some chair cars were “blanked” (cut out of the Daylight consists
temporarily) in non-peak periods and were used on other trains.
The coffee shop-tavern cars proved inadequate to meet passen-
ger demand, and within a few weeks of the train’s startup new
full coffee shop cars and full tavern cars were ordered, arriving
in January of 1938.
Second sections of the Daylight frequently had to be run to
accommodate the public. From the train’s earliest days, the rail-
road often posted signs reading: “We regret to announce that all
space on today’s Daylight is occupied.”
PART 1 – SP PASSENGER TRAINS |
15
10. Diagram of the Daylight winter consists of January 1940
and summer consist of July, 1941.
PART 1 – SP PASSENGER TRAINS |
16
In 1938 the Santa Fe Railroad initiated competing Los Angeles-
San Francisco “Golden Gate” streamliners twice a day. Santa
Fe used fast motor coaches on the new highway between Los
Angeles and Bakersfield, bypassing the slow rail route over the
Tehachapi mountains.
This drastically cut the trip time to rival that of the SP Coast
Daylight, and siphoned riders away from the Southern Pacific.
The SP charged $9.47 for a one-way ticket, but a ticket on the
Santa Fe was only $5.15. In response, the SP lowered its ticket
price to $6.00 and the Daylight gained back its clientele.
In 1939 the Golden Gate International Exposition opened, (San
Francisco World’s Fair) increasing the demand for seats on the
Daylight. In 1940 new equipment was delivered for the Daylight,
