Steam & Excursion > Cotton Belt 2863 in Niles Canyon

The date, I believe is August 1956 and SP ran a fan trip from Oakland to tracy and back with the Cotton Belt  2-8-0 2863......This is the only Cotton Belt  2-8-0 that i saw in actual service.....time is running out for steam, and SP was short 2-8-0's and rather then shop 10 or 15 to make up the difference, SP went to cotton Belt for 10 2-8-0's....The 2-8-0's stayed in the bay area and at the end, you could see them lined up with all the rest of the SP steam in Bay shore Yard waitng for a call to service that never came... In this shot, the 2863 is at Brightside in Niles canyon for stop, but not a run by...

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Another one of those ex-SSW 2-8-0s also made a fan trip to Santa Cruz about the same time.

Was it 1956 that #4460 ran an excursion to Watsonville Juntion and two Cotton Belt Consolidations pulled the train to Santa Cruz?

Ed

Flyer from the Western Railway Museum Archives:
 

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Auburn_Ed Wrote:

> Was it 1956 that #4460 ran an excursion to
> Watsonville Juntion and two Cotton Belt
> Consolidations pulled the train to Santa Cruz?

Over the years, quite a few SP 4-8-4's pulled special trains to Watsonville Jct. and handed off to smaller engines for the run to Santa Cruz and Big Trees.  As far as I know, the only year 4460 was used was 1958, and it was the only steam locomotive involved.

Evan.....My note taking was next to awful, and i didn't realize just how late the fan trip into oct. was, the date of aug. was a wild guess, another month and it would be close to being all over on the western divison...SP used A 2-8-0 on the Jack Rabbit which was a trun from oakland to newark and return in to Jan. and SP had six 2-8-0's working out of Port Chicago into Jan. 1957 when Port costa was all diesel...what a slap in the face for steam power to be pushed to Port chicago...Management said they were affraid that the engines would break down as an excuse.......As for the cotton belt 2-8-0's, I am guessing, but it looks like only three ever saw service...

Hills and track layout don't appear to be Brightside. Suspect Niles is the actual location. Wonderful photo, thanks for sharing!

Great photo!,and thanks for sharing this!

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

Yes, it's at Niles (I'm able to match individual trees seen at the top of the hill with a Vanishing Vistas postcard of a cab-head taking water at the tank at Niles).