Nostalgia & History > The SP East Coast Peddler

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/15 23:54 by atsffan.

Should be simple to figure out. They were SP's "Coast Peddlers". The West Coast Peddler did it's work heading West. The East Coast Peddler did it's work headed east, toward LA. If I'm wrong, I am sure to hear about it...... C.C.Chas.

Really nice image Richard, with the dark skies.

Mike

Rich,
The two peddlers you refer to, the West Coast peddler and the East Coast peddler both had San Luis Obispo as the home terminal and WJCT as the away terminal as they operated from SLO to Watsonville JCT. As one was heading TO WJCT from SLO the other was on it's way back FROM WJCT to SLO. On duty time, if I remember correctly, was 0600 at both terminals.
One of two times in my career I received demerits was on the East Coast peddler. We went to lunch at King City one day and I didn't tie down the rear of the train. As we pulled out of the siding I heard the hand brakes chattering as the caboose got closer. I jumped on the side of the last two cars and removed the brakes then swung up on the caboose and removed it's brake.
On my desk in the caboose was a note from the ass't trainmaster (GORMAN)saying he had tied two brakes plus the caboose for me in compliance with the rule.
As we came into San Ardo siding to do some switching, the West Coast peddler was coming by us up the main line. I got on the radio and told the Wect Coast peddler crew that they were "in the bushes" at King City.
Trouble was , they weren't. They were right there at San Ardo and when Gorman heard me tell the other crew that, he went ballistic.



V

SLOCONDR

PS... IIRC spnudge may have been the hoghead.

You covered it all. The only thing missing would be Jivey playing his mouth harp and singing "The East Coast Peddler Blues".

When the peddler was in the gang, it was usually OD at Wat Jct around 5 or 6 AM, or when ever it was set and there was a rested crew. When it went as an assigned job it was 6:00 AM OD at the Jct and 10 or 11 AM OD at BI.

Boy, Gorman was a jerk. At a Safety Dinner at the Motel Inn, he was gased up & tried to get into a fight with one of the Ray brothers. When that didn't work, he had him pulled out of service for Rule G. It back fired on him because he had already layed off.




Nudge

I sorta remember being able to identify the Peddlers, from about 1976 to 1981, by the asphalt loads moving west from Guadalupe and the empties going back east. I'm guessing the asphalt originated at the refinery at Callendar(?). For some reason I never found out.

There were times, especially in 1980 and 1981, when the Coast Chief dispatcher would have the LAOAF/LAOAT pick up the "hot" loads (asphalt, ect.) at Guadalupe if the west Peddler wasn't running or if the west Peddler wasn't going to make SLO on the hours of service. Of course alot depended on whose ear Bill Giles had being screaming into while on the phone to the Chief DS in LA...


AM

LV,

Do you think that might be Jay behind the throttle? I know he worked one of those jobs around that time when he wasn't firing AMTRAK. It kinda looks like him too. Don't ya think?

JE

Asphalt came off the SMV. Plant is now closed, I understand

Is the Santa Maria Valley RR completely gone now?

Rick