Nostalgia & History > SP Suntan Santa Cruz CA

This is the same double header I posted a few nights ago,
from the beach 1948.
If you look at the far right of the photo you see one
of the engines FACING the train instead of the tender.
There is a wye at the SP yard a short distance to the left.
My question is why detach the two engines,run around the
train pull it as you see then back to the yard then
wye the engines ? The wye is the Davenport branch.
Anybody familiar with this location??
FM

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I can't think of a good reason.

The only reason that I can think that the whole train was not wyed was that the area was extremely congested, meaning a shoving movement would have been hazardous, and its low speed movement would have tied up traffic.

-E.O.

Perhaps shoving on the Davenport Branch on the 2% grade that begins after the wye switch was difficult to do.

TonyJ Wrote:
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> Perhaps shoving on the Davenport Branch on the 2%
> grade that begins after the wye switch was
> difficult to do.

Likely a better explanation than mine.

-E.O.