Nostalgia & History > Dec. 1969: Ho-hum day, ho-hum SP power...

So uneventful was that drive out to Fresno's "New Yard" on a cool, clear San Joaquin Valley afternoon, that this photo just sat in its box -- never came out for slide shows with friends, never made it to print, never hit the A-file sleeves. Total reject. Nothing to see here. Move along, folks.

Time changes many things. :-)

Despite the run-and-gun framing (I probably didn't want to park my '61 Beetle along zoomy Highway 99 any longer than I had to), the expanse of the yard is pretty clear. It was greatly amusing to just make the loop around the yard, for no particular reason.

The low afternoon winter light must have caught my eye... that, and the fact that Black Widow F-units still visually outnumbered Scarlet & Gray, even as 1970 approached. I dashed over towards the fence -- not close enough -- clicked the shutter of the Nikkormat, hopped back in the car.

Reading off the TIFF scan, it's SP 6382 (one number below a passenger-equipped unit), EMD SD40 SP 8424, and what looks like a 9000-series SD45. A couple more SD45s, a GP9 in the distance, and something behind it that looks ambiguously Alco; possibly an RS-11, a type often seen in the Valley during this period.

More from the B file, again. Fun to resuscitate, fun to share.

~ BZ 

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You nailed how as you termed it a 'ho hum' photo now becomes much more cherished in 2017 - Thanks for resurrecting it !

Craig 
mcmrailvideos.com

 

BZ,
Thanks for sharing some good old SP nostalgia. The SD40 and SD45 were the workhorses of their day, not to mention the F7's.

Kent in CArmel Valley