The Southern Pacific GS-4 is a class of streamlined 4-8-4 "Northern" type

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

operated by the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

(SP) from 1941 to 1958. A total of twenty-eight were built by the

Lima Locomotive Works Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shop's location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between ...

, numbered 4430 through 4457. GS stands for "Golden State" or "General Service."

History

Unlike the GS-3, the GS-4 had a dual-headlight casing (the top headlight was a

mars light Mars Lights are signal-safety lights used in the United States and built by Mars Signal Light Company for railroad locomotives and firefighting apparatus. Mars Lights used a variety of means to cause the light to oscillate vertically, horizontall ...

) on the silver

smokebox A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is e ...

. Another change was the all-weather cab. It retained the skyline casing atop the boiler, skirting on the sides, an air horn to supplement the whistle, and teardrop classification lights. They carried the orange and red "Daylight" paint scheme. The GS-4s were passenger engines capable of , though timetable speed limit never exceeded (the maximum speed allowed in the

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. The Salinas River (Califo ...

). Southern Pacific's premier

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

s were pulled by GS-4s: the ''

Coast Daylight 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 ...

'', ''

San Joaquin Daylight The ''San Joaquin Daylight'' was a Southern Pacific passenger train (train numbers 51 and 52) inaugurated between Los Angeles and San Francisco's Oakland Pier by way of the San Joaquin Valley and Tehachapi Pass on July 4, 1941. Travel times were ...

'', ''

Lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occu ...

'', ''

Cascade Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science *Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * Bioc ...

'', '' Golden State'', and the ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betwe ...

''. During wartime and in the first years after the war, some of the GS-4 locomotives were painted black; by 1948 all had been repainted Daylight colors. Between 1947 and 1956 most were painted black again, had their side skirts removed for easier maintenance, and were reassigned to the San Jose-

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Peninsula Commute The Peninsula Commute, also known as the Southern Pacific Peninsula or just Peninsula, was the common name for commuter rail service between San Jose, California and San Francisco, California on the San Francisco Peninsula. This service ran as a ...

'' service, freight service, and the occasional ''San Joaquin Daylight'' (steam locomotives remained on that train as late as 1956, which made it the last streamliner train to be pulled by steam on the Southern Pacific) until the were replaced by diesel locomotives. GS-4 No. 4443 pulled one of the final steam excursions on the Southern Pacific in 1957. A GS-4 pulled its last passenger train in October 1958, and they were all retired by the end of the year. The tender of No. 4444 (the last GS-4 to be scrapped) was rebuilt by SP and used as a "hammer car" to test impacts on hydracushion boxcars; it was scrapped in the early 1970s.

Preservation

Southern Pacific 4449 Southern Pacific 4449, also known as the Daylight, is the only surviving example of Southern Pacific Railroad's " GS-4" class of 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives and one of only two GS-class locomotives surviving, the other being " GS-6 ...

is the only surviving GS-4 locomotive and is one of the most recognizable locomotives of all time. It was donated to the City of Portland in 1958 and moved to

Oaks Amusement Park Oaks Park is a small amusement park located south of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The park opened in May 1905 and is one of the oldest continually operating amusement parks in the country. The park includes midway games, about tw ...

for static display until December 1974 when the locomotive was removed from the park to undergo restoration. From August 1975 to December 1976, No. 4449 shared duties with several other steam locomotives pulling the

American Freedom Train Two national Freedom Trains have toured the United States: the 1947–49 special exhibit Freedom Train and the 1975–76 American Freedom Train which celebrated the United States Bicentennial. Each train had its own special red, white and blue p ...

throughout the U.S. No. 4449 is still operational and since mid-2012 resides at the

Oregon Rail Heritage Center The Oregon Rail Heritage Center (ORHC) is a railway museum in Portland, Oregon. Along with other rolling stock, the museum houses three steam locomotives owned by the City of Portland: Southern Pacific 4449, Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700, and ...

in Portland along with other preserved locomotives and rolling stock.

In Film

No. 4449 appeared in the 1990 drama ''

Come See the Paradise ''Come See the Paradise'' is a 1990 American drama film written and directed by Alan Parker, and starring Dennis Quaid and Tamlyn Tomita. Set before and during World War II, the film depicts the treatment of Japanese Americans in the United States ...

''. No. 4449 was featured in the 1986

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

action comedy ''

Tough Guys ''Tough Guys'' is a 1986 American action comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach, Charles Durning, Dana Carvey and Darlanne Fluegel. It is the eighth film of Touchstone Pictures, and the final fi ...

'' as the ''Gold Coast Flyer''. In the film, No. 4449 is hijacked and run off the end of the track across the Mexican border. A full-size wooden replica of the locomotive was used to shoot the crash scene. An unknown GS-4 appeared in the 1964 movie ''

Dear Heart ''Dear Heart'' is a 1964 American romantic-comedy film starring Glenn Ford and Geraldine Page as lonely middle-aged people who fall in love at a hotel convention. It was directed by Delbert Mann, from a screenplay by Tad Mosel. Its theme song "D ...

'' as the ''

20th Century Limited The ''20th Century Limited'' was an express passenger train on the New York Central Railroad (NYC) from 1902 to 1967. The train traveled between Grand Central Terminal in New York City and LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, Illinois, along th ...

''. GS-4 No. 4443 appeared in the opening credits of the 1957

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

film ''Pal Joey''. Another GS-4 appeared as the main setting for the 1951

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

thriller '' Strangers on a Train''.

References

* * *

External links

Friends of SP 4449

The Southern Pacific (i.e. "Espee") Golden State Locomotives Classes GS-1 to GS-6

The Southern Pacific Technical and Historical Society

The Museum of America's Freedom Trains

{{SP GS locomotives GS-4 4-8-4 locomotives Lima locomotives Streamlined steam locomotives Passenger locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1941 Steam locomotives of the United States Standard gauge locomotives of the United States