Nostalgia & History > Santa Fe Alco PAs

A pair of Alco PAs leading a northbound San Diegan, pull into the pier station at San Clemente, circa 1970. No longer used on Santa Fe's trans-con passenger trains, they lived out their remaining days on regional routes, such as the San Diegan.

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It has to be 1967 or earlier the PAs left the roster in early 1968 for scrap By 1970 the San Diegans were in the hands of the almost equally bueatiful F-7s

Very well could be, as that was only an approximate. Thanks for the update! I agree, the F-7s (or any Warbonnet) were equally beautiful. I only wished I had used color film back then..

Nice vintage b/w photo of the Santa Fe, even in the late '60's. These kind of b/w images are some of the best on the Nostalgia Board. There a was thread last year http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,951065,page=1 with many negative opinions about b/w photos, for reasons that I can not understand why anyone would criticize such photos.

Macbeau offers some of the best (even his "worst") contemporary b/w photos on TO. I also appreciate MDO's awesome vintage b/w photos of SP diesel and steam. How can you not appreciate such b/w photos of black widow units? And how about vignettes of SP and Santa Fe steam in the black and white era? Superb b/w prints alone are highly sought after by collectors and steam aficionados, just check out eBay!

We need to start a new thread here on the subject and merits of b/w photos. I say, post them all!, even your worst. I myself would have rather lived in the black and white era.

The late Rob Carlson of Altamont Press used this exact photo and commented to me his same feelings about the merits of b&w. Just look at the photographs of O. Wilson Link, perhaps the greatest ever published..

I know that the PA's were on the San Diegans until at least late 1967. I don't know if they made it into 1968 on the San Diegans. I have some movies I shot of them on the abbreviated Grand Canyon in December 1967 and January 1968 at Riverside. Usually just a pair, but in late December 1967 I do recall seeing 4 A units on an eastbound Grand Canyon. I believe that the last passenger run of Santa Fe PA's was the March 3, 1968 Richmond-Riverbank and return excursion by the PLA.

Very interesting, thanks for the info!

Because the F-7s had to be aging as well, was this when the first order of SDP45s arrived, or was it later?

roberthedgecock Wrote:

> It has to be 1967 or earlier the PAs left the
> roster in early 1968 for scrap

Must have been later in '68, as some PA's were used in freight service in northern California in July of that year.

Just came across a note in Portrait of the Rails, by Don Ball Jr., that indicates perhaps the last scheduled run for an SF PA was December 24, 1968, on the Grand Canyon to Chicago. Everyone was pretty close. Did Santa Fe ever save one from the scrap yard?

Btw, I meant to say FP45 was the replacement for the Alcos and F7s..

four of them still exist They were sold to the D&H who then sold them to the NdeM where they all were involved in wrecksat one time or other Two are in museums in Mexico and of course the two junkers which went to Portland where Mr McCormick is busy restoring at least one of them What will become of the second one is unknown

roberthedgecock Wrote:
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> four of them still exist They were sold to the D&H
> who then sold them to the NdeM where they all were
> involved in wrecksat one time or other Two are in
> museums in Mexico and of course the two junkers
> which went to Portland where Mr McCormick is busy
> restoring at least one of them What will become of
> the second one is unknown

It is my understanding the other one will be recreated by the Santa Fe heritage as a hulk and will be displayed in the Smithsonian. Doyle is to do that restoration too unless plans have changed.

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> roberthedgecock Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > four of them still exist They were sold to the
> D&H
> > who then sold them to the NdeM where they all
> were
> > involved in wrecksat one time or other Two are
> in
> > museums in Mexico and of course the two junkers
> > which went to Portland where Mr McCormick is
> busy
> > restoring at least one of them What will become
> of
> > the second one is unknown
>
> It is my understanding the other one will be
> recreated by the Santa Fe heritage as a hulk and
> will be displayed in the Smithsonian. Doyle is to
> do that restoration too unless plans have changed.


Sounds encouraging, thanks for the info!

-Al

alastair Wrote:
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> Did Santa Fe ever save one from the scrap yard?

I read an Extra 2200 South from the late 60s/early 70s with a photo of several ATSF PAs in a scrapyard. The photo caption stated that despite the efforts of some groups to save one, Santa Fe mandated that all the retired PAs be cut up. Can anyone confirm this?

- gb -

I find that note EXTREMELY difficult to believe. I don't recall reading such in any publications at the time. I believe that a number of the PA's and PB's were trade-in in Spring/Summer of 1968 for the F45's. Others were trade-in for SD-39's later on. On page 124 of Joe McMillan's book "Santa Fe's Diesel Fleet". first published in April 1975, the last A unit was retired in March 1969 and "surviving A & B units were in prolonged storage prior to disposal."

While attending Northern Arizona University in the mid 60's, with my aunt's borrowed Kodak Retina Reflex S camera using Agfachrome slide film, and not knowing zilch about shutter speed, I photographed the afternoon ATSF mail train coming down Mars hill heading for Flagstaff.

Arizona Lorne

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