South Pacific Coast Baggage Cars

Compiled by Randy Hees

The SPC owned at least 13 baggage cars over it's 30 year life as a narrow gauge line. The SPC divided it's cars into two groups; Mail & Express, and Baggage. The cars were moved from one category to another, they are combined into one category here. For most of the 30 years the baggage cars were kept in a seperate number series, numbered 1 to 11*, but sometime after 1904 Three cars were added which were not numbered with the other baggage cars, car 17 which was rebuilt from a combine of the same number and 1200 and 1203 which were transfered from the Southern Pacific's Northern Railway (originally the San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada) and kept their numbers. Records suggest that there were 8 original cars (1-8) with 6 cars required for service. After the turn of the century several passenger cars were converted for baggage service (combine 17 to baggage 17, coach 81 to baggage 9, coaches 79 & 82 to NPC as baggage, postal, express cars 1 & 2) Cars 10 & 11 may be a result of similar rebuilds.

Of all the SPC passenger cars, the bagggage cars have the least clear history. These cars seem to come and go out of service randomly. The greatest mystery involves the addition of 6 cars after 1903, at a time when the railroad was preparing to standard gauge, and was cutting back narrow gauge service.

*The South Pacific Coast had at least 6 pieces of equipment numbered 1... A Locomotive, a Coach, a Baggage car, a Caboose, a Parlor car, and a Flat car.


SPC baggage mail express usage history is as follows:



The Roster


Copyright Randy Hees, 1996

Page created by: hees@ix.netcom.com
Changes last made on: Sat Sep 28 19:39:49 1996