Nostalgia & History > SP from 1969

One nice Spring day in April of 1969, I happened to be returning from a short trip to Turlock on a Friday afternoon. Going over the Ninth Street over crossing on HY 99, I noticed the same caboose and freight cars of an earlier westbound freight which had one of the rare Alco hydraulics on the point of the consist. My first thought was that they had been involved in a crossing accident but soon found out different.

The evening rush of 500PM was on and I took some creative routes to find the head end of the train which happened to be located by the M&ET transfer tracks. To my surprise, the big Alco was dead in the water with no engine noise. By then crew members were opening and closing car body doors to rectify the problem as B street had been blocked for quite some time based on the mass of traffic backed up. To my surprise, number 3 siding on the west side of the SP main was void of storage cars and better yet, the Modesto Ash trees along 7th street had not yet filled out with leaves. I had a perfect side light situation and no boxcars to create shadows and an impossible photo situation. It did not take long to shoot a few images as the highpitched whine of the Alco starting motors filled the air. Black smoke soon erupted from the exhaust stack and car body doors were closed. The smooth idle of the trailing SD-9 was no longer the dominant sound with the big Alco back on line. With the problem resolved, it did not take long for the duo of locomotives to make quick work of starting the train and accelerating out of a town full of enraged motorists.

The days of hydraulic traction on the SP were coming to an end and soon the remaining 3 Alco hydraulics would only see service during the busy season in the Fall of the year. I have another image from that day but will have to hunt it down. This was the best one which I submitted to a magazine and had it rejected. I never submitted again.

Robert

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Sure, why would anyone want to print a perfectly good picture of one of the rarest
locomotives ever to run on a railroad possessed of fanatics. This is why certain
railroad magazines and publications aren't anymore!

I believe 9150 would be renumbered 9800 not long after your encounter.

While 9801 (9151) was sidelined, 9800 and 9802 continued to run year round until at least late spring of 1972. Usually they stayed on the Roseville - Bakersfield - Tracy - Bay Area lines, but the operational pair made at least one trip together over Tehachapi to LA and back up the Coast late in their lives, springtime in 1971 or 1972 (I forget which now). I'm sure the SP power fans can provide more info on their last days. I missed getting any good action shots of them on the point, so thanks for your post.

Best regards,

Rob L.

Really great catch.

rehunn Wrote:
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> Sure, why would anyone want to print a perfectly
> good picture of one of the rarest
> locomotives ever to run on a railroad possessed of
> fanatics. This is why certain
> railroad magazines and publications aren't
> anymore!

They'd love to print such a picture. I see a picture of a locomotive with tree shadows all over it.