Nostalgia & History > SP: The End Of The Alco Switcher Era

By the late 1970s and very early 1980s the end of the Alco era on the SP for end cab switchers was at hand. The final model to work SP lines in California was the S6.Several were sold off for industrial use, including the "Chicken Alco" and SP 1204 which went to AL Gilbert in Keyes CA.

1. A small deadline of Alcos, including 1213, is evident in Fresno CA on August 11, 1980.

2. On the balmy summer evening of July 1, 1977, the roundhouse whiskers were populated with S6s, including No. 1257.

3. By 1981 Alco switchers were now off the roster which made this photo of SP 1213 switching at the Foster Farms plant in Livingston CA, particularly satisfying.

---

---

---

The huge Foster Farms chicken processing plant in Livingston CA purchased a couple former SP S6s and one former WP unit, seen here on November 13, 1982. The Chicken Alco shown here is is S6 1218.

Just up the road from Foster Farms was the AL Gilbert CO, a feed processing plant. They purchased former SP S6 1204, painting it a bright red and white. It could be seen switching the grounds from CA 99 freeway on a regular basis. But by the date of this photo, August 18, 2002, the unit was down and would never operate again. I believe it was subsequently sold for scrap.

---

---

Nice shots, Ken. The A. L. Gilbert unit was scrapped right where you shot it. The trio you shot at Fresno were the very last to depart, and that was not long after your photo. The 1213 went to Foster Farms, 1273 to Holly Sugar at Hamilton City and the 1224 was sold back east somewhere. 1273 still rusts away at Hamilton City, but I'm not sure about the current status of the 13 or 24.

John Ford

The "Chicken Alco" aka SP 1218 was donated by Foster Farms to the Pacific Locomotive Assn. It is now in the PLA collection in Niles Canyon. By the way, for everyone who asks "why wasn't such and such engine saved?" this free locomotive cost about $20,000.00 to move between crane fees, transportation and other related costs. Then a lot of time and money has gone into the restoration to get it where it is today. It has been worth it but this gives you some idea of why museums have to be careful what they accept and why they sometimes turn down something that railfans consider a real jewel.

The S6 is probably the best Alco for an operating museum like the PLA. Parts for the 251 engine are still available. Check out the web site below for details of the restoration. Especially look at the cab before and after pictures to see some amazing work done by Howard and crew.

See: http://sp1218.ncry.org/

Those "before" and "after" photos tell a story of many hours of hard work in bringing 1218 back to near-mint condition. I especially like the control stand that looks like something from a New York subway car. I can imagine the engine saying to one of the other units, "Boy, am I glad to get away from that chicken outfit!"