This museum seems to have a great collection of SP buildings and a few pieces of equipment:

http://www.kcmuseum.org/ourCollection

I found out about this museum by looking for this car:

SP 2439 79-C-1 coach with baggage elevator, now Amtrak 7515; Kern County Museum, Bakersfield, CA

(via the wonderful: http://webpages.charter.net/altalair/sp_equipment.html )

Does anybody know how the museum is caring for / using the car?

Tom Cornillie

I can't offer much information about the Kern County Museum, but there was a throwaway reference in a 1996 Electric Railway Historical Association newsletter (online at http://www.erha.org/timepoints/90-99/oct96.pdf) to a California-style streetcar from the Bakersfield & Kern at the museum. I've never been able to find any other solid information about it, though.

I stopped by this museum about a year ago to check on the car. Unfortunately, they were not open, so I can't say for sure what they have done to the interior since acquisition. It appears that it is just a display piece.

This car was acquired from a lumber yard in Bakersfield, CA, who purchased it from the Purdy Company of Mojave, CA circa 1980. Purdy acquired the car from Amtrak circa 1978 after Amtrak retired it out of Los Angeles. The lumber yard used it for a public snack bar/coffee shop that was usually open for lunch. They simply had the SP switch it into one of their spur tracks and parked it there. When converting the car for this use, they did not follow the proper procedure and thus neglected to cut the requisite gaping hole into the side of the car. Patrons simply entered through the end door like you're supposed to (this was before handicap access). Though I did not take any interior pictures of the car, I recall that the interior modifications were minimal. Most (but not all) of the seats were removed and replaced with tables. The restroom nearest the vestibule was used as the kitchen, so was stripped accordingly. I do not recall if the luggage racks had been removed. Other than that, the car was used as received. Underbody equipment, trucks, etc, were left intact.

After the lumber yard quit using the car, they had it switched across the street into a fenced area and put it up for sale. I believe this was around 2000. I seem to recall they wanted $25,000 for it. Since it did not sell, they evidently donated it to the museum. The car is on isolated track at the museum and is visible from the road.

In my opinion, this is a noteworthy car. Not only is it one of just a few surviving single unit (non-articulated) pre-war SP chair cars in existence, but to my knowledge it is also the only single unit pre-war SP chair car left that retained it's original stainless steel fluting after the structure was rebuilt by SP at their Sacramento shops. This car also has conventional 6 x 11 inside swing hanger disk brake trucks from an SP P-S 1950 built 22 roomette sleeper. The trucks from those cars made it under quite a few of the SP pre-war cars in the late 1960's to replace the more complicated triple bolster "Napolean Hat" tyle trucks these cars had originally.

Frank,

The only Bakersfield & Kern streetcar that I have ever seen is the one (#4) at Orange Empire Railway Museum.

There was not a lot left of the body when they go it,
so it is mostly a replica.

Hope you are right and there is another car (body)
out there some where.

Ted Miles