Western Railroad Discussion > My day with the UP SLAOA

Date: 01/13/12 19:38
My day with the UP SLAOA
Author: walstib

I set out from Menlo Park at 9 a.m. today to meet the UP SLAOA, take a few pictures and try to chase it north before the sunset. I was aiming to pick up the train near Bradley, but I was afraid I would miss it so I set up along Cattlemen Road just south of KIng City. After a 45-minute wait along it came. Then I hightailed it north and set up in Aromas. After a 10 minute wait it came through. Luckily the train got a red signal south of Gilroy due to a Caltrain slated to arrive in Gilroy at 5:30, so I was able to jump ahead and grab a couple of shots when it rolled through San Martin.

The special had two former SP business cars, #140, the Stanford and #150, the Sunset.

Apparently the train encountered some sort of a mishap with a paint truck south of San Luis Obispo. Reports said the locomotive handrails were damaged and the front was coated with paint. The 8326 was substituted at SLO. The Stanford sustained some damage and was sprayed with paint. You can see the damage in one of my photos from Aromas. I didn't see any damage to the Sunset.

Photo 1: The special at Aromas.

Photo 2: The special approaching the quarry in Aromas.

Photo 3: The special approaching King City.