Nostalgia & History > Barrel-headlight SP SD7 1442 at S. San Francisco

All,

In 1978 I went back to the old homestead in the Bay Area to shoot SP's commutes before they changed forever. I was trackside from sunrise to sunset for 4 days. Besides the commutes, a few freights came through. Here's X1442S at South San Francisco. The second unit was SP 1419; both units were SD7s.

Note the barrel headlight on lead SD7 no. 1442. Anyone out there know how long these headlights lasted on some of the older power (like on some of the H-12-44s, etc)?

Rich Farewell

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I believe 1442 was the final SD-7 to sport the barrel setup. I seem to recall that the light was intact until the 1442 went to Sacramento for upgrading, circa 1980 or so.

John



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/10 11:42 by Lone Star.

Back then, some of us called those headlights trash cans. We also bestowed that honorific on SP's rebuilt Daylight cars with the smooth, unpainted, stainless steel sides.

Lone Star Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I believe 1442 was the final SD-7 to sport the
> barrel setup. I seem to recall that the light was
> intact until the 1442 went to Sacramento for
> upgrading, circa 1980 or so.
>
> John

1979-80 sounds about right. 1442 had already been rebuilt by this photo. Former number 2742

Train looks like the Permanente Local for San Jose and the Vasona Branch



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/10 13:00 by WAF.

Nice shot, Rich.

Click on this link for a few more views of the SP 1442 in all its trash-can magnificence.

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2086628,page=1

-- Greg

Wes,

The 1400 class was merely a renumbering of the SD-7s out of the way of the forthcoming MP-15AC units. When rebuilt, the 1400 class was renumbered into the 1500 class as they were released from the Sacramento GRIP program, though not in unit-for-unit order. In other words, the 1400 would not have been assigned 1500 and so forth. The Joe Strapac SP Historic Diesels series would have the nitty gritty, unit for unit renumbering order, as well as other sources.

John

Lone Star Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wes,
>
> The 1400 class was merely a renumbering of the
> SD-7s out of the way of the forthcoming MP-15AC
> units. When rebuilt, the 1400 class was renumbered
> into the 1500 class as they were released from the
> Sacramento GRIP program, though not in
> unit-for-unit order. In other words, the 1400
> would not have been assigned 1500 and so forth.
> The Joe Strapac SP Historic Diesels series would
> have the nitty gritty, unit for unit renumbering
> order, as well as other sources.
>
> John

OK