Valley Flyer (ATSF train)
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| Valley Flyer | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Service type | Inter-city rail |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Locale | California |
| First service | June 11, 1939 |
| Last service | October 27, 1941 |
| Successor | equipment reassigned to the San Diegan |
| Former operator | Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway |
| Route | |
| Termini | Bakersfield, California Oakland, California |
The Valley Flyer was a short-lived named passenger train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in the United States. The all-heavyweight, "semi-streamlined" train ran between Bakersfield and Oakland, California (through California's San Joaquin Valley on the railway's Valley Division, hence the name) during the 1939–1940 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Motive power was two Baldwin-built 1300 class 4-6-2 "Pacific" locomotives refurbished and decorated for the train. It was the Santa Fe's first attempt at streamlining older steam power.
The first run was on June 11, 1939. The train left Bakersfield daily at 6:30 a.m. PST and arrived in Oakland at 12:35 p.m., then returned at 1:55 p.m., pulling into Bakersfield at 8:00 p.m. Beginning on October 27, 1941, the Flyer cars (save for the lounge car) were used to transport troops as a section of the San Diegan on the Santa Fe's "Surf Line" between Los Angeles and San Diego. In 1942 the trainset was discontinued and the passenger cars returned to pool service, repainted Coach Green.
The 1337 class 4-6-2 pacifics #1369 and #1376 were de-streamlined and served the Santa Fe until the early 1950s with #1376 being scrapped in 1950, #1369 heading off to the scrapyard in 1951, all of the 1337 class was scrapped by 1954.[1]
