ATHEARN 1788 HO SOUTHERN PACIFIC DAYLIGHT BAGGAGE CAR RTR KD SP 6599 OVP REA RAILWAY EXPRESS AGENCY

ORIGINAL VENDOR BLUE BOX OVP

RED, ORANGE, AND BLACK COLOR SCHEME

BUILT & READY-TO-RUN WITH KAYDEE COUPLERS INSTALLED

NOT LIGHTED

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Additional Information from Internet Encyclopedia

The Coast Daylight, originally known as the Daylight Limited, was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful passenger train in the world," carrying a particular red, orange, and black color scheme. The train operated from 1937 until 1974

By the mid-1920s, increased population of automobiles and state highways had begun to erode the Southern Pacific's (SP) local patronage. Despite this, SP's long-distance services were less affected, and their ridership remained strong. On April 28, 1922, SP introduced the Daylight Limited, a luxury train service which operated on a 13-hour schedule between the Third and Townsend Depot in San Francisco and Central Station in Los Angeles, running on Fridays and Saturdays only. Additionally, the train ran seasonally from April to November. The Daylight Limited resumed operation in April 1923 and was gradually expanded by mid-July on a daily schedule. In 1924, SP shortened the train's running time to 12 hours for the season. By 1927, the Daylight Limited became the world's longest non-stop run, although it only stopped twice for refueling service. By this time, the Daylight Limited was advertised as the "fastest train in the West". In 1928, the Limited word was dropped from the train's name due to a few intermediate stops being added to the Daylight's schedule.

The streamlined Daylight began on March 21, 1937, on a 9+3⁄4-hour schedule. It was the first of the Daylight series that later included the San Joaquin Daylight, Shasta Daylight, Sacramento Daylight, and Sunbeam. The one-way fare while boarding coach class from San Francisco to Los Angeles is $9.47, while the round trip fare is $14.

By June 30, 1939, the streamlined Daylights had carried 268.6 million passenger miles (432.3 million kilometres) on 781,141 train miles (1,257,125 kilometres) for an average occupancy of 344 passengers. A second train, the Noon Daylight, was introduced on the same route on March 30, 1940; the Coast Daylight became the Morning Daylight. The Noon Daylight was suspended on January 6, 1942, to allow for equipment overhaul. The cut was originally planned to last just several months, but continued due to World War II. The Noon Daylight resumed on April 14, 1946, with timed bus connections serving Santa Cruz and Monterey.

On October 2, 1949, the Noon Daylight was replaced by the overnight Starlight using the same equipment. The Morning Daylight reverted to the Coast Daylight name. The Coast Daylight ran behind steam until January 7, 1955, long after most streamliners had changed to diesel. In 1956 coaches from the Starlight were added to the all-Pullman Lark; the Starlight was discontinued in 1957. Amtrak later revived the name for its Los Angeles to Seattle service known as the Coast Starlight.

A 1966 study by the Stanford Research Institute found that it cost the Southern Pacific $18.41 to transport a passenger on the Coast Daylight between Los Angeles and San Francisco (equivalent to $178 in 2024), roughly twice that of air or bus service. Reasons given included the labor-intensiveness of rail service, and the fact that a single consist could make only one trip per day.

The heavyweight Daylight Limited debuted in 1922 with five 60-foot Harriman steel coaches and a dining car. American Car and Foundry delivered new 90-seat coaches in 1923; the SP also added a 32-seat parlor-observation car.[2] The initial main motive powers were the 4-6-2 Heavy Pacific steam locomotives, which were later replaced by the 4-8-2 "Mountain" locomotives in the early 1930s. The Southern Pacific removed the observation cars in 1931.

Pullman-Standard delivered two complete sets of equipment (consists) for the 1937 Coast Daylight. Each consisted of a 44-seat baggage-coach; a 48-seat coach; three pairs of articulated coaches, with 50 seats in each of the six coaches; a lunch counter-tavern car, a dining car, a 29-seat parlor car; and a 23-seat parlor-observation car.[26] Each consist cost $1 million (equivalent to $21.9 million in 2024 adjusted for inflation), the most expensive passenger trains built in the United States to date.

In the articulated coaches restrooms were split, with the men's restroom in the odd-numbered car and the women's restroom in the even-numbered car. Seating was 2�2, with a center aisle down the middle. Luggage storage was located adjacent to the vestibule. The coffee shop-tavern had two seating areas. At one end of the car was the coffee shop, with 24 individual stools arrayed around a counter. At the other end was the tavern, with booth seating for 18. Between the two areas was a kitchen. The dining car could seat 40 patrons at 10 tables. The parlor-observation car seated 10 in the rear, rounded-off observation area and a further 23 in the adjoining parlor section.

Prior to the full reequipping in 1940 the Southern Pacific made several changes to augment capacity. In 1938 it replaced the coffee shop-tavern cars with individual tavern and coffee shop cars. The original cars were rebuilt as full taverns and assigned to the Los Angeles�New Orleans Argonaut. The following year the Southern Pacific swapped the individual 48-seat coaches with an additional articulated coach pair from the Houston�Dallas Sunbeam.

The 1937�1939 equipment ran as the Noon Daylight with the inauguration of the Morning Daylight in 1940. For the Morning Daylight, the Southern Pacific ordered two new sets of equipment from Pullman-Standard. These included a 44-seat coach-baggage car; three pairs of articulated coaches, with 46 seats in each of the six coaches; a triple-unit coffee shop-kitchen-dining car; a 44-seat coach; a tavern car; a 27-seat parlor car; and a 22-seat parlor-observation car.

The Morning Daylight would be completely reequipped just a year later. The 1940 baggage-coach, tavern, and parlor were retained. It was assigned new articulated coach pairs (with the number increased from three to four), triple-unit coffee shop-kitchen-dining car, 44-seat coach, and parlor-observation car. Effectively it was the same train as in 1940, but a year newer, with an additional articulated coach. The Noon Daylight mixed old and new equipment:

the baggage-coaches from the 1937 train

the articulated coaches from the 1940 Morning Daylight

the triple-unit coffee shop-kitchen-dining cars from the 1940 Morning Daylight

a new articulated coach pair, seating 46 like all the others

the 44-seat coach from the 1940 Morning Daylight

the parlor car from the 1937 train

the parlor-observation car from the 1940 Morning Daylight

With the discontinuance of the Noon Daylight in 1949 its cars were reassigned to the San Joaquin Daylight and Starlight. The Coast Daylight gained new 48-seat coaches from Pullman-Standard in 1954, three per train.

Dining cars were eliminated in the 1960s, replaced by Automat cars that offered food from vending machines instead of made-to-order meals in the dining cars, cutting the cost of the train's dining crew.