Nostalgia & History > SP Train Master "Two-fers"

In the recent "SP power in San Jose" thread the question was posed "How many afternoon commuter trains ran with two T-Ms?"

As noted in the thread, they were not regularly used in pairs on a regular basis (at least, from my limited observations), but they FREQUENTLY ran in pairs, due to breakdowns, break-ins and power balancing.

Here's three examples:

After having my eyes glued to the TV set on the afternoon of July 20, 1969 (try Googling the date), I headed down to Cahill depot for a visit, to immediately find TWO trains with TM pairs meeting at the curve TT west of the depot. Unfortunately, I had Exacta (a truly bad camera; no wonder East Germany folded) set up with a brand new Vivtar 400mm lens, with a doubler. I had no time to change out lenses and no experience with the telephoto. The meet photo sucked, but at least these two others show the aftermath. The first shows 3030 and 3032 with a less-than-hefty one car train, as it disappeared into the smog towards the roundhouse. The second shows #168 with the 3025 and 3023 running a very tardy 25 minutes late with a whopping two car train, just after 151 passed. One would guess that the 3023 must have turned-up B/O at SF departure-time, accounting for the delay.

The third one is from the previous April 22, when I was still using my trusty-dusty Yashica 2 1/4 square format twin lens reflex. That's 3020 and 3033 arriving on #122, the makes-almost-all-stops-local that led the afternoon Fleet. If any Fleet train needed two TMs, it was this one! The Skip-Stop trains were right behind 122 at this point.

Please feel free to add your double TM shots here, should you have same.

-E.O.
Wx4.org - The Dome O' Foam

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Wow, brings back good memories! Great shots, thank you.

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

What was wrong with your Exacta?

timz Wrote:
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> What was wrong with your Exacta?

What wasn't? The first one had light leaks, so I took it back and got another. No leaks, but the lens was cheap and gave shots a slightly soft focus. After a year, or so, the new one's shutter locked up, and the camera repair guy advised that I should go back to the Yashica. I took it home and ran over it with my '59 Harley Panhead. When I could afford it, I bought a Minolta SRT101, one of the earlier metal ones, that suited me nicely, since I never was a camera junkie.

-E.O.

Sometimes the power outnumbered the cars too.....

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Long live the Trainmasters and Harrimans. Thanks for the share.

Kent in CArmel Valley

rswebber Wrote:
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> Sometimes the power outnumbered the cars too.....

Sweet!

-E.O.

There were certainly LOUD. I have very fond memories of hearing the late evening departure from San Francisco leaving California Ave station in Palo Alto -- about a mile north of my trackside apartment. I could hear it for the entire 90 seconds or so before it would blast by my apartment, next stop the old Mountain View station.