U2 got it wrong, as one thing, at least, does change on New Year's Day: The Santa Fe Railway passed through the middle of downtown Pasadena, California. And on New Year's Day, the city of Pasadena hosts the Tournament of Roses Parade. Inconveniently, the Parade occurs in the early morning, which is the same time of day that Amtrak's westbound Southwest Limited was due through town. In order to avoid problems, Amtrak #3 was rerouted every January 1st (unless the 1st is on a Sunday, in which case this would occur on the 2nd) from the Santa Fe's Second District to the parallel Third District, taking this Chicago to Los Angeles train through Fullerton instead of Pasadena. And so it was on January 1st, 1974, as the Southwest Limited made its stop in a rainy San Bernardino, California. (Rain? On New Year's Day? The city of Pasadena's Chamber of Commerce would not approve!) A trio of SDP40Fs - 521, 514 and 527, each less than a year old - will diverge from the usual route shortly after departing the stop in San Bernardino, and head south through Riverside and then west through Fullerton in order to arrive in Los Angeles without interrupting the Rose Parade.
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
