Western Railroad Discussion > El Segundo Chase (Don't Tell Fred Sanford)

If you're old enough to remember Sanford & Son, you remember that El Segundo was always a punchline for Redd Foxx. No matter how nice the town has become these days (and it's mighty nice) I will always hear Fred Sanford mocking it in my head whenever I hear the name. Chasing the El Segundo (the Union Pacific local from 4th Street in Downtown LA to El Segundo) ain't easy. The line runs through some intensely urban streets that will keep you from catching them. On January 2 I gave it a try anyway. I tried to time about when I thought they'd be down with Grain Craft and on the branch, but wound up waiting by the golf course in Hawthorne for two hours with no train. Heard from someone that they were on their way out of the yard fianlly, so I raced up to Grain Craft ("raced" being a dubious term), only to get there in time to see them building air to leave. Back into the car and down to Watts for the pedestrian bridge shot, and I swear I beat them by 30 seconds. Only hole in the tight mesh fence was on the ground, so I lay on the ground and shot through it. Then I raced to Centralia, but traffic got me and they were on the move again before I could get any shot. Back to the golf course in Hawthorne, thinking I had plenty of time, but as I reached the grade crossing, there they were. After they switched the plastics place, I drove to the shot at Del Aire, and sure enough, as I reach the grade crossing there they are again! Finally shot them in the yard at El Segundo before stopping to catch my breathe from an insane chase.

Image one is from the ped bridge in Watts.

Image two is now in Hawthorne, east of Cypave near the golf course.

Image three is still Hawthorne, but now at Del Aire.

 

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Image four is also at Del Aire.

Image five is in the yard at Wise Transfer, El Segundo.

Image six is another shot of switching in El Segundo.

 

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Image seven is a final shot with the Green Line Metro over the train.

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Need to get rid of all that industry, make LA a better place, teach them all to code!

Out

Redd Foxx was a classic! I remember his role in the comedy gangster spoof: Harlem Nights. I still get chuckles all these years later...

Lance/199

Great stuff. Those of us in east just marvel at how much all the LA basin power gets tagged.

Posted from iPhone

If you remember Sanford & Son then you should remember Rowan & Martin and their "Bakersfield Home for the Fat."
 

DJ-12 Wrote:
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> Great stuff. Those of us in east just marvel at
> how much all the LA basin power gets tagged.
>
> Posted from iPhone

It's mostly the stuff that get's left, unsecured, at the Fourth Street Yard next to the LA River.
No fence or anything and the attitude from management is to do nothing.
Nevermind the East LA Yard is only about five miles away and it is much more secure.

Amtrak is right across the river and they don't have anywhere near this problem.
Mostly because it's a secure facility and because there's almost aways somebody there.
Unlike Fourth Street...

Nice hustle:)

Great bunch, never imagined the Elsie would have four units! Good Chevron business after hearing about the terrible service they gave Chevron? Great chase. Photos at Wise Transfer from Santa Fe right of way into Chevron plant? What did they do with the grain hoppers?
JB

"Charles in Watts"...sounds like a movie title just waiting for screenplay!


Allen

Posted from Android

Hard to believe that the el segundo switcher needs 4 units/14000 HP.  Unless some are half dead, i guess.

The guadalupe hauler amost always has 4 road units,  but frequently leave guadalupe with only 1 or 2 units on line.   Sometimes there is a big pickup at Oxnard. but more importantly...I believe the same power is used for the Gemco hauler at night...which is where the 4 units are needed.  Just no point or desire to split and reassemble the power at Gemco all the time.

My understanding anyway....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/20 23:29 by pdt.

Nice shots Charles any idea how much longer they are going to be getting the aircraft parts cars for would like to catch one more time , I hope to be down in a couple of months.  Tim

callum_out Wrote:
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> Need to get rid of all that industry, make LA a
> better place, teach them all to code!

LOL!

Triumph Group is shutting down their factor in Hawthorne now. The following article gives you an update.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-20/boeing-747-nears-end-of-line-as-triumph-shutters-storied-factory

3rdswitch Wrote:
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> Great bunch, never imagined the Elsie would have
> four units! Good Chevron business after hearing
> about the terrible service they gave Chevron?
> Great chase. Photos at Wise Transfer from Santa Fe
> right of way into Chevron plant? What did they do
> with the grain hoppers?
> JB


For Joe your mailbox is full. The El Segundo sets out the hopper cars at Centralia and picks them up on the eastward trip.

Posted from Android

pdt Wrote:
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> Four units is just lazyness...as far as i can
> tell.  Dont feel like splitting up units that are
> already together..or maybe the 2 middle ones were
> dead ??
> I think the UP has been after crews to take off
> line engines in consist that arent required.  
> The el segundo switcher was a single SW way back
> when, and then 2 cruds for like 30 years...as you
> know.    The chances that they actually needed 4
> units is zero.
>
> The guadalupe hauler amost always has 4 road
> units,  but frequently leave guadalupe with only
> 1 or 2 units on line.   Sometimes there is a big
> pickup at Oxnard. but more importantly...I believe
> the same power is used for the Gemco hauler at
> night...which is where the 4 units are needed. 
> Just no point or desire to split and reassemble
> the power at Gemco all the time.
>
> My understanding anyway....

