Nostalgia & History > SP Sugar Beets, 1987, 1988 - Tony Johnson Videos

Tony Johnson worked in the San Francisco Bay area in the 1960s and 70s and took a lot of great videos in the 1980s and 90s.

Tony now resides near Medford, Oregon and helps manage the Medford Railroad Park.

Several years ago when I helped the Pacific Locomotive Association aquire SP Alco S-6 1214 from Foster Farms Chicken at Burrel, California,
I contacted Tony to see if he had any videos of former SP Alcos working for private companies. In response, Tony sent me a complete video
featuring a lot beets moving on the SP and being switched around by former SP Alco's

I came across two of Tony's DVDs while looking for some of my old disks and contacted Tony who gave me permission to post some of his video
here on TO.

I'm not sure how these videos are going to appear since they are showing up in a smaller size than normal on my video download.

Regards, Jim Evans 

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1. EB loaded train at Sargent, Calif. 5/20/88
2. Milpost 90 near Chittenden with empties 4/8/87
3. Eastbound loads at tunnel 5.5 4/14/87

There is sound but rather deminished.

Tony Johnson videos

Regards, Jim Evans  

When did the railroad stop handling sugar beets?

bluesboyst Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When did the railroad stop handling sugar beets?

Early 2000’s, I am sure there were a few exceptions but that’s when the last of the large scale “beet campaigns” were.

Now there's a voice I remember - that sultry female radio defect detector!

Now that is the Southern Pacific on the Coast Line that I loved and remember well (and miss). I drive by the beet loader everyday and the scene still looks the same, except no SP. 

Dave

Thanks for posting my old videos Jim. Not too bad for a third-generation copy from thirty years ago. - Tony

Fantastic video, love the sights and sounds of the SP Coast Line. I remember the loader, but more with the hoppers that had the wire mesh extensions on top rather than the old gons. It was sad to see the abondend loader last year, should have stopped to take a picture or two way back when.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

Da beets. Da beets.
Memories of Flimsies and Dave Shippen..
 

Man, I grew up watching that train go through Pomona countless times. I loved trying to see if I could find the lowest SP number on the cars, before they got renumbered.

Posted from iPhone

Yeah man!
Best freight SP ever hauled... Sugar Beets! All with 1940's cars with Friction Bearings till the 1990's. Good job Tony and Jim...

Similar beet trains used to run by north on the West valley line through Davis up to the Spreckels plant. I whatched them in the 1970s with a bay window caboose.

Cheers, Jim

Posted from Android