The Hedge & Dawson SA&AP book and Beebe's CP&SP book indicate the following business cars used by the SA&AP:
Here are Bob Pecotich's comments on this list:
Rubio, Presidential Car, referred to in Central Pacific and Southern Pacific (CP&SP) by Beebe, p.469: In researching the history of SP and predecessors business cars for a history of them that I am writing with Guy Dunscomb, I transcribed all SA&AP business car listings in each monthly issue of the Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER) from June 1885 to July 1932. No records of the name Rubio appears in any of the SA&AP monthly business car listings.
In researching Pacific lines business car histories, I found several examples of private or business cars appearing in photographs with "Southern Pacific" on their letterboards and not appearing in SP or CP ORER business car listings. The conclusion I came to was that these cars were privately owned by individuals having a business relationship with SP. An example was car "San Emedio" owned by the Tevis family/Wells Fargo Bank, with "Southern Pacific" on the letterboards when photographed on the Sacramento car shops transfer table circa 1906 and never appearing in SP/CP business car listings. Barger's "A Century Of Pullman Cars, published after Beebe, does not list Rubio as a Pullman wood sleeping car name. Beebe's "Mansions On Rails" does not list Rubio in the appendix of 1882-1930 Pullman-built private cars. I would suspect Rubio was a non-Pullman built sleeping car, and not a railroad-owned business car, despite Beebe's caption.
Electric, business car, referred to in Hedge/Dawson's SA&AP p.25. and sold to Western Union?: My ORER research does not show "Electric" as an ORER-listed SA&AP business car. Three "Electra"(s) show up in Barger but no "Electric" as a Pullman. Beebe's "Mansions On Rails" Pullman-built private car appendix shows number 650 "Electric" ordered by the "San Diego & Aranzas Pass (Yakum)" (Pullman record spelling, according to Beebe) in Lot 1578 on November 22, 1889. Hedge/Dawson's SA&AP p.25 photograph shows the car with "Western Union Telegraph Company" on the letterboards, with the caption indicating it was sold to Jay Gould's Western Union "in a short time", probably around the time of the 1890 bond default, tho I have no record of the date of this transaction.
Fern Ridge, hunting car, Beebe p.469, H&D, p.25: My ORER research does not show "Fern Ridge" as an ORER-listed SA&AP business car, or is it a 1882-1930 Pullman-built business car per Beebe's appendix. I suspect it was converted for private use from an 1870s-1880s coach for sporting use, with SA&AP remaining as the home road.
ORERs list the following SA&AP business cars. SA&AP listings appeared as part of the T&NO business car listings for the first time in July, 1925: Car 22, March 1890-December 1905, and January 1908-June 1911. I believe these were two different cars, tho I have no solid data to support either position.
Car First 100, January-December, 1906
Car Second 100 Pullman -built in 1885, wood body and underframe, 50 feet long, 4 wheel composite trucks, $7154 new value. Per SP official records. Car first appears as SA&AP business car 100 in January 1913 and disappears as SA&AP (SP-owned) 100 in October 1925.
Car 101 ACF-built in 1912, wood body and underframe, 60 feet long, 4 wheel composite trucks, $5664 new value, car obtained second hand, all data per SP records. Car first appears as SA&AP business car 101 in January 1913 and disappears as SA&AP (SP-owned) 100 in October 1925.
Car 103 Magnolia Builder-unknown. Less than 60 feet long. First appeared as SA&AP 103 (Magnolia) in April 1924 and retained this name/number until December 1926. It became 985 Magnolia in January 1927 with corporate ownership transfer to the ML&T, leaving the roster in July 1927.
Carl also asked if "99 Telcalco" was a special car and notes that the H&D book also spells Telcalco as Tacaloca, asking "Which is right?" and mentioning that the car may have been renamed San Antonio by 1918.
ORERs reflect the SA&AP-owned chronology of: Feliola, (1) October-December, 1887, becoming Tecalco (1) [note the spelling difference] from January 1888 to February 1890, dropping the number but retaining the name only from March 1890 thru October 1894. It became car 99 in November 1894 and retained the parenthetical name listing "(Tecalco)" until December 1912. In January 1913, the listing for car 99 shows the parenthetical listing ("San Antonio)" thru December 1913, and the listing 99 only thru June 1925. SP records indicate that a Pullman 1910-built wood body/steel underframe 69 foot car with 6 wheel composite trucks was purchased second hand and put into business car service with a new value of $15,204.00. The records do not give a date for the transaction or entry into business car service, but it was probably July 1926, when the name "San Antonio" was substituted for "99" in the ORER listings.
I am following the spelling and name convention of the Registers with "Tecalco" as the spelling of the listing is consistent, tho I have seen some (five or fewer cars out of 180-185 cars total) variation in the SP and subsidiary listings, "Francisco/Francesca" and "Carmello/Carmelo" being prominent Pacific lines examples.
If anyone can refer me to a repository of Texas lines business car records, please let me know their location. I need more data on about 25 of the 40+ T&NO/predecessors business cars.
Bob Pecotich
Last Revised: 11/17/2007