MEMORIES OF THE LARK

Cars, even up into the "fifties". By the "fabulous sixties," the consist began to decline rapidly until it often only ran with four to six cars during the winter season.

The scrumptous dining service featured such luxurious items as baked salmon, filet of sole, peach a la conde, with english plum pudding with hard sauce as desert. As the passenger patronage declined so did the available services on board. The dining cars became slot machines by the early sixties with the advent of the "automat" cars with their "drop a coin in a slot" food.

After several applications to regulatory bodies and many refusals, the Southern Pacific was granted permisssion to discontinue the Lark. This ends the age old service of overnight passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Now the time has come, when one can count the remaining name trains on the SP on one hand. The two premier trains between Los Angeles and San Francisco still linger on. The Coast Daylight and San Joaquin Daylight continue to ply their way between the two California cities, but they are just ghosts of their former glory, often running with just a few cars. It looks like their days, too, are numbered, but we all hope that they will continue for a long time yet.

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