Nostalgia & History > UP Albina May 1970

Portland, Oregon was a great place to visit if you're a fan - and it was even better back 45 years ago. Before I had my first car, I could catch a Greyhound bus in Corvallis over to Albany, then SP's Cascade to Portland. Once there, I had the action at Union Station, Hoyt Street roundhouse of the SP&S was right next to Union Station, and although SP at Brooklyn was too far to easily walk, UP's facilities in Albina, across the Willamette River was only less than a mile away over the Broadway Bridge. And that's what brought me to Albina back in May 1970. And UP could be expected to produce some unusual stuff!

Photo 1 - Yep, we're on the UP. UP GP30 8488 leads a GP30B 716B, a GP9B and another GP30 around the engine facility.

Photo 2 - Each end of the passenger power spectrum. Steam generator equipped, but probably not in passenger service now, GP7 108, is coupled up to the nose of E9A 932. The 108 is also notable in that it has numberboards lower than the normal position. I've never known why.

Photo 3 - Back when you could wander through terminals and no one would say a thing. UP power sitting out in back of the Albina diesel shop. Here we see Es, a mess of GP30, both As and Bs...and something unusual. And that GP30B, 728B, is one of the steam generator equipped GP30Bs that UP had.

More to come

Lee Hower - Sacramento



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/15 10:31 by mcfflyer.

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Part 2

Back on the other side of the power I saw something that you didn't usually find in Portland in 1970s - GE power.

Photo 4 - UP U28C 2806 is coupled up to ...

Photo 5 - UP high short hooded U25B 632.

Before posting this, I contacted Rob Leachman who is an expert on the UP in the northwest, and I asked him about U25Bs making it to Portland. He said they were rare, as they usually worked in Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. He said the last one he saw was in Pocatello in 1971. This is the only UP U25B, low or high hooded, that I ever saw. Only SLSF also had high short hooded U25Bs.

Mighty fine time back then, when for under $20, there was a whole day of railroading to enjoy! Not to mention being 18 again.

Lee Hower - Sacramento



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/15 22:12 by mcfflyer.

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I used to wander all over that place too...often even went inside the diesel shop to look around and ask if anything foreign was on the line up...and I was also careful so as not to attract unnecessary attention
as well as to be safe
Brian

In that 2nd photo, I see 2 things:

-- a UP unit with a GYRALIGHT! I've never seen that on any UP unit before.

-- and what are those things hanging in the center of the wheel trucks, above the springs?

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In that 2nd photo, I see 2 things:
>
> -- a UP unit with a GYRALIGHT! I've never seen
> that on any UP unit before.
>
> -- and what are those things hanging in the center
> of the wheel trucks, above the springs?

The GP7's and SD7's were the only U.P. HOOD units that were equipped with "Mars" (horizontal figure 8 oscillating) Lights - those are not "Gyralites". There is a spotting feature cast into the face of these lights, as well as the name.

The goodies hanging off the trucks (over the drop equalizers) are "re-railing frogs" - they only worked when wheels were next to the rail.

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/15 02:09 by ATSF100WEST.

Re Photo 1: looks like a 3-man crew relaying hand signs back to the hoghead in the far unit??

Mr. MRL

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In that 2nd photo, I see 2 things:
>
> -- a UP unit with a GYRALIGHT! I've never seen
> that on any UP unit before.
>
> -- and what are those things hanging in the center
> of the wheel trucks, above the springs?


That is one or UP's GP-7's that ran long hood forward. I had one on a switch job here in Cheyenne once. I believe it was the 117. They used to have some SD24's with gyralights too. One used to run on the Coalmont local out of Laramie.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Nice shots. I remember we saw at least one Frisco unit on one of our trips to Mobile, Alabama. A great find.

Tom Gibson

Bob3985 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> coach Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > In that 2nd photo, I see 2 things:
> >
> > -- a UP unit with a GYRALIGHT! I've never seen
> > that on any UP unit before.
> >
> > -- and what are those things hanging in the
> center
> > of the wheel trucks, above the springs?
>
>
> That is one or UP's GP-7's that ran long hood
> forward. I had one on a switch job here in
> Cheyenne once. I believe it was the 117. They used
> to have some SD24's with gyralights too. One used
> to run on the Coalmont local out of Laramie.


I'm not sure about the SD24s, but I believe that the SD7s that UP purchased had oscillating headlights like the GP7s did.

Lee Hower

The GP7s and SD7s had gyralights, not the SD24s (although the three SD24 demos that UP got had the full-SP light packages, but were removed when UP got them).

Peter Arnold

mcfflyer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bob3985 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > coach Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > In that 2nd photo, I see 2 things:
> > >
> > > -- a UP unit with a GYRALIGHT! I've never
> seen
> > > that on any UP unit before.
> > >
> > > -- and what are those things hanging in the
> > center
> > > of the wheel trucks, above the springs?
> >
> >
> > That is one or UP's GP-7's that ran long hood
> > forward. I had one on a switch job here in
> > Cheyenne once. I believe it was the 117. They
> used
> > to have some SD24's with gyralights too. One
> used
> > to run on the Coalmont local out of Laramie.
>
>
> I'm not sure about the SD24s, but I believe that
> the SD7s that UP purchased had oscillating
> headlights like the GP7s did.
>
> Lee Hower

As I said, MARS LIGHTS....

UP GP7 102 Image Link:

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/up/up102.jpg

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/15 02:07 by ATSF100WEST.

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Great stuff, wish I could have been there.