Lark (passenger train)

The "Lark" was an all-sleeper passenger train of the Southern Pacific Company that ran between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was discontinued in 1968. The Lark ran along the same route as the Coast Daylight and was often pulled by a locomotive wearing the famous Daylight paint scheme of orange, red, and black.

SPLARKSan Francisco – Oakland – Los Angeles(July 10, 1941)470 miles

The Southern Pacific inaugurated a deluxe all-room pair of lightweight streamlined sleeping car trains named the "Lark" between Los Angeles and Oakland – San Francisco. The new streamlined "Larks" were actually two trains in one between San Jose and Los Angeles—the last two cars in each consist were known as the "Oakland Lark" and operated up the east side of San Francisco Bay to that city. All other cars in the "Lark" train sets operated between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The two head end cars in each consist were heavyweights remodeled and painted to match the rest of the consists. The "Lark" consists were eighteen cars in length between San Jose and Los Angeles. Eleven of those cars were sleeping cars destined between Los Angeles and San Francisco with total accommodations for 228 passengers. The last two cars in each consist were the two "Oakland Lark" cars with sleeping accommodations for 29 passengers. In the center of each train set was the triple-unit articulated "Lark Club" with one unit fitted with a kitchen and crew dormitory space, the center articulated unit was a 48-seat dining room and the third articulated unit was a bar with seating for 48. The entire 96 seats of the dining and lounge area could be set up for serving breakfast in the morning or as additional Cocktail Lounge space in the evening. The "Lark" was to overnight travelers what the "Morning Daylight" and "Noon Daylight" were to day travelers in the Los Angeles – San Francisco market safe reliable deluxe transportation. The "Lark" was the only streamlined all-room sleeping car train to operate entirely within a single state and the only all-room train operating strictly on the west coast. For power the SP assigned streamlined GS-3 and GS-4 4-8-4 Northern locomotives painted in the "Daylight" colors of scarlet and orange. The SP never painted any of locomotives in the "Lark" colors of two-tone gray.