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Video Title: “Daylight Express”

Produced in 1991 by Skyfire Video /

Length: 90 minutes, according to the box; the label on the tape says 102 minutes, which is closer

Retail price: $30.00

Borrowed from our local county library system
     “Daylight Express” is the story of the restoration of Southern Pacific 4449 and her trip to Sacramento, California for Railfair '91. The program uses a combination of live sound and (mostly) pleasant music. Old black -and- white photos are used for the early historical segments.

     In 1938, Southern Pacific president Angus Macdonald helped design a new GS-4 class of 4-8-4 steam locomotive for passenger service. A number of them were built by Lima beginning that same year. In addition to the basic black color, they were fitted with side skirts painted in brilliant red and orange; this scheme (and the engines that wore it) came to be known as the Daylight. The Daylights were used for transport of troops during World War II, and served faithfully until 1958, when all were retired by SP and replaced mostly with Alco PA diesels. Only one, the 4449, was preserved, and was donated to the city of Portland, Oregon. She languished there in disrepair until 1976, when she was restored and painted red, white and blue to pull the bicentennial Freedom Train. Then she returned to Portland and sat there again for a number of years. There are some interesting old photos in this segment, including product advertisements, several Daylights in a yard, stations in LOs Angeles and San Luis Obispo CA, and the horseshoe curve on Cuesta Grade.

     In late 1990 it was decided that the 4449 and her coaches would again be restored, this time in their original Daylight colors. The show breaks to scenes of Portland, including a Southern Pacific freight on a curve. Engineer Doyle McCormack is doing repair work on a coach, and Jack Wheelihan and other crewmembers are working nearby. Doyle talks about the 4449's drive mechanisms and his job as an engineer; the other guys talk about each other and joke about Doyle's quirks. Miniature cameras are installed at various spots on the 4449, including the cowcatcher and the top of the boiler's front. A closeup of various components as she is steamed up. The crew reminisces about childhood memories and and humorous incidents at work. A montage of scenes while a folk song plays.

     Finally the big day in 1991 approaches. The 4449 whistles as she is backed out of the shed and onto the turntable; then she is backed again and coupled to the coaches. At 7:00 the next morning, passengers wait at Union Station for the train. Once everyone is aboard, the 4449 whistles twice and starts slowly away. Much steam and smoke as she slowly crosses the lift bridge over the Willamette River. Various views from the mini- cameras, including the run through a dingy industrial section of Portland seen from near ground level.

     The train runs through flat areas with trees near the tracks, and over trestles. Passengers talk about enjoying train rides. The tracks run along the Willamette through Oregon City, and the train is paces from a nearby highway. Some views inside the cab. From the Jefferson Overpass, the train comes around a curve and straight on at 60 MPH in a teleshot with much smoke, and through the town of Jefferson. Crosses a river truss bridge and a trestle. More passengers wait in Albany OR as the train comes around a curve and slows to a stop at the station, then resumes its journey passing a string of boxcars. Through green fields and over the McKenzie River. The 4449 blows her air horn and whistles as she comes into Eugene for a service stop.

     As the train goes through Springfield, a fly crawls onto the lens of the camera on top of the boiler but doesn't stay long. An SP freight waits in a siding; a run past a small freight yard; nice aerial views with forested green hills and mountains. The 4449 puts out a lot of smoke as she rounds a curve and speeds into the Cascade foothills. A montage of cab and track scenes to a folk song. The train runs along Lookout Reservoir, crosses a bridge over an arm of the reservoir and is paced from Highway 58. An aerial view of the train heading up the North Fork Willamette River. It heads into a siding to let an Amtrak with two F40PHs pass. Through the town of Westfir and the Westfir Tunnel into Oakridge. Two SP helper units, 7112 and 7113, are coupled to the front of the 4449. (These are GP40-2Ms, rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen and looking very sharp in clean new paint and fast SP lettering.)

     The train crosses Squaw Butte Road as the 7112's unusual- sounding three-chime horn sounds. Nice forests; a small herd of elk from the air; railfans waiting at Salt Creek Trestle; passing Salt Creek Falls. Passengers talk about the trip and of other trips they've taken. Now the train is in the higher Cascades with shallow snow on the ground and temperatures in the 20s F. More curves, tunnels, steep mountainsides, and snowsheds. At Cascade siding on the summit, the helpers are uncoupled and move on ahead. The 4449 is now on her own again as she spews a tall plume of smoke while passing an SP freight in a siding. A teleshot across a sunny slope; past Odell Lake and through forests; past Crescent Lake and a herd of pronghorn; much smoke at Kirk siding. The steam from the underside of the 4449 sets off a hotbox detector ("Stop the train! Stop the train!" etc.). On the eastern slopes of the Cascades the forests are drier, A runby at Mowich Crossing; across the Klamath Indian Reservation; an SP freight at Chiloquin siding; across the Williamson River; along Upper Klamath Lake; and into Klamath Falls in late afternoon. This is the end of the trip for some passengers.

     The next morning, the crew is changed and the 4449 steams up as a northbound Amtrak passes. Aerial views of fast running; past Warden Flats and through a short tunnel; through Dorris Tunnel and into California. The train stops shy of Kegpit siding on an upgrade. The flange greasers on the tracks cause the 4449's drivers to slip several times, but she starts up valiantly. At Bray siding, a teleshot of the train continuing upgrade; the airhorn sounds as it passes. Past Grass Lake and Andesite, over the Hotlum Bridge, and past sagebrush slopes. A stop at Black Butte (junction with the Siskiyou Line) for water; the two GP40-2Ms are added on again. An aerial view of the snowy, windblown summit of Mount Shasta. Around the top curve of the Cantara Loop; along a steep slope past an overturned hopper; across the Sacramento River on the bottom curve of the Loop.

     Another service stop at Dunsmuir and an aerial view of Castle Crags. Nice views of the line in the Sacramento River canyon. The helpers are cut off again at Lakehead, near Shasta Lake. Some raucous jazz-rock fusion music as the train races downslope and across the Redding Trestle. Virtually all of the Sacramento Valley is skipped; the train arrives at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento for two weeks at Railfair '91. After that, the train is shown at a couple of places in the Valley, including a nice teleshot on a curve with the sun setting the Daylight paint ablaze like a giant torch.

If I were to improve this show, I would have done the following:

• Show less street running through Portland and more of the Sacramento Valley.
• Show an aerial view of the complete Cantara Loop section all in one.
• Aim the camera on the 4449's cowcatcher a wee bit higher to show more of the view ahead.

     That said, “Daylight Express” is a nice show; it captures the history of the 4449 and the excitement of the trip very well. The views from the top camera were the best ones of the track ahead. It was great to hear the 4449's low, throaty whistle, although I was surprised to notice how much softer it is than the airhorn. I was fortunate to see the 4449 in Sacramento during Railfair '99 after she came down again under her own steam against heavy odds. It was easy to see why she's so popular; she's a real beauty. If you're a fan of railroad history, steam, and the 4449, you'll like “Daylight Express.”

–Paul H. in AtasCal