Nostalgia & History > few SP . . .

. . .
top: Without any additional info SP 5021 was sitting at Taylor yard in Los Angeles 1-76.
middle: 7901 was descending into Walong, CA 1-73.
bottom: 8803 was climbing Cajon Pass near Canyon siding 3-77.
JB

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Love the whitewall tires on the 5021. Also love that shot of 8803; a classic SD45 from my pool freight days.

I "think" I also have a shot of it sitting in Santa Fe's San Bernardino yards in late sixties or early seventies?
JB

atsffan Wrote:
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> 5021 had been sitting at the LA Co. fairgrounds
> since '56; wonder why she was moved all that way
> (20-25 mi?) to Taylor?
>
> http://www.railgiants.org/southern-pacific.htm
>
> Quote: "On March 8, 1956 the locomotive was
> donated to the Southern California Chapter of the
> Railway and Locomotive Historical Society for
> display, here at the Los Angeles County
> Fairgrounds"
>
> Richard
It would follow the American Freedom Train out to Pomona then would be put back on display at the fairgrounds once the AFT left.
Chris

Good pics. I remember seeing the 5021 sitting west of Mt. Vernon in San Bernardino in the seventies.Bill Webb

I remember when the engine was in San Bernardino and the Historical Society was trying to get it ready to run again. I think it was brought up to standards at that time and was runnable but none of the local railroads would allow it to operate on their track/tracks so it was sent back to the fairground and remained there ever since. It sustained some kind of damage while being moved back into the fairground after it was derailed. Maybe someone else remembers the details.

Ray

SP #5021 was indeed "displayed" near the AT&SF San Bernardino shops during the early '70's. Here's a shot taken there by my friend Jim Munding...

http://www.southernpacificmodelerssociety.org/download/file.php?id=2502&sid=0d752a33c86ce4c6a0523c7b2fbb4512&mode=view

Neither of us were aware of its presence in San Berdoo until we spotted it one day in 1972 or 1973 while we were working our way up to Cajon Pass for the day.

I was amazed to discover the #5021 still intact and preserved at the Santa Fe shops, inasmuch as I had previously had the great treat of being able to ride on it several times when I was a teenager during its service on the Portland Division in the mid-'fifties.

I grew up on a small "gentleman's farm" near Labish, OR and spent a fair amount of time observing the SP and Oregon Electric (SP&S) lines that ran nearby. The #5021 was frequently assigned to a Eugene - Portland time freight which was scheduled (... i.e., pre-CTC era) to meet the southbound ("west") "Cascade" at Labish and then wait for the northbound "Klamath" mail train that was also put in the hole for the "Cascade" at Fairgrounds siding in Salem.

Since the switches were still hand-throw at that time, the freight would stop at the south end to allow the head brakeman to align the switch for the siding. One day while I was hanging out at the south switch, the #5021 crew invited me up for a ride with them to the end of the siding (... about a mile away). This was the beginning of many cab rides on the #5021 and some of its siblings which lasted until the end of steam on the Portland Division in 1955.

So my regular "after-school" experience often included riding my bike down to the south end of Labish to meet the time freight around 5:00 pm and hop on the locomotive for the trip down to the other end of the siding. Often I was invited to "run" the locomotive, or at least blow the whistle a few times.

When we arrived at the other end of the siding, there would be about a half-hour wait for the "Cascade" to show up, so I could hang out in the cab with the crew and get all of the latest information / gossip about the SP and the pending demise of steam, etc. Promptly at 5:46 p.m., the "Cascade" would storm by at 79 mph powered by a gorgeous set of three or more "Daylight" PA's. What a sight!

After about twenty minutes, the northbound ("east") "Klamath" mail train, with another set of PA's, would overtake us on its way to Portland. Following the passage of the "Klamath," I would walk up to the north switch with the head-end brakeman and watch him align it for entering the main line and then wait while the #5021 "came to life" and began to ease its train out of the siding. After saying my good-byes to the head-end crew and watching and listening to the #5021 accelerate with its train in tow into the distance, I would wait for the caboose to show up and then watch the rear brakeman re-line the switch for the main.

After another goodbye, accompanied by the nostalgic sounds of #5021's whistle reverberating off the distant hills, I would walk down to the south end of the siding, pick up my bike and head home for dinner.

'Quite the life for a 12 or 13 year-old kid!

It's great that it has been preserved.

-- Greg



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/14 11:47 by E25.

The 5021 was last fired up in the Fall of 1961 and ran on about 1000' of track at the LA County Fair. Sometime after that (I don't know when), it was moved to San Berdoo in the hope of mainline running. Tom Braunger was the force behind that. I met Bill Garner at the 5021 a few times. I was told that Santa Fe was only charging $1 per year for storage, at least for a number of years. Obviously, no road wanted to operate it. So, when temporary track was put into the Fair for the AFT, the chapter saw a chance to get the 5021 back on display.

Since at least one person on this board believes that the 5021 was fired up at San Berdoo, I did some checking and my belief is that it never was fired up at San Berdoo. First, I knew Tom Braunger well from 1966 into the late 1970's. He never once mentioned to me that he had fired it up and he was the only person who would have done such. Second, Bill Garner never mentioned to me that the 5021 had been fired up at San Berdoo. Third, I know a person who was very good friends with Tom and would see him at least twice a week. He has told me that Tom never mentioned to him that he had fired up the 5021 in San Berdoo. Fourth, I contacted a person who is on this board and who was a chapter member from formation in the early 1950's into the early 1960's. He sent a message to me that he had never heard of the 5021 being fired up at San Berdoo. He also contacted a friend of his who is also a former chapter member and has been an esteemed rail photographer for decades. That person had never heard of the 5021 being fired up at San Berdoo and he was friends with Tom Braunger. Now, should someone provide a photo of the 5021 under steam at San Berdoo WITH Tom Braunger in the cab, then I will admit that my belief is incorrect, but only then.

Steve

Great shots, JB.

~Ryan

Nice trio JB. Love the sanders in the 8803's consist! Thanks for sharing some of the good old days.

Kent in CArmel Valley

Great story. Thanks for sharing that with us. I only wish I could have been with you.
Ron W