City of San Francisco

City of San Francisco

Southern Pacific Alco PA Locomotives

Each of the three roads handling the City of San Francisco used their own motive power on home rails – but some traveled well beyond the occasion. Between Oakland and Ogden, Southern Pacific Alco PA-PBs in Daylight colors led the way.

Passenger Cars – with Decals

Assigned cars from each of the three operating roads, the City of San Francisco offered one of the most unique travel experiences in all of American railroading. As the primary partner, UP insisted all cars be painted to match its standard Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Gray, but each carried the owner's name in red in the letterboard. Each of the 14 cars in the train are available in standard versions with car name and number decals for easy customizing.

Passenger Cars – Factory-Printed

Typical of the era, the train offered something for every traveler. For businessmen and budget-minded folks, lower-priced long-distance coaches and more relaxed food service were available. For those who wanted more privacy or space to stretch out a full-service diner, lounge and a variety of spacious sleeping car spaces were available. All 14 cars model a typical day's consist and are also available while supplies last with factory-printed names and car numbers. 

Holiday Season Expansion Sets

For modeling busy travel times, add a three-car Holiday Season Expansion Set to your City of San Francisco consist! Painted to match other cars in the series, they're available while supplies last in a standard version with decals, with unique factory-printed names and numbers, or the railroad-ready Deluxe Edition with different names and numbers, LED interior lighting and 26 Preiser figures as appropriate. Each set consists of a 75' Milwaukee Road Express Car, an 85' ACF 44-Seat UP Coach and an 85' Pullman-Standard 4-4-2 UP Imperial series Sleeper.

Deluxe Editions

Whether you're an operator or collector, these limited-edition sets of City of San Francisco equipment will be the stars of your railroad! Fully assembled and ready to enjoy, sets feature unique names and numbers from all other cars in the series, so they're easily mixed and matched. Two 12-car Deluxe Edition sets are available, with UP or MILW dining and lounge cars, reflecting the mix of equipment on the prototype. Cars in these sets feature LED interior lighting as appropriate, with a total of 130 Preiser figures throughout the cars. 

Additional Prototype: Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Milwaukee Road

Extend your City of San Francisco train or expand your Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, or Milwaukee Road streamliner fleets with these WalthersProto passenger cars.

Add-On UP/SP Passenger Cars

Expand your City of San Francisco and other streamliners in minutes with these cars! Featuring additional car types, names, numbers and paint schemes for Union Pacific, Southern Pacific and Milwaukee Road equipment, they're easily mixed and matched to add realistic variety to operations or collections.

Continuing a tradition of luxury service that dated to the late 1880s, Union Pacific, Southern Pacific and the Chicago and North Western launched a new luxury streamliner, the City of San Francisco in 1936. Accorded the best equipment, daily service began after WWII with a pool of assigned cars contributed by each of the three roads, but as the major partner, UP insisted that all were painted in its signature yellow and gray. Typical of the era, the train offered long-distance coach and sleepers, including transcontinental service from New York City aboard Pennsylvania and New York Central cars on alternate days from 1954 to 1958. Major changes came in the fall of 1955 when the Milwaukee Road took over the Chicago-Omaha portion of the route. 

On the eve of Amtrak when all UP trains were combined into a single massive 20-plus car consist with five engines (known to railfans as the "City of Everywhere"), the City of San Francisco operated as a small block of cars handled to and from Oakland three times each week. Although the train rolled into history in 1971, Amtrak continued to use the name for its three-times-weekly Denver-Oakland service until 1972, when the San Francisco Zephyr replaced it.

Each member road handled the train across its own rails with its own power, however units sometimes ran well beyond their end terminals. In the late fall of 1955, the Milwaukee Road took over the Chicago-Omaha portion of each trip, Union Pacific handled the train between Omaha and Ogden, Utah, and Southern Pacific completed the runs between Ogden and Oakland, California. From the 1950s onward, Union Pacific and Milwaukee Road assigned matching E9A-B power (Milwaukee units were built and painted to UP specifications), while Southern Pacific used its Alco PA-PB sets in Daylight colors. 

