Nostalgia & History > SP West Colton Yard - A Milestone in Railroad History

SP Yard - A Milestone in Rail History

By Harvey Feit
Sun-Telegram Staff Writer
San Bernardino Sun, Friday, July 20, 1973

Bloomington – Southern Pacific dedicated its new $39 million freight classification yard here yesterday, with the expressed hope by Secretary of Transportation Claud S. Brinegar that it would be a “milestone in railroad history”.

Brinegar, Southern Pacific President Benjamin F. Biaggini and Federal Railroad Administrator John W. Ingram pulled the lanyard of a locomotive whistle to start the first freight cars rolling through the 7000-rail car facility.

More than a thousand business and government leaders and SP customers looked on as the freight cars tore through a ceremonial paper banner at the crest of the classification yard's “hump” and were switched automatically to one of 48 tracks to be made into new trains.

The 560-acre yard which will employ 1,200 persons, is located along the south edge of Interstate 10 between Sierra and Pepper Avenues, where SP’s southern main transcontinental line meets its Palmdale-Colton line. The line was completed in 1967 as a rail shortcut to Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Construction of the yard was started in September, 1971. SP laid about 96 miles of new track for the yard and built large facilities to service and repair freight cars, locomotives and cabooses, a laboratory for quality control of fuel and lubricants and a permanent training center for personnel.

“The new terminal will speed up freight service to and from the Los Angeles basin and throughout the West”, Biaggini said. Referring to the SP yard as a “$39 million vote of confidence in the future of America’s railroad’s”, he added: “Let us hope that innovative privately-financed investment marks a change of direction in railroading that will soon spread across the nation”.

Biaggini declared that the yard, said to be the most technologically advanced railroad terminal in the world, will handle more trains and freight cars more efficiently, faster and safer than any other rail terminal.

The facility will handle 60 to 70 freight trains per day, by classifying onto appropriate tracks from six to eight freight cars per minute – a crest operation two to three times faster than other modern yards. Three separate computer systems work to control traffic in the yard and to help keep track of equipment for miles around it.

The dedication ceremony itself was of the same major league caliber as the yard itself. A giant, 100 by 150 red and gray striped tent was set up within a stone’s throw of the control tower and administration building for the steak luncheon served to the large crowd. Inside, red carpeting covered the floor and cut flowers were set on tables.

A somewhat smaller tent housed five bars. Bottled water containers were liberally spaced around the area for those with more conventional thirsts. A dozen air-conditioned buses stood by, their motors running for extensive tours of the yard after the luncheon. A corps of young, uniformed ushers and usherettes directed the guests to the awning-covered bleachers for the brief ceremony. They sat on seats covered with red, white and blue vinyl. A mariachi band played.

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Lt. Comdr. Everett Alvarez, who spent 8½ years as a POW, the longest period of captivity served by any U.S. pilot. The Rev. Marcel Jalbert, pastor of St. Charles Catholic Church of Bloomington, took a good-natured poke at the “West Colton” name SP has attached to the facility. Father Jalbert said the yard is in Bloomington, saying he was “doubtful the good Lord would bless the West Colton designation”.

The yard is actually in Fontana, Rialto, Colton and the unincorporated area of the county, explained Richard D. Spence, vice president – operations for the Southern Pacific Transportation Co., the rail operational arm of Southern Pacific Co.

County Supervisor Ruben Ayala read a resolution adopted by supervisors commending SP for being a good neighbor shown through its cooperation in complying with county requirements for landscaping and sound barriers.

SP customers were promised bigger, better, and more diversified equipment by Franklin E. Kreibel, vice president – traffic for Southern Pacific Transportation Co. He said the guests would see SP’s newest car, the "Stac-Pac" – used to transport large and small autos. The cars which rolled in front of the stand ranged in price from $18,000 to $57,000 a piece and cost nearly a total of $500,000, he said.

Biaggini said the dedication was the most auspicious occasion in at least recent history for SP and he expressed his hope the yard would turn out to be the ecological and financial bonanza county residents think it will be.

After reviewing rail problems, Brinegar said forthcoming federal transportation policy must find a way to “lift from rail the heavy and uneven federal administrative and regulatory hand”. He also called for better competitive balance between alternate transportation modes, and encouragement of transportation innovation, flexibility and investments in future growth.

The administration’s current legislative program offers the proper initial step forward, he said, by providing: - A restructuring program for the bankrupt railroads of the Northeast. - Revisions in the Interstate Commerce Act, to permit simplified rail abandonments, greater flexibility in rate making and innovation and other reforms. - Financial resources to railroads unable to finance essential improvements and additions to plant and equipment. - Federally financed research and development of advanced rail technologies. - An effort to put together a national transportation policy that addresses both future needs and likely capabilities to meet those needs.

Brinegar said inquiries by his department have shown that rail still remains an extremely efficient carrier of freight, especially for long distances while offering special advantages in moving passengers in densely populated areas.

