Nostalgia & History > Some Random Shots

While going through some old files, I ran across these three pictures.

1. UP SD-45's coming into old Summit on Cajon Pass. These units were kind of rare birds on the UP.

2. 4449 climbing Cajon Pass on its return from an anniversary celebration at Los Angeles Union Station. The "great race" with the UP 8444 was in progress when I took this shot. Unfortunately, my picture of the engines running side by side wasn't that great.

3. UP 8444 climbing Cima Hill in the late afternoon.

Thank you for looking, and as always, comments welcome.

Brian Black
Retired SP/UP Conductor
Castle Rock, CO.

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Pic #1: The drop-off on track one with the zoom is great! Nice shot.

Peter M
Murrieta, CA

Nice trio!

I recall that UP wasn't happy with how the "Greyhound" stripes accentuated the issues of visual level variations on cab and possibly Centipede tender. (I think everything's been leveled out now, hasn't it?)

Also I guess it was a bear to keep clean. But dang. What a great scheme on a fine engine, and what a train that was. Both steam consists, actually. Matchless.

Funny how even historic operations have their "never going back again" components, and in this case, it's those lovely and harmonious passenger consists. That still happens, thank goodness. But for the era pictured, these operations were a high water mark.

~ BZ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/12 16:35 by Notch16.

Very nice Brian.
JB