Nostalgia & History > VAN or SUPRVAN?

Is there a way to tell just by looking at the train. This was taken by Bob Gottier in September of 1978 at San Bernardino. The schedule that I have showed the VAN's arrival time in LA was 10pm.

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Do you know about what time and what day of the week this train was videotaped. I have anecdotal evidence that the Van and following SuperVan, often running in sections in 1978, were often several hours late arriving LA. Their schedule west of Salt Lake City was brutal. Towards the end of the week UP in 78 would run an all piggyback and container SDV (South Central District Van)out north Platte about 7 a.m. That would be my best guess as to the train symbol although an early Van is possible. I only saw UP trains or have paper on them around North Platte in the 77 - 79 time frame.
Dick Eisfeller
Greenland, NH



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/17 18:08 by Dick.

> Is there a way to tell just by looking at the train.

Hello,

I agree with Dick, you won't be able to reliably identify those trains by sight or by the time they show up. In 1978 UP was running VAN and SUPRV out of No. Platte in multiple sections several days/week, with several hours of schedule variability on both trains (due to late arrivals on trains from the east). The traffic handled on both trains was essentially the same, so a trackside observer wouldn't be able to distinguish between the two. So, a westbound TOFC train late in the day could be a 1-VAN, 2-VAN, a 1-SUPRV... who knows.

Thanks for posting the photo.

Take care,

Mark

Like the mix of power too in the picture! The UP class lights circled in red, and looks like N&W plus 2 CNW Units. Is there a film/video of this also?

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

This probably won't help much but here is some info from early 1982...this is at Las Vegas from Noon to 9pm:


1-10-82

12:01pm 3711/3712/3703/3714 train KUE (Kaiser Unit East - empty coal)

1:00pm 721/804/821 local

1:30pm 3660/3524/3570/3661 VAN

3:10pm 3300/3534/3508/SP 9108 CLS (California Livestock)

5:40pm 3209/3624/3683/3710 USLA (export coal to the Port of LA from the Utah RR at Provo) 84 loads, 1 empty 11,135 tons

5:45pm 3250/3334/3625/701 CN (eb)

6:00pm 3633/3440/3532/3344/3606/3347 SUPER VAN

6:30pm 3709/2494/2462 BNOG (Yermo to Ogden manifest)

6:35pm ATK 291/ATK 265 #36

8:30pm 46/40/44/DRGW 5326 KUW (Kaiser Unit West - coal to Kaiser Steel in Fontana)

8:55pm 3589/3393/2400/3416 PLA (Portland to LA manifest)


This was back when the LA&SL was a busy railroad. On 1-11 there were 9 trains between 2pm and 10pm including a 01-VAN and 02-VAN.



Allen



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/17 18:48 by bradleymckay.

Long shadows falling to the east in San Bernardino in Sept - probably about 6pm.

bradleymckay Wrote:
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> 8:55pm 3589/3393/2400/3416 PLA (Pocatello to LA
> manifest)

Slightly off topic, but I believe the "P" in PLA was for Portland or Pacific Northwest (the train operated west of Pocatello). During this time period, the symbol for Pocatello was "CA", as in HCA (Hinkle-Pocatello) or CAH (Pocatello-Hinkle).

spwolfmtn Wrote:
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> bradleymckay Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > 8:55pm 3589/3393/2400/3416 PLA (Pocatello to
> LA
> > manifest)
>
> Slightly off topic, but I believe the "P" in PLA
> was for Portland or Pacific Northwest (the train
> operated west of Pocatello). During this time
> period, the symbol for Pocatello was "CA", as in
> HCA (Hinkle-Pocatello) or CAH (Pocatello-Hinkle).


You're correct...I just found my old UP symbol list that I haven't looked at in ages. Shows the PLA as Portland to Los Angeles.


Allen

In looking at the photo, you can see some UPS trailers behind the Alpha Beta vans on the front of the train. Neat seeing old photos of the UP's hotshots back when that railroad was still handling some priority traffic. I remember seeing both 'Van' trains coming down Cajon back then, but don't remember any real differences between the two. The Super Van may have had more power but too far back to remember now. And then along came the early '80s recession and MoPac management taking control (after the merger) in Omaha, and that was the end of the Van trains.

Thanks for the photo.

Also looks like a bunch of Alpha Beta trailers on the head end for the large supermarket chain that used to be in southern California. Seemed like they used rail quite a bit; I remember seeing their trailers on the back of DRGW intermodal trains coming into Salt Lake back in the 70's.