Farewell: Santa Fe Steam, Santa Fe Chief, Pacific Electric

Running time: 55 minutes

Price: $20

The first part of this program covers the last service run by a Santa Fe steam locomotive - a 4-8-4 type, No. 3759 - on 6 February 1955.  The film covers the trip from Los Angeles Union Station to Barstow via Cajon Pass.   The highlights of the impressive scenes are without doubt the steam train in action amid the snow-covered mountains of Cajon.

The prestigious Santa Fe Chief is passed in the previous film; now it becomes the subject of a 10 minute film in its own right.  This looks at the departure of the train from Los Angeles in the early 1960s.

On 9 April 1961 the era of the Pacific Electric came to an end.  The big red cars of "The World's Greatest Interurban" once criss-crossed southern California on over 1,000 miles of track.  By the beginning of 1961 this had been reduced to just the 20-mile LA to Long Beach section. This was the first line of the Pacific Electric,opened in 1902 and in 1961  it was the last.  Just before closure this 15-minute colour film was made which preserved the sights and sounds of the pioneers of urban rapid transit.