Steam & Excursion > This Crew Is Sure In A Hurry To Add These Cars And To Get Going!

The smoke trail in this fine old photo shows us that the crew here has some urgency to their task at hand.

The date is September 8, 1956 and we are trackside in Modesto, California. The crew of Southern Pacific 2-8-0 #2557 has to add 2 more boxcars to the headend of their valley freight so they can get ready to scurry out of town.

The engineer has caught his fireman by surprise with his rapid reverse move and heavy throttle. When he cuts of the throttle as he nears his joint the fireman has not had a chance to close his oil valve which results in the heavy plume of dark smoke we see here.

Soon the joint will be made, the train charged with air and the crew of #2557 will proceed on their way. All of this is part of the daily routine in the days of steam.

Martin



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/17 03:24 by LoggerHogger.

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The location must be at the north end (railroad west) of Modesto, a little beyond the old Kansas Ave crossing. Over to the right, the Oleander bushes mark the edge of old Highway 99, where the 1953 Chevrolet is passing, some 8 years before the area began having major changes due to freeway construction. The Grange Company building to the right had rail service from the Tidewater Southern Railway as I recall.

Just west of the Kansas Ave crossing was my guess as well. The area has changed quite a bit over the years, but the general look of the area now seems to be a pretty good match to the picture.