Nostalgia & History > Yakima Valley Transit 297

Yakima Valley Transit 297 is seen at the YVT engine house on a hot afternoon in September of 1974. We eventually found the 298 which was out working that day.

This was shortly after the arrival of the street cars from Portugal.

I recall it being insufferably hot that late summer day.

Jonathan Fischer
West Seattle, WA

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Here is another recent post:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,3654030,3654030#msg-3654030

Marty Bernard

My dad took a temporary switchmans job in Yakima during the mid to late 50's and I got to go to work with him quite a few times and ride in the cab of the #297 and other engines at YVT. I was about 9 or 10 at the time and really had a lot of good times with dad when he worked there for the U.P.

297 is preserved at Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris CA (oerm.org).  It's out of service at the present time with a bad traction motor.  Back in 1973 I was visiting Yakima and found it working out on the now-abandoned line west of town.  We followed it back to the UP interchange track and the motorman gave me a short cab ride.  About ten years later I took this photo of a UP switcher working the remnant of its former "native habitat" near the boundary between Los Angeles and Glendale.  The heavy bonding strap on the joint is a relic of the days when UP was required to use electric power on the Glendale Branch.  

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