Steam & Excursion > Train Time In Gerber, CA With Southern Pacific #2467!

While we all know SP 4-6-2 from her years on display in Oakland, California and later when she was acquired and restored to operation by the Pacific Locomotive Association. Today we know her as being a display engine at the California State Railroad Museum. All that is fine and good, but let's take a look at her back in her days of operation.

The date is a hot July 19, 1948 and we see SP #2467 bringing her passenger train into the small town of Gerber, California for a planned meet with another SP passenger train. Some of the passengers are already unloaded and ready to board #2467's train once it comes to a halt halt near the Gerber Station platform.

Certainly none of these anxious passenger could know, or even care, that Southern Pacific would later choose their engine to be saved to remind future generations what daily passenger operations such as those shown in this scene were all about.


Martin



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/14 04:24 by LoggerHogger.

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Nice scene...

Steve Mitchell
http://www.yardgoatimages.com

Nice shot of my favorite Pacific.

Isn't it funny that nowadays they would never consider briniging the train into the station with passengers on the center platform? Wow- the good old days when people had or were expected to have common sense.

I'm puzzled. What was the reason for the cross platform transfers?

Copy19 Wrote:
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> I'm puzzled. What was the reason for the cross
> platform transfers?


This one is interesting, and that IS a cross platform transfer....between train 202, an SF to Gerber train, arriving at 2 PM, routed via Roseville and the east valley line via Chico, and train 16, the West Coast, LA - Sacramento - Davis via the passenger main...the west valley line, arriving Gerber at 2:55 PM, headed for Portland, arriving at 7:40 AM. Info from April, 1948 OG. AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

She's a beauty all right Neat shot.

Chris

Martin,
I was thinking I can't recall seeing any images of the roundhouse and other support structures at Gerber. Do you have any in your collection?

Tony Johnson

In revisiting this great photo, and re-reading the thread, I do believe loggerhogger has the story a bit wrong....Train 202 terminated at Gerber, and has been waiting for #16 for nearly an hour. Perhaps the station (is there one?) has no waiting room, so the train sits at the station to allow connecting passengers to wait in the air conditioned coaches for #16. Once 16 has arrived and is boarding those connecting passengers....and yes it must be hot for the Conductor to be seen coatless in those days.....now 202 can go to the yard and await tomorrow's AM departure back to the city. That is why we see the brakeman on the pilot to handle the switching chores necessary to accomplish the move. AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

agentatascadero Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In revisiting this great photo, and re-reading the
> thread, I do believe loggerhogger has the story a
> bit wrong....Train 202 terminated at Gerber, and
> has been waiting for #16 for nearly an hour.
> Perhaps the station (is there one?) has no waiting
> room, so the train sits at the station to allow
> connecting passengers to wait in the air
> conditioned coaches for #16. Once 16 has arrived
> and is boarding those connecting passengers....and
> yes it must be hot for the Conductor to be seen
> coatless in those days.....now 202 can go to the
> yard and await tomorrow's AM departure back to the
> city. That is why we see the brakeman on the
> pilot to handle the switching chores necessary to
> accomplish the move. AA

With the consolidation of the Shasta and Sacramento divisions and the run through agreement in the late 1960s Gerber was abolished as an way from terminal for train and engine crews. Gerber was completely dismantled including the depot with waiting room, the clubhouse for t&e employees, round house, rip tracks, water tank,subsidy for the restaurant, and all track except the two main lines. CTC was never installed between Tehama and Kiska but it should have been.
The employee on the pilot was probably a Snake (switch man) as there were yard engines assigned to Gerber.

Was the shop area west of the tracks about even with the town?

And a couple more questions....looking at the platform, are those "covered wagon" carts for ice? And, that shed looking structure, is that the Gerber "station"? AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

No. 202 Originated in Sacramento and terminated at Gerber. It returned to Sacramento the same afternoon as No. 201. In a schedule from the 1946, No. 202 arrived 10 minutes after No. 16 arrived. I would guess that the people on the platform were out getting fresh air. It looks to me that the man in the white shirt is not a trainman all though the sun on his head makes it look some what like a cap, but the light colored pants would not be a trainman uniform. The switchman on the locomotive would help protect against people on the platform and later turning the train.

Cliff