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Snowbound Streamliner by Robert Church Rescuing 1952 City of San Francisco w/DJ
Snowbound Streamliner by Robert J Church
Hard Cover w/ dust jacket Reflections from the lights on some photos.
Rescuing the 1952 City of San Francisco
156 pages
Copyright 2000
CONTENTS
Dedicationv
Acknowledgementsix
Introduction xi
1 High Sierra Winters1
2 Fighting Snow13
3 Overview of Events31
4 Prelude to Disaster37
5 Rescue Efforts from the East51
6 On the Train67
7 Rescue from the West83
8 Extrication of Train 101111
9 Epilogue141
Bibliography 149
Appendix151
Index 153
DUST JACKET INTRODUCTION
This is a railroaders' story. It is an accurate and detailed account developed from numerous interviews and reports from railroad personnel that describes an incident which now stands alone in the annals of railroad history.
During the first days of 1952, the Southern Pacific Railroad found itself battling a series of fierce winter snow storms that threatened all train operations. Eventually even the huge rotary snowplows could not keep ahead of the record snowfall. The railroad's famed Sierra crossing at Donner Pass became blockaded and train movements were brought to a standstill.
On January 13 one of the lines was cleared and it was decided to run a few priority trains across the summit. One of these trains was the flagship of the Overland Route, the streamliner City of San Francisco.
As the engineer approached Yuba Pass, he hit an avalanche that had just occurred off the sheer granite escarpments of Smart Ridge. The engineer attempted to back the train out but could not break loose. The City was frozen in the icy grip of a horrific Sierra blizzard. It would be three long and frustrating days before the railroad could reach the train and rescue passengers who endured the ordeal under conditions of no power, no heat, and low food supplies.
This story includes the massive and heroic efforts to get to the snowbound train. It's the story of crew that were actually manning the rotaries and of the officials directing the rescue. It provides an hour-by-hour detailed chronology of events and actions attempted from both Norden and Colfax. Also related are the experiences of those on the train.
The account covers a 17-day period, starting a few days prior to the stranding of the streamliner and the rescue efforts which disabled five rotary plows, one being swamped by an avalanche that killed an engineer. The narrative continues with the removal of the passengers, then the train itself, and finally all that was required to get both rail and communication lines back into service. It is a fascinating story of a Sierra winter at its worst and dedicated railroaders at their very best.
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