Built:1881,
by Barney & Smith Manufacturing Company, Dayton, Ohio
Purchased
for $50 in 1938, Coach 5 was the first piece of railroad equipment
acquired by Ward and Betty Kimball. Its arrival marked the beginning of
the Grizzly Flats Railroad, the now legendary 500-foot long rail line
located in the Kimball’s backyard in San Gabriel, California. The
Kimballs repainted the exterior for their own railroad, but kept the
interior in its as-received condition.
Coach
5 was built in 1881 for the Carson & Colorado Railroad, which ran from
a connection with the Virginia & Truckee Railroad at Mound House,
Nevada south to Keeler, California. The C&C was acquired by the
Southern Pacific in 1900, and Coach 5 was rebuilt that same year, adding
an interior partition to provide a smoking section. Coach 5 finished its
SP career on the narrow-gauge Owens Valley line, finally being retired in
1938.
Donated
by Ward and Betty Kimball
Additional
Photos:
With
the Emma, Lee Kagy photo
Outside
the enginehouse, 1996. SP flatcar undergoing restoration in
foreground.
South
side of the enginehouse 1993. Don Brown photo
-
John Smatlak photos, except as noted, click image to enlarge -
Interior
of Coach 5 as it appears today, largely unaltered from its
appearance at the previous turn of the century.
Close-up
of the woodwork surrounding the windows.
One
of the seats. Note the elaborate cast seat frame.
