LIFE IS A FUNERAL CAR
It's number was 1101 and it started out as a funeral railroad street car called "Paraoso"-Spanish for paradise. After being built in 1909, in an age of horse-drawn hearses, she, and others like her, offered a more dignified ride to a person's final resting place. With a handsome dark green interior, the railroad car also had oval stained glass windows above her passenger windows. One end of the funeral car carried the quiet coffin of a loved one, while the other end comfortably carried mourners in green plush seats. With twenty-five dollars paid, the funeral party was soon en route to the cemetery. With the gentle rocking of the Paraoso going up the track, most of her mourners sat in silence without a trace of tension on their face. There was something about a train and the tracks on which it traveled. Designation reached, the car eased to a stop and soon the small doors below the oval windows on the side of the car opened. The casket was transferred to a special carrier and wheeled to the graveside. The other car door opened and mourners stepped down from "Paraoso", and at least two of them softly ran their fingers over the wood and brass siding of the doors and briefly touched the car's dark green side without saying a word. Paraoso was on her way again. The following years would not be kind to 'paradise', for being known as a funeral car, she wasn't too popular. A little remodeling here, a number 950 change there, she also underwent a name change, The Descanso. In a short while she would be put out of service and kept in a quiet place. Until she was given a different type of clientele and a new place to live. Soon, she would become the well known landmark in present day Summit, at Cajon Pass.
On Independence Day, 1940, the Descanso, which was sold to the Pacific Railroad Society, was moved to the summit of Cajon Pass. The Descanso's home was about one hundred yards northeast of the train depot, and it rested on ground leased by the Santa Fe. Outfitted with comfortable bunks and other amenities, it was used to service a more exciting type of people....the alive kind. It became a unique meeting place for avid train-watchers. From 1947-1955, if also served as a peaceful sleeping quarters for Cajon Pass railroad historian Chard Walker. He was also Southern California Cajon Pass's most prominent operator. For over twenty-five years, the experience of spending time in the ex-funeral car was a well remembered one. The starry quiet nights, the sharp chilly mornings, the eerie quiet of a fog shrouded summit, and the sounds and vibrations of passing trains and their mournful whistle cries was indeed 'paradise' to those fortunate to spend time within The Descanso.
Over the years on top of the Summit, she would go through many color changes, but inside she remained the same. In 1967, the construction of a new Southern Pacific rail line through the Cajon Pass forced her to move again. With the new Palmdale-Colton Cutoff, no one would be around The Descanso like before, and fear of vandalism from a few uncaring public made Pacific Railroad Society realize that she needed just one more move in her life. Somewhere that was a lot safer. The two places that would make a fitting final resting place for the ex-funeral car was either Orange Empire Trolley Museum or Travel Town in Los Angeles's Griffith Park. The Society held a vote amongst it's members, and the majority vote won...The Orange Empire Museum in Perris, California, became The Descanso's new home in 1967.
In 1990, The Descanso was restored to its original appearance, and there it still sits next to the Museum. Hopefully collecting visitors and not dust. The author has no idea if any ghost stories of the dead exist about The Descanso, but there are many spoken and written enjoyable memories from the living concerning her. To hear of them, go visit the Descanso.
Just a part of History,
Terry Graham, WW