 

  • Late 1950s road-specific details 
  • Correct prototype power for the City of San Francisco & other streamliners including:
    • UP E9/A-B
    • MILW E9A-B
    • NEW - SP PA-PB sets upgraded to WalthersProto replicas!
  • Available with LokSound 5 sound & DCC for DCC or DC layouts and in Standard DC versions
  • LED lighting 
  • Five-pole, skew-wound high-efficiency can motor
  • Helical-cut 14:1 gears for smooth, ultra-quiet running
  • Easy multiple-unit operation
  • Superb paint and lettering
  • Correct size RP-25 metal wheels
  • Heavy die cast metal underframe
  • Proto MAX™ metal knuckle couplers
  • 14 signature cars used on the City of San Francisco and other streamliners
  • Four newly-tooled replicas including:
  • UP Railway-Post Office-Mail Storage
    • UP Club-Lounge
    • SP 83-C-2 Coach
    • SP 10-6 Blunt-End Sleeper
  • Correct 1950s UP paint scheme with gray trucks 
  • Available in two versions - Standard with decals, or factory-printed names/numbers
  • Prototypically tinted windows with gaskets as appropriate
  • Factory-installed grab irons
  • Superbly detailed inside and out
  • Modeler-installed extended drawbars for 22" radius curves
  • Correct trucks with 36" turned metal RP-25 wheelsets
  • Proto MAX™ metal knuckle couplers

Operating with a pool of cars supplied by each member railroad, the City of San Francisco offered travelers, railfans and modelers an amazing variety of equipment. Two Deluxe Edition consists, each with 12 signature cars will be offered, with Union Pacific or Milwaukee Road diner and lounge, reflecting the variety of cars on any given day. 

All models in these sets feature unique names and numbers, LED interior lights and 130 Preiser figures as appropriate throughout the train. Reserve yours now - production will be strictly limited to the number of preorders received by the November 30, 2022 deadline! 

By the late 1950s, daily service required five complete train sets, drawn from a pool of 77 assigned cars from each of the three member railroads. This included a variety of baggage and mail cars up front, along with a baggage-dormitory that allowed the dining car crew to stay on board for the entire run. Long-distance coaches and an informal café-lounge provided affordable options, while those willing to spend more could enjoy a full-service diner and lounge, along with a variety of sleeping car accommodations. All were painted to match UP's standard scheme with gray trucks (later changed to silver) and the owner's name in the letterboard in red. From 1954 to 1957, the train handled transcontinental service to New York City on alternating days with Pennsylvania and New York Central sleepers, however the Central's cars remained in their gray scheme. 

Pool Car Assignments - Summer 1956

Baggage-Express - UP #5700-5710

Railway Post Office - UP #5900, #5901, #5902, SP #5003, 5004, MILW #2175 

Baggage - Dormitory: UP #6005, #6006, #6010, SP #3101, #3107, 

Coach 

MILW 40-Seat Cars: #517, #518, #531, #538, #546; 

SP 40-Seat Cars: #2362, #2363, #2379, #2380, #2424, #2426, #2432, #2434, #2435, #2436

SP 36-Seat Cars #2489, #2490, #2491

Coffee Shop: UP #5004, SP #10405, #10406, MILW #170, #171

Diner: UP #4805, SP #10205, #10209, MILW #126, #124

Club-Lounge: UP #6200, #6201, #6202, #6204, SP #2986

Sleeping Cars: 

10-6 Cars

SP #9036, #9037, #9102, #9103, #9156, - Oakland - New York; Blunt-End (handled as last car) #9040, #9041, #9042, #9043, #9042 - Oakland - Chicago

NYC: Connecticut River - Oakland - New York

PRR: Buffalo Rapids - Oakland - New York 

UP: Pacific Lodge, Pacific Forum, Pacific Union - Oakland - New York

6-6-4 Cars

UP: American Shores, American Escort, American Rapids, American Falls - Oakland - New York

4-4-2 Cars

SP #9100, #9103

4-4-2 Sleeper: UP Imperial, SP #9100-series

 


August 1956

Eastbound, all cars Oakland - Chicago unless noted

Mail-Storage - UP #5710 (Oakland - Ogden)

Railway Post Office - Mail Storage - MILW #2175 (Oakland - Omaha)

Storage Mail-Express - MILW #1328

Baggage-Dormitory - SP #3107

Coach - MILW #534

Coach - SP #2494

Coach - UP #5430

Coffee Shop-Lounge - SP #10406

Diner - SP #10209

Club-Lounge - SP #2986

4-4-2 Sleeper - SP #9100

4-4-2 Sleeper - UP Imperial Palm 

12-5 Sleeper - SP #9251

6-6-4 Sleeper - SP #9156

10-5 Sleeper - SP #9201 (Oakland - New York)

