page_title: Peninsula Commute
section_title: Locomotives
hierarchical_section_title: Peninsula Commute / Rolling stock / Locomotives
caption_attribution_description: Shortly after CalTrain's new F40's turned up, a problem was discovered with their brakes. SP's power was recalled and double headed with the F40's. August 1985
context_page_description: The Peninsula Commute, also known as the Southern Pacific Peninsula or just Peninsula, was the common name for commuter rail service between San Jose, California and San Francisco, California on the San Francisco Peninsula. This service ran as a private, for-profit enterprise beginning in 1863. Due to operating losses, the Southern Pacific Railroad petitioned to discontinue the service in 1977. Subsidies were provided through the California Department of Transportation in 1980 to continue service, and it was renamed Caltrain.
context_section_description: Steam
  With population (and ridership) growth on the Peninsula, the initial mix of 4-4-0, 2-6-0, and 4-4-2 locomotives were replaced by 4-6-0s. Older locomotives were redesignated to Commute service after they were displaced by newer locomotives assuming main-line (long-distance, inter-city) passenger service. Pacific-type 4-6-2s were used on peak-hour commutes by the 1930s and 1940s, displacing 4-6-0s, and more 4-6-2s were made available for the Commute by the introduction of 4-8-2s in main-line service; by 1945, the 4-8-2s were displacing 4-6-2s on peak-hour trains, 4-6-2s were moved to off-peak service, and 4-6-0s were used on weekend trains. By the early 1950s, peak-hour trains were pulling up to seventeen cars in a single consist, requiring the use of the "General Service" class 4-8-4s.
  After gaining experience with diesel engines in main-line service, SP began testing various diesel locomotives for the Peninsula Commute, finally selecting the Fairbanks-Morse H-24-66 "Train Master" because the relatively short distance between stations meant acceleration (and power) was the paramount priority. The final steam-led Peninsula Commute train departed San Francisco for San Jose on January 22, 1957, led by 4-8-4 No. 4430. However, 4-6-2 No. 2472 was moved from San Francisco to San Jose at the head of Caltrain #74 on December 16, 1994; #2472 was to lead a special charity excursion train back to San Francisco the next day. While coupled to Caltrain #74, though, #2472 was used to help accelerate the train out of each station, so it was not just a cosmetic appearance. #2472 has since been used occasionally along the Peninsula Corridor for special service, but not while providing revenue passenger service.
  Diesel
  The first diesel on the Peninsula Commute ran on September 28, 1953, using SP Locomotive No. 5325, an EMD SD7 equipped with a steam boiler; it left the shortly thereafter, as the SD7 was unable to match the performance of the 4-6-2 steam locomotives then being used for off-peak and weekend service. 
  SP began testing Fairbanks-Morse (F-M) "Train Master" H-24-66 locomotives in late 1953, and purchased two of the four demonstrator models for use on the Peninsula Commute service. Because the existing "Suburban" and "Harriman" passenger cars then prevalent in the fleet took steam heat from the locomotive boiler, SP passenger diesel engines were equipped with steam generators. The diesel era of the Peninsula Commute began on August 25, 1954, when two Train Masters went into test service. The Train Masters, which used the unique opposed-piston two-stroke 38 8-1/8 prime mover developed by F-M for American diesel-electric submarines in World War II, were the most powerful diesel-electric locomotives available at a nominal 2,400 hp (1,800 kW), and had performance comparable to the 4-8-4s for peak service: while the starting tractive effort of the "General Service" class 4-8-4 ranged from 63,230 to 66,330 lbf (281.3 to 295.1 kN), the Train Master was rated at 79,500 lbf (354 kN).
  The Train Masters were complemented by a fleet of EMD GP9s fitted with steam generators; while peak-hour trains required one Train Master or two GP9s, off-peak and weekend trains could more economically use a single GP9. Switching duties were handled by an ALCO RS-32, or an ALCO S-4. When Amtrak took over inter-city (main-line) service in 1971, the SP EMD SDP45s then in main-line use were reassigned to Commute service, and three unique passenger-equipped EMD GP40P-2 engines were delivered in 1974, allowing SP to retire all of the Train Masters by 1975. The fleet of EMD GP9s, SDP45s, and GP40P-2s were used by SP to run the Peninsula Commute.
  In 1978, SP pulled the SDP45s from Peninsula Commute service to comply with an ICC order to return freight cars. Amtrak leased fifteen GE P30CH locomotives to SP to keep the commuter rail service running, but none of the GE engines were equipped with steam generators. After 1980, the SP fleet continued in leased service to the nascent state-run CalTrain service until the state of California ordered new EMD F40PH locomo
caption: SP 3195 (GP9) running in tandem with CDTX 911 (F40PH), August 1985
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