The famous 4449 Southern Pacific Daylight Steam Locomotive

Mark LaCiura.

4449 pulling out of Bakersfield in 1981.

The Southern Pacific No. 4449 Daylight is the only surviving GS-4 Class Northern Type 4-8-4 steam locomotive in the world. It was built on May 20,1941 by Lima Locomotive works in Lima, Ohio. The only other GS class locomotive that was saved from the scrap yard being a GS-6 No. 4460. It lives at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri, and was built during World War II. The GS-6 locomotives were painted in war time black and silver, they were known as the "War Babies." This GS-6 locomotive is in a state of rusting deterioration not maintained and almost surely will never run again, in my opinion.

GS-4 No. 4449 was treated better, cared for until it could be restored to operational condition in 1974. One good soul, Jack Holst, a Southern Pacific employee and member of the National Railway Historical Society, lubricated the locomotive over the years of storage and while it was on display in Oregon. Holst did not allow the axle journals and side rods to rust in the harsh winter weather, which is a big factor why 4449 was selected to be restored. Without the care from Holst, 4449 may have not been brought back to operational condition. A placard in the locomotive cab is dedicated to him for his work and love for 4449.

Holst never saw the 4449 restoration process, he passed away before the work began. From a report I read, Holst died in the summer of 1972, at the young age of 38.

Another sad note, while 4449 was on display in Portland, Oregon, with only a fence around the steamer it was vandalized and parts were stolen. In 1975, replacement whistles were donated and fitted. A Hancock 3 chime from a mighty Challenger was placed on 4449's driver's side, another Hancock 3 chime off a daylight locomotive was placed on the Fireman's side of 4449. After that a Southern Pacific 6 chime was placed on the Fireman's side.

Perhaps these may have been the original whistles stolen off the locomotive. One story I heard was the person that pulled a whistle off wanted to make sure it would be around for safe keeping when 4449 was ready for operational.

These saved Southern Pacific GS-4, GS-6, 4-8-4 steam locomotives are the last of their kind. All others were scrapped. The "GS" class were workhorses and helped in the World War II efforts in the 1940s. Two more Southern Pacific GS-5 steamers were built road numbers 4458 and 4459 were delivered by Lima in June of 1942 and were similar to the GS-4 with added roller bearings.

One with Timken company roller bearings and the other with SKF rollers bearings on all the axles. This modification added about 8,000 pounds for each locomotive. Hearing from people in our railroad depot in Tehachapi that have insider knowledge on the these Southern Pacific 4-8-4s, these roller bearing could caused some issues with the radius on some trackage. The GS-5s were similar in appearance to the GS-4s, the only difference is the roller bearing that gave the locomotive a smoother ride.

When Southern Pacific scrapped they looked at the roller bearing, showing not much wear after both GS-5s had over a million miles of usage. I think Southern Pacific needed to save one of these steamers being they were the most modern cutting edge steam engine technologically. GS-5 No. 4458 had the longest service life, pulling the "San Joaquin Valley Daylight" until late 1956. Both GS-5s were scrapped in 1958.

Most of, if not all, the information here I heard from talking with locomotive crews, rail-fans, people I have met while hanging around the train tracks and at the Tehachapi Railroad Museum.

Special safety note, always stay 25 feet back from the tracks. Heavy load straps could be hanging loose, flying around in the wind, and could hit you as the cars go by. So, always be safe. Heads up and stay back.

In 1940 the "GS" meant Golden State. At the start of World War II, there was a need for motive-power for the war effort. Southern Pacific needed more GS-4 class 4-8-4s, but the War Production board did not permit SP to build more "GS" passenger engines. So, Southern Pacific re-classified "GS" to stand for "General Service," instead of "Golden State." That way they could be used for freight, passenger work and helper service. The board approved these locomotives. The last GS-6, road numbers 4460 through 4469, were built without all the streamlining side-skirting that the Daylight locomotives had. These locomotive were painted black and silver due to war time paint shortages.

In 1974, the Daylight No. 4449 was restored to operational condition to be used for the American Freedom Train, which toured all over the United States of America as part of the 1976 Bicentennial Celebration. The concept for this train was started by John Wayne in 1969. The source for this information is from the engineer of the 4449, Doyle McCormack, a retired Union Pacific Engineer and locomotive collector. Engineer McCormack is another reason the engine was restored back operational condition for the American Freedom Train.

My first time seeing 4449 in 1976 was on our Tehachapi Loop. My brother and I had camped out near the loop. We did not even have cameras at the time but we wanted to experience a 1940s locomotive working the 2.5% grade climbing to the summit of Tehachapi, while pulling the American Freedom Train. The rail-fan community was large and impressive in Tehachapi. Traffic stopped in places along Highway 58 because drivers were watching the 4449 work the grade.

Another time we got to see the 4449 in action was 1981 as it pulled a train out of Bakersfield, California. My brother and I paced the 4449. It was a true work of art to see; the 4449 is a living, breathing historical slice of Americana, in my opinion. We witnessed speeds from 20 mph to over 80 mph. The sights and sounds of the 4449 were fantastic to hear.

In October 1954, 4449 worked pulling a special 10-car train from Los Angeles to Owenyo, California with help from a sister Southern Pacific GS-4 steamer 4447. These are called fan trips and this was put on by the Locomotive Historical Society. The Jawbone branch line was used for this rail-fan trip, with it going though Mojave to Owenyo.

We have so much railroading history here in Kern County. The Jawbone branch track was set originally to help build the California aqueduct. After the aqueduct construction started, a grading crew found a saber-toothed tiger's jawbone in a canyon north of Cantil, California. The name Jawbone was cemented in at around 1910 for this branch line.

The 4449 spent its career mostly on the Coast Daylight, the premier passenger train from San Francisco to Los Angles. This was a very high-end train traveling with all the best comforts and food. In 1955, 4449 was painted black and silver and its "Daylight" colored streamlining side-skirting was removed. With dieselization well on its way, steam locomotives were not needed as much for passenger trains.

The 4449 was then used on the Southern Pacific San Joaquin Daylight between Oakland and Bakersfield. It was also used for fast freight and helper service in the San Joaquin Valley. The 4449 also did helper work on the 2.5% climbing grades in Tehachapi. I have seen many famous pictures of this locomotive shot at the Bakersfield train station on the head end San Joaquin Daylight train.

The 4449 went into semi retirement in September 1954, where it was on emergency back-up power in Bakersfield. On Oct. 2, 1957, 4449 was officially retired by Southern Pacific Railroad and was stored along with other GS-Class engines at the roundhouse in Bakersfield. The scrapyard was the last trip for most of these mighty rail giants.

Why was No. 4449 saved from the scrap yard? It was the easiest GS-4 locomotive to get to of all that were stored in Bakersfield. This means 4449 was originally set to be the first to be scrapped. That was not to be, thank God!

The 4449 is one of the most famous operating steam locomotive in the world with it making many film appearances. 4449 pulled the "Gold Coast Flyer" in the film "Tough Guys" staring Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. Another one is "Come See the Paradise," a World War II film.

It's a very happy ending for Southern Pacific Daylight GS-4 No. 4449, which is now based at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland, where it is maintained in operational condition by "The friends of SP 4449."