SKU: p1676

Thundering along the rugged California coastline, the Daylight express, boldly emblazoned with sleek banners of bright red and orange, cuts a handsome figure on its 470-mile Los Angelo -to-San Francisco run. Eighth and last plate in The Romantic Age of Ste= collection, The Daylight' is artist R. E. Pierces dramatic tribute to the Southern Pacific Railroads colorful streamliner pulled by locomotive No. 4449, which made its railroading debut in 1941. A Class GS-4 4-8-4 locomotive built by the lima Locomotive %Voris of Ohio, the 4449 was among the first GS-4's to have a fully-enclosed cab. But its most compelling feature was a virtually unparalleled steam traction system. Its electro-pneumatic brake equipment sent the braking signal down the train with the speed of electric current, granting precious seconds that could prevent disaster on the rails. The GS-4 was chosen to pull the Daylight because of its impressive total weight and its eight-coupled 80in driving wheels. Heft and might were needed for the Daylight's mountainous run. At 883,000 lb. No. 4449 was nearly twice as heavy as a similar British locomotive. It's oil-fired engine could race along at 100 mph, but the severe curvature and steep grades of the L.A.-toFrisco journey kept it at an average speed of 50mph. Even so, the Daylight was considered a remarkably swift express, completing the treacherous trip in under ten hours. The Daylight's No. 4449 not only made history in its heyday. but survived to haul the "Freedom Train" several thousands of miles across the U.S. during the 1976 bicentennial. As the most modem train portrait in The Romantic Age of team series, "The Daylight" is a striking and ideal conclusion to a historic collection by noted master of railroading art, R. E. Pierce.