None of us are ever too old to learn. Truth be known I never saw a single SW1500 on the El Segudno (I saw two, but usually two wiith a GEEP). That being said this train left the yard with 73 cars and 9,000 tons and they do have a grade on that line. You're also talking about four older units, each with its own issue. I doubt a one of them is still producing catalog-level HP.

pdt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Four units is just lazyness...as far as i can
> tell.  Dont feel like splitting up units that are
> already together..or maybe the 2 middle ones were
> dead ??
> I think the UP has been after crews to take off
> line engines in consist that arent required.  
> The el segundo switcher was a single SW way back
> when, and then 2 cruds for like 30 years...as you
> know.    The chances that they actually needed 4
> units is zero.
>
> My understanding anyway....
 
My last trip to El Segundo was in late 1996, and was during the time when the SP was running to Torrance one day, and El Segundo the next.  They gave us all the cars for both branches at the "J" yard.  We took the whole train to Centralia and switched out the cars for the branch we weren't switching that day, and picked up the cars for that branch that we had switched out the day before.  The normal power at that time was two SW1500s.

The grade between South LA and Delta, (Westbound) is 1.3%, and between Cypave and Delta ( Eastbound) is 1.5%.
We knew the day before that we would have 44 cars to take to El Segundo the next day, from the number of cars that we had set out at Centralia, and from the cars that were on the inbound J Yard hauler.  The train amounted to 40 empty tanks for Chevron, and four loads of lumber for the team track.

At South LA, we would run the engines up to the branch switch inside the tunnel to line ourselves up from the way it was left day before, so we could get a running start from Centralia.  With two SW1500s, we were just able to make it over Delta with about 20 cars, so we knew we needed more power for the 44 cars the next day.  There were two extra SWs that had been in the J yard for a couple of days, se we told the YM and the TM not to send them in if they wanted us to take the whole train the next day.

They held true, and the next day we had two pair, so we hooked them up and left with the train for Centralia.  At Centralia we set out the Torrance cars , picked up yesterday's El Segundos, then switched out the team  track lumber to the rear, and went up to South LA to line the switch for us.

Air up the train, get an air test, and take off!  With four loads and forty empties, we got the train up to 17 MPH crossing the 110 freway, and were down to four MPH with considerable wheel slip at the top. The tip over is so quick that the engineer has to make a brake application while the engines are still in full throttle to avoid an overspeed.

Coming back, we would often have 10 or 12 loads of LPG, plus a couple of skyboxes once a week or so, and 3 or 4 empties from the team track, and at least we could get a better run at the grade Eastbound.

Bottom line: A four axle unit, regardless of horsepower,  is only good for about twelve mostly empty cars between South LA and Delta, and about fifteen cars Eastbound.  The pictured train has at least 30 cars, so the consist is proper and all units must be running.
G



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/20 21:58 by ExSPCondr.

Thank you, ex SP Conductor for that great explanation. I would also add that this particular train had 70 cars when they were building at 4th Street. I don't know/think they took them all in the end, but when the power was being pulled that was the intended train.

Up until recently , I had never seen more than 2 units going to El segundo.  And never very lengthy trains.  I lived near the line back in the 80's, and I can only relate what I saw.  Of course I wont argue with someone who worked the job.   As for 73 cars and 9000 tons.....The picture at watts (nice shots btw charles)  looks like 30-40 cars and 2000 tons if the tank cars are empty...5000 tons if the tank cars are full.  Does the el segunda job make a setout somewhere before watts now....?  And since the grade is west of watts, it wouldnt make a difference if they started with 9000 tons, but dropped most of it dropped half their train before the grade.  Now broken engines that are producing half their original HP...thats totally believable.
Or maybe im just too used to east coast RR'ing....1/2 hp per ton....and the days of 50-70 ton freight cars.
Do they ever sand the engines at 4th st yard?   If youre taking about operating without sand, thats a whole nother story.

on the other hand.....the Oil can that ran on the coast...ran SB with 10,500 tons and 3 road units about 13000 HP.  (except for 2 helpers on cuesta grade)  there are other grades on the line, but always did fine with just 3 units.

As for the single SW...i believe back in the 60's there was a night  switch job based out of Hawthorne .  I rode with them one night, and we had a single SW1200..  I have no idea what ran from J yard to Hawthorne and el segundo back then.

I also have a picture here somewhere, of the old PE turned SP yard office in downtown torrance, with a pair of U33C's and I believe 2 cruds (not necessarily together o the Yard office layup tracks.  I was told that the U33's were for the Steel train......

And does anyone besodes me remember the SF torrance yard office.  At Crenshow Blvd, before the grad crossing elimination.  Single S-2's did tha switching at Alcoa, the Oil Spur, an I guess the went up to El Segundo too.   The Turn from Barstow to Watson and back, did pick ups nd drop offs at Alcoa.  The road job had relatively new GP-35's.

Just wondering.



 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/20 23:25 by pdt.