Nostalgia & History > SP Burbank Branch:Rounding the Curve at Canoga Park

Now a busway.I assume it goes this far.I have not been back to chase the MTA buses.The SP Burbank Branch was a fun chase.I do not know the common name for this job so maybe someone can chime in.The image is from 1991.Bill Webb

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Another gem from the good old days that cannot be duplicated.
JB

I think it is not too much of an exaggeration to claim that all the houses in the San Fernando Valley arrived in part as SP delivered lumber loads.
Both the Burbank Branch and the Coast and Valley main lines had numerous lumber yard spurs plus team track business.
Fragments of this business still exist.

I believe they called the Burbank branch local "The Van Nuys"
that worked out of Gemco yard.

Adding to that:
Three other locals out of Gemco were the "Northridge" that worked
the coast line between Burbank and Chatsworth and the "Saugus"
that worked the valley line between Burbank and Saugus.
Then there was the "Leesdale" working the coast line from Santa Susana
to Oxnard.

Other interesting train was the "Chatsworth" hauler running out of Taylor yard to Gemco.
Once and a while the Chats would have to run from Gemco clear up to the "Y" at Chatsworth
to turn around loaded Tri-levels so the Cheveys could driven off the ramp at the plant
facing forwards instead of having to back them off to unload.
Now turning the auto carriers was some fun stuff to watch as the grade on both legs of the "Y"
were pretty steep and in addition, sometimes the "Y" tail track wasn't long enough to fit all the
Tri-levels and power in one move forcing the crews to turn them a half a dozen or so at a time.

Gary



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/14 12:25 by P5r24.

The unofficial name I have heard and like is "Canoga Park Cannonball".

Was it really active as recently as 1991? It just seems like it has been gone for so long.

Greg Ramsey
Las Vegas, NV

The entire line up to Chatsworth is now the Orange Line Busway. There is now talk of turning it into street car lines as they can not get enough buses running for all of the patronage. And to answer the question, a large bridge was built over Lassen and the Coastline to get to the depot.

Nice shot, Bill.

~Ryan

I graduated from Pierce college in 1976 and watched the Van Nuys come around that curve from the campus. I always liked railroads and put an application in with all 3. Santa Fe never called but UP and SP did. I went to SP in 76 because I grew up in the valley. Glad I did and became a San Joaquin engineer in 1979 and got to work that branch until it was abandoned every chance I got. Even took Amtrak around it when I was a fireman and the coast had a wreck at Hewitt. I always enjoyed all the Gemco locals. There were 13 of them at the time including the haulers and 5 locals at Oxnard plus 1 at San Fernando and the Saugus local out of LA. Watched all the business fade away. I am 6 months from retirement now and appreciate all the Trainorders folks who post pictures !
Tom

I have many fond memories of trains on the Burbank Branch, as do, I'm sure, a whole lot of other kids that grew up in the San Fernando Valley. And many of those kids are on trainorders.com today!

At the location where the train is in the picture today is the Canoga Park station on the Orange Line busway. It's a very busy station on the highly popular line. Of course, in my own unbiased opinion, they should have just upgraded the existing track and brought back into service a bunch of classic RDCs. Right edsaalig?

Warren



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/14 20:32 by warrenpweiss.

Lived just a couple of blocks from the "Branch" along Canoga Avenue north of Saticoy as a sixties teenager! Nice being that close when I heard the daily train coming through. The crews used to stop along Canoga Avenue and go across the street to the West Valley Bowl for lunch.

CPRR Wrote:
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> The entire line up to Chatsworth is now the Orange
> Line Busway. There is now talk of turning it into
> street car lines as they can not get enough buses
> running for all of the patronage. And to answer
> the question, a large bridge was built over Lassen
> and the Coastline to get to the depot.


Cannot get enough buses, so they want streetcars? Now that's interesting, and proof that they should have just made it a streetcar line from the beginning of the project!

Magnificent photo! The last switch moves to ply that area lasted at least through 1993. I was at Pierce that spring trying to concentrate in class when a speed-lettered SW1500 crossed over Mason. If I recall, the line was severed at Roscoe or Parthenia on the west side, so moves went west to Warner Center and headed back east from there.

Fizzboy7 Wrote:
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> Magnificent photo! The last switch moves to ply
> that area lasted at least through 1993. I was at
> Pierce that spring trying to concentrate in class
> when a speed-lettered SW1500 crossed over Mason.
> If I recall, the line was severed at Roscoe or
> Parthenia on the west side, so moves went west to
> Warner Center and headed back east from there.


Correct along with switchlamp we both worked this job and the Northridge Switcher. The photo you are looking at is near the Warner Center with Rocketdyne immediately behind the chain link fence. Once in a while our crew would park the train at Sherman Way and go to lunch at Bob's Big Boy down the street. On after noon I came back to the train and the engine was gone ! the cars were still there ! but the engine was gone.. I looked up the track and saw the headlight and the horn blowing several streets westward.. Thought who had taken the engine??? Turns out one of the engineers (on the LA Division and is still working) had a brother that owned a business right next door to the tracks.. He saw the opportunity to go joy riding !! Told him that was the first time and the last time !!

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CPRR Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The entire line up to Chatsworth is now the
> Orange
> > Line Busway. There is now talk of turning it
> into
> > street car lines as they can not get enough
> buses
> > running for all of the patronage. And to answer
> > the question, a large bridge was built over
> Lassen
> > and the Coastline to get to the depot.
>
>
> Cannot get enough buses, so they want streetcars?
> Now that's interesting, and proof that they should
> have just made it a streetcar line from the
> beginning of the project!

The original plan was for an outrageously expensive subway line through the valley. The voters rebelled which was how the busway became a reality. From day one the busway was successful and demonstrated the need for transit through the valley.

I remember back in 92/93 when this 9393 got "Stuck" on the North part of the Branch.It had gone here "Into the Hole" to wait for either an Amtrak or Metrolink,but when it came time to back out,it didn`t have enough horsepower as two of the 4 units were dead.I remember the sound of the 9393 in run 8 just crawling about a mile an hour before it gave up and came back down to Nordhoff.I think they sent the Northridge power to come drag it out.

Ct97

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Check out the trailing unit!

Out

I lived around Lassen and Owensmouth in the mid to late 80's and had a view of the tracks and could walk over to where the branch met the coast line when the locals were out. Good times...

Northridge Switcher

Callum,,You Mean This One???

These were Dead in Consist and weren`t working.

CT97

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I see it is Steve Rossman at the throttle....