Southern Pacific Daylight Car #2439
Posted by: brwhiz
N 35° 23.544 W 119° 01.343
11S E 316326 N 3918438
This is one of many historical interpretive signs on the grounds of the Pioneer Village at the Kern County Museum in Bakersfield.
Waymark Code: WMJE6G
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 11/06/2013
Views: 1
Southern Pacific Daylight Car #2439
For many decades, travel by rail was preferred for both business and pleasure because of its relative speed and the ability to journey in any weather.
At the beginning of the 1800s, rivers, canals and horse drawn coaches were the options for moving people and goods within the country. The railroad revolutionized travel. The pinnacle year for rail travel was 1920 when trains carried more than 1.2 billion passengers.
The Pullman-Standard Company built this 44-seat passenger car for the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1939. The car was put in service on the Morning Daylight route between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 1940. Amtrak purchased the car in 1972 and used it for passenger service until 1976.
The Sandstone Brick Company used the car as a restaurant for many years prior to the Kern County Superintendent of Schools acquiring it in 1999. The Superintendent of Schools donated it to the museum in 2008.