“While no single rail company is today really earning an adequate return on invested capital, several companies including Southern Pacific, are obviously doing fairly well”, Brinegar said. The failures and problems of railroads have not proved that the private sector is incapable of providing a rail industry responsive to the nation’s needs, he said. “Careful study of the two alternatives – private sector vs. public sector ownership and operations – quickly proves that nationalization is by the far the worst of the two, at least for America”, Brinegar said.

Brinegar said there is serious danger Congress will involve the federal government so much in solving the financial plight of railroads that nationalization will become unavoidable. He said proposals being pushed by such key people as Sen. Vance Hartke, D-Ind., and others go much too far in this direction. If they are passed he would recommend a presidential veto. “European experiences with nationalization have repeatedly shown that it is much more a method of spending public money than it is a method of improving rail operations”, he added.

Such an intersting contrast with MDO's observations (and headaches) before and after its offical opening..

Pj Wrote:
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> Such an intersting contrast with MDO's
> observations (and headaches) before and after its
> offical opening..


See Mad Dog Chronicles # 60 & 61
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,795844
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,796272

You might also reread #65 & 66:
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,800473
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,800770

mdo

Yes, it is an interesting contrast of what when on behind the scenes. As always, SP certainly was a class-act when it came to big PR events like this. Mr. Feit wrote a good local story covering this event as well as the then current issues railroad companies face even today.

The subject of "nationalization" back then is interesting, which unfortunately led to the mega mergers we have today. I would like to know what Mr. Brinegar would have to say about the creation of Amtrak and how or if it could be efficiently ran. Which of course since the Railroads were going to discontinue passenger service, Congress had to create the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. And in 1980 the Staggers act would be passed. Which for some reasons still did help the SP.

Anybody care to surmise on this subject or explain why SP ultimately went bankrupt and or why it could not remain intact as a independent railroad company?

Also during '73 and '74 the major current events going on was the supposedly Water-Gate scandal, (as far as the liberal-biased news media was concerned) and the ever on-going Arab-Israel war against terrorists attacking Israel. How about the infamous OPEC oil embargo, etc. Why is OUR Government still DEPENDANT on FOREIGN oil?!

> Why is OUR Government still DEPENDANT on FOREIGN oil?!

Correction: Why is our federal government ADDICTED to Foreign oil, not Americans. Even though I am a conservative Republican, that is not the case and I strongly disagree with that statement by President Bush. Why are we not drilling in the ANWAR, and building more refineries? When we have advanced technology for atomic-powered engines and when the oil companies have bought up all patented fuel-saving devices. I know, because my grandfather invented such a device. I know some of the answers to this rhetoric but why bother, it's hopeless.

>Anybody care to surmise on this subject or explain why SP ultimately went bankrupt and or why it could not remain intact as a independent railroad company?

BradleyMckay did in fact offer a very good explanation on this subject in the previous thread of the opening day of West Colton yard:

Date: September 26, 2004 22:39
Re: because?
Author: bradleymckay

As an SP stockholder during those years let me intrude here by giving my take on the situation; Mike can correct me if I'm wrong on any account.

Most upper level managers (but by no means not all) weren't clueless to the troubles that lay ahead for the SP at that time. I was once told that several members of the 1 Market St team accurately predicted a major economic recession would occur in the USA between mid 1974 and early 1975 (Biaggini was not one of them) and that the impact on SP would not be good
(in fact the recesson was more severe and effected SP much more that predicted). It is reasonable to suggest SP managers already knew the railroad was too dependent on hauling freight subject to the whims and changes of the economic business cycle.

It was also clear that intermodel shipments would increase as a result of 1)rising imports, 2)competition from the trucking industry 3)shippers moving smaller shipments more frequently using TOFC instead of boxcars (better inventory control). The problem was that while SP was a leader in intermodel growth SP's route structure was not on par with arch rival Santa Fe and SP managers feared (correctly) SP would be stuck with alot of low margin intermodel business in the future. Still, it was felt that shippers, in time, would begin to choose the advantages of shipping intermodel vs. boxcar and SP had to be able to provide that service. It is reasonable to think that if this trend occured then no future yards needed to be built.

In the short term SP was experiencing a business boom in 1973 that began to choke the railroad and thus effected West Colton, as Mike might soon point out. I suggest the yard was a good idea in theory but was built a year too late. If the yard had been completed in 1972 there would have been plenty of time to work out the bugs before the onslaught of business in 1973...

AM

Secretary of Transportation Claud S. Brinegar resigned in 1975, and was later elected to the board of directors of Conrail. http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/bios.htm

County Supervisor Ruben Ayala eventually went on to be California State Senator, (D) 32nd District. As for officers of the SP there at the time, MDO has offered his thoughts on them!

How about the Mariachi band invited to play at the dedication of the event? Now that was great PR of the SP to honor the local Hispanic culture and heritage of Colton. Senor Lerxst was the band leader. "Ole"!