End of the line for the Pacific Coast Railway Company, World War II week by week

America needed steel to build tanks, trucks, landing craft, ships, aircraft, and machine guns. Not only was the nation gearing up to fight a war on two fronts but it was also filling the arsenals of Great Britain and the Soviet Union. The Axis powers had several years head start and some key raw materials like rubber from Indonesia were in the middle of the fighting. How to stoke the blast furnaces? Recycle scrap and restrict production new consumer products like cars and refrigerators. In fact the automotive industry would be pressed into service building bombers and tanks rather than sedans. President Franklin Roosevelt had to convince unions that workers would be protected from inflation and profiteering corporations. He also had to convince industrial leaders that the nation’s need was critical and that their investment in new factories would be profitable. It was a delicate dance and at the same time citizens were asked to make sacrifices on the home front.
One reason metal toys from this era can be so valuable was that many were melted down to win the war. Unlike World War I, which bolstered the fortunes of the Pacific Coast Railway, World War II spelled the end. The story is from Sept. 9, 1942.

Ask to Abandon Last Tracks of Narrow Gauge

The end of the colorful narrow gauge rail line between San Luis Obispo and Port San Luis was in sight today as the Port San Luis Transportation Co. asked the Interstate Commerce Commission for permission to abandon the line.
Request for the abandonment of the 12 remaining miles of track was made on the grounds that the rails are needed for war production purposes, according to a United Press dispatch from Washington D.C.
The War Production Board had asked for the rails, the company set forth stating that it would substitute truck freight service from San Luis Obispo to the Port.
Once a vital factor in central coast commerce, the narrow gauge line has dwindled in importance during recent years. All but 12 miles of the tracks were torn up recently following the sale of the company by the Pacific Coast Railway company.

The 4th Annual Central Coast Railroad Festival is coming October 4th to 8th, for more information click here.

In other news on the page a transport ship burned in the Atlantic, the passengers and crew were rescued. The writer of the story was a young United Press correspondent named Walter Cronkite.

Two men were injured on the remaining active railroad. A Southern Pacific freight train rammed a caboose trapping two men on the Hathway siding near Cal Poly.

Related posts:

1. Southern Pacific builds Stenner Creek Bridge, Cuesta Grade construction on the Coast Line
2. Dimout ordered for the West Coast, World War II week by week
3. Map of the Pacific, World War II week by week
4. Pacific Coast Railroad Bridge, Avila Beach 1966
5. Avila Truss Bridge No. 5 Pacific Coast Railroad