provided Clarksville depot link is based upon a Union Pacific prototype. Depot A is the ticket and a standard SF design that would be appropriate prior to 1957 to the present. In the months leading up to Amtrak and until rebuilt to CF7s or retired, warbonnet Fs were assigned to freight duty, matter of fact a Railroad and Railfan article from the period depicted them working Kansas branch lines!

Dave

[espeefoamer]

Mostly,Santa Fe stuck to Red/silver warbonnet F units for passenger trains,and blue/yellow for freight.However, once,around 1962,63 I saw an A-B-A set of red/silver Fs on a freight train.This goes to show that anything can happen!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Postdog2

I am building an N Scale, 1950's-era layout, and I have two questions:

1) I am looking at purchasing Atlas's Passenger Station kit (number 150-2841 on Walthers; click here: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/150-2841 ). Would this be prototypically correct to be used as a Santa Fe depot (located in Nebraska, on the transcontinental mainline for freight and Super Chief use)? If not, what do you recommend?

2) What paint schemes was Santa Fe using on their engines in the 50's?

Hello Postdog,

I'm also starting up a AT&SF layout set in the 50's (1954 to be exact).

Try some of these places they have been of great value and aid to me! [:)]

http://www.atsfry.com/

http://atsf.railfan.net/

http://www.atsfrr.com/ <-- a must go to site!

www.qstation.org

Great luck on the project! Looking forward to seeing some pics and trading info with ya.

Peace.

Coyote

[Anonymous]

Okay, thanks for all the replies. One more question: In southern Illinois, southeastern Iowa, and northern Missouri, what kind/color of ballast was Santa Fe using on their tracks?

[orsonroy]

Locally mined limestone from Illinois. At least, that's what they used on the Peoria branch.

[leighant]

Quote "I was under the impression that the Super Chief(s) ran on the transcontinental mainline. Did they have their own transcontinental line or what?"

I am puzzled by your use of the word "the" in "the transcontinental mainline." Are you under the impression there was ONE transcontinental mainline. The FIRST transcontinental was built by Union Pacific from Nebraska west and by Central Pacific east from California, meeting near Salt Lake City. Is that where your "Nebraska, on the transcontinental mainlin" came from. This is called the Overland Route.

Southern Pacific had a transcontinental southern route from California through southern Arizona and New Mexico to El Paso,Texas, and then via its subsidiary Texas and New Orleans across Texas to the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. This is called the Sunset
Route.

Santa Fe had its own original transcontinental route from Chicago to Kansas City to Colorado over Raton Pass, then across central New Mexico and Arizona to California. This was the route of the Super Chief, Chief, El Capitan, etc. Later, to bypass the steep grades of Colorado, Santa Fe built what was called the Belen Cutoff across Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, then nearly due west across New Mexico to rejoin the original line near Belen. This became the route of most Santa Fe transcontinental freight traffic (to avoid the grades) and the route of the Grand Canyon Limited and later the San Francisco Chief.

Another transcontinental line was formed by the Burlington from Chicago to Denver, Denver and Rio Grande Western from denver to Salt Lake City, and Western Pacific from Salt Lake City to Oakland. I don't know that the route as such had a name, but it was the route over which the California Zephyr traveled.

Across the northern tier of states, I believe the Northern Pacific, Great Northern and Milwaukee Road each had their own transcontinental lines.

And in Canada, both the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National had transcontinental lines.

Clear now on transcontinental lines (PLURAL)?

[pastorbob]

A couple of comments. In the 50's and afterwards, Santa Fe did run in Nebraska. It was the Superior branch running north off the line from Emporia to Newton and it crossed the state line into Nebraska. The depot, as I recall, was a CNW depot as the two lines shared yard facilities there.

As mentioned, Santa Fe pretty well kept the passenger F and freight F units separate. They did not want to tarni***he warbonnet image, and the passenger F's were geared for speed, not tonnage. I worked on the Oklahoma Div. in the 50's during the summers while in college. I was in road service because my dad was a swtich engineer. Rode a lot of those F units, and we took out a loaded grain truck at a crossing with one. Mashed that beautiful nose back into the cab are, but we were in the engine room by then.

Bob