10-6 Blunt-End Sleeper - SP #9044

 


June 1958

Storage-Mail

60' Railway Post Office-Storage Mail

Baggage - Dormitory

Coach: SP/MILW Pool

Coach: SP/MILW Pool

Coach: SP/MILW Pool

Coach: SP/MILW Pool

Coach: SP/MILW Pool

Café-Lounge

Diner

Club-Lounge

4-4-2 Sleeper

4-4-2 Sleeper

6-6-4 Sleeper

Blunt-end 10-6 Sleeper

Summer 1965 = First & Second Sections 

In 1960, the City of San Francisco and the City of Los Angeles were combined between Chicago and Ogden, where the trains were split and transferred to the Southern Pacific. In 1964, Wabash equipment could be seen as the City of St. Louis was also added to this combined train.

Westward, first section

Railway Post-Office-Mail Storage: UP #5801

Coach: UP #5664

Baggage: UP #6316

Baggage: up #6321 

Baggage-Dormitory: UP #6005

10-6 Sleeper: UP Pacific Beauty

11-Bedroom Sleeper: UP Placid Waters

11-Bedroom Sleeper: UP Placid Sea

5-5-2 Sleeper: Ocean Scene

Dome Diner: UP #8009

Dome Lounge: UP #9009

10-6 Sleeper: UP Pacific Domain

4-4-2 Sleeper: UP Imperial Flower

6-6-4 Sleeper: UP National Homes

10-6 Sleeper: UP Pacific Forest

Second Section

Baggage-Dormitory: MILW #1353

Coach: UP #5531

Coach: UP #5456

Dome Coach: Wabash #203

Coach: Wabash #1431

Lunch-Counter Café Lounge: UP #5016

Coach: UP #5539

Coach: UP #5512

Coach: UP #5504

Club Lounge: UP #5009

Dome Coach: UP #7000

Coach: UP #5538

Coach: UP #5488

Lunch Counter Café Lounge: UP #5009

Coach: MILW #625

Coach: MILW #636

Coach: UP #5402

Coach: UP #5462

Coach: UP #5431

Coach: UP #5476

February 1966 Westbound #103

Railway Post Office-Mail Storage: UP #5812

Baggage: UP #6316

Baggage: UP #6334

Coach: UP #5453

Dome Coach: UP #7013

Coach: UP #5540

Lunch Counter Café Lounge: UP #5009

Club Lounge: UP #6206

Dome Coach: UP #7004

Coach: UP #5518

Coach: UP #5522

Coach: UP #5519

10-6 Sleeper: UP Pacific Emblem

10-6 Sleeper: UP Pacific Skies

Dome Diner: UP #8001

Dome Lounge: UP #9005

11-Bedroom Sleeper: UP Placid Scene 

5-5-2 Sleeper: UP Ocean Sands

6-6-4 Sleeper: UP American Home

10-6 Sleeper: UP Pacific Range

Boiler Car: UP #303

March 25, 1971 - City of San Francisco section 

Nicknamed by railfans as the "City of Everywhere," Union Pacific had earlier combined the City of Los Angeles, City of Portland, City of Denver and City of San Francisco as one, running with 20-plus cars and five diesels. Although no longer a separate train, cars for the City of San Francisco service were handled three times weekly to and from Oakland as shown here. 

Baggage: SP #6799 - Oakland

Baggage: UP #6302 - Portland

Baggage: MILW #1322 - Oakland

Baggage: UP #6310 - Los Angeles

Dormitory: UP Pacific Mist 10-6 Sleeper - Los Angeles

Dome Coach: UP #7000 - Los Angeles

Coach: UP #5465 - Los Angeles

Coach: UP #5410 - Oakland

Dome Lounge: UP #9011 - Los Angeles 

Diner: UP #4810 - Los Angeles

11-Bedroom Sleeper: UP Placid Vale - Los Angeles

10-6 Sleeper: UP Pacific Crest - LA

10-6 Sleeper: UP Pacific View - Oakland

10-6 Sleeper Pacific Island - Portland

Dome Coach: UP #7001 - Portland

Coach: UP #5540 - Portland 

Coach: UP #5411 - Denver

Boiler Car : UP #106 - Ogden 

Business Car: UP #302 - Grand Island

Business Car: UP #302 - Grand Island

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