"Kenneth Westcott and Curtiss Johnson 296 pages hardcover
This book tells the story of the 3-foot- gauge Pacific Coast Railway. For some 66 years this line ran from the deep water harbor at Port Harford (later Port San Luis) on the Central California coast, north through San Luis Obispo, and then south to the sleepy little town of Los Olivos. The 76-mile-long railway brought people and business to the area, and hauled many products to the wharf. From Port Harford they steamed to market on ships belonging to the PC'S parent - the Pacific Coast Company. For model railroaders, the Pacific Coast Railway is a dream line. Steamships docked at its wharf near an ornate Victorian hotel. An electrified branch connected beet fields to a sugar factory, with an interurban car providing passenger service be- tween Santa Maria and Guadalupe. Other branches led to gravel pits and oil fields. The mainline continued south through rolling hills studded with oak trees, terminat- ing in the tiny yard at Los Olivos. Modelers will find plans and photos of many of the PC'S structures, including al- most all of those in the San Luis Obispo yard. They will also find plans and photos of most of the line's cars and locomotives, including homemade electrics, a gasoline- powered locomotive, and a rail truck. There are diagrams of each turnout and line-side structure, and a milepost list with every bridge, fence, and siding. This book should interest all who love railroads, and all friends of the Central California Coast, and be a continuing source of inspiration for model railroaders everywhere."
