page_title: San Diegan (train)
section_title: Equipment used
hierarchical_section_title: San Diegan (train) / Equipment used
caption_attribution_description: English: ATSF's San Diegan passes through San Clemente, CA. From "Railfanning the Santa Fe in Southern California" — copyright Surf Line Historical Society (2003), free to distribute and/or use for any purpose.
context_page_description: The San Diegan was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and a “workhorse” of the railroad. Its 126-mile route ran from Los Angeles, California south to San Diego. It was assigned train Nos. 70–79.
  The Los Angeles-San Diego corridor was to the Santa Fe what the New York City–Philadelphia corridor was to the Pennsylvania Railroad. Daily traffic could reach a density of ten trains during the summer months. From the Los Angeles/Orange County border to San Diego, it ran along the Surf Line, which was so named because much of its trackage came within fewer than 100 feet of the Pacific Ocean.
  The first San Diegan ran on March 27, 1938 as one set of equipment making two round trips a day. A second trainset delivered in 1941 made possible four streamlined trains each way. A set of heavyweight equipment made a fifth trip in each direction. During and after the Second World War, furlough business from San Diego's military bases necessitated extra sections of San Diegans, and racetrack specials during horseracing season at Del Mar added to passenger train miles.
context_section_description: The original San Diegan consist included a baggage car, two coaches (60 seats each), a lunch counter-tavern car, and a parlor-observation car. Motive power consisted of a single 1,800 hp (1,300 kW) EMC E1A locomotive sporting the familiar Warbonnet paint scheme. These units would, in time, be replaced by ALCO PA and PB power and EMD F3 and F7 locomotives. Santa Fe's lone trio of Fairbanks-Morse (FM) "Erie-built" locomotives and the odd GE U28CG could also be seen occasionally running the line.
  A lone pair of 90-seat self-powered Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) were acquired for express service. They operated "back-to-back" as a single train unit from May 21, 1952 until the Redondo Junction derailment on January 22, 1956.
  Three additional coach units were added for weekend traffic. The San Diegan also enjoyed almost exclusive use of Santa Fe's "pendulum-suspension" chair car, No. 1100, after World War II.
  In June 1941, the railroad added a second eight-car trainset, also built by Budd, to handle the high demand. Its original consist was similar to the above save for an additional coach. Subsequent consists varied according to traffic levels.
  A representative, all-lightweight consist from the Summer of 1955:
  Baggage-Mail car
  RPO-Baggage car
  "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats)
  "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats)
  "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats)
  "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats)
  Bar-Lounge-"Chair" car (#1398-#1399 assigned)
  "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats)
  "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats)
  "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats)
  "Chair" car / Coach (52 seats)
  Under Amtrak ex-Santa Fe Hi-Level coaches were used in the early 1970s. Modern Amfleet coaches arrived in 1976. For a six-month period in 1978 service on the route was supplemented by the El Camino cars owned by Los Angeles County.
caption: The San Diegan, led by a pair of EMC E1 locomotives, rolls south along the Pacific Coast through San Clemente.
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