Nostalgia & History > "Just hang a right at the light - you can't miss it"...

SP's Torrance (California) Local on a post-holiday "dash" light engine move to Torrance, shuffle and spot about three tank cars at one industry, and go back to town light engine.

(For Dan F., check that wig-wag out - the long bracket was almost parallel to the curb, to clear parked vehicles, pointing almost due north. The tracks ran down the street for a block or so here on Vermont Avenue.)

Thanks for looking!

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out

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I saw this track the other night on the way (indirectly) from Jay Bee's to LAX.
Does the UPee still run down that way ?


TCS - fascinated by trains on streets

Hey12Bro-

Yes. Used to be about 3 times a week - not sure about now - 3rdswitch or CimaScrambler may know. Even if they don't get all the way down to Torrance, there is a lumber yard that is on the remainder of the line that went to Redondo Beach, that gets quite a few loads.

BTW, I retired from the grind; now doing something fun.

Take Care,

Bob (ex501Bro)

TopcoatSmith Wrote:
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> I saw this track the other night on the way
> (indirectly) from Jay Bee's to LAX.
> Does the UPee still run down that way ?
>
>
> TCS - fascinated by trains on streets

Not sure of the frequency of service, but the Crenshaw Lumber still gets loaded spine cars, the water works by Dolonco Jct still takes tank cars of cholorine, and the US Gypsum wall board mud plant at the end of the line still gets hoppers with BORX reporting marks. I was last along the line a couple of weeks ago and saw loaded spine cars on the siding in Gardena waiting the shove out to the end of the spur (past the two wig-wags, which are still there). Of course, the Robertson rock trains still roll into town, slowly turning Gardena into Cabazon West.

A few months ago, a long piece of spare Continuous Welded Rail showed up beside the tracks at the north end of Sartori Ave, and I've been wondering why. I've long noticed the tracks north of Dominguez at the end of Sartori, used to access that USG wall board mud plant, are in pretty bad shape. Several switches in that area appear to be left over from the last days of the PE Shops, had their points spiked and then forgotten about. There are even a couple of sticks of rail connected by trolley bonds thrown into the bushes if anyone wants to lug out a few hundred pounds of iron to collect one.

- Kit

ps - that's a great picture, Bob!

Cool picture Bob. That was one of the more unusual wigwags there. They even made some kind of strange round bracket to mount the box to the cantilever. It was taken out in 2000.

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Wonder what happened to that one Wig Wag in Watts where my great grandmother used to live at!

ProAmtrak Wrote:
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> Wonder what happened to that one Wig Wag in Watts
> where my great grandmother used to live at!

Hi Pro-

As Dan F. pointed out, the UP wiped out the old SP/PE wig-wags en masse, starting around 2000 or therabouts.

Happy Holidays!

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out

Yep, trains still run down that way. Me and one of my co-workers sometimes head to Gardena Bowl for lunch (coffee shop/diner inside of the bowling alley of the same name - GREAT shtuff), and on a few occasions, we've seen the local go by with various combinations of GP15-1s/SW1500s/MP15s handling lumber and tank car traffic.

PE

TopcoatSmith Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I saw this track the other night on the way
> (indirectly) from Jay Bee's to LAX.
> Does the UPee still run down that way ?
>
>
> TCS - fascinated by trains on streets

ATSF100WEST Wrote:

> As Dan F. pointed out, the UP wiped out the old
> SP/PE wig-wags en masse, starting around 2000 or
> therabouts.

Are the ones around the corner and down a few blocks, protecting Denker and Hobart Streets, gone now too?