Nostalgia & History > TOOTD 1969 + F Unit Friday: SP&S Finley WA

Today's crew-carried/crew-dropped-on-the-floor/crew-stepped-on anniversary set of train orders was delivered to SP&S No.1 at Finley WA on January 18, 1969.  The lead unit was F3 No. 800, so we have a Friday two-fer.

Admittedly these orders are not in pristine condition, but I'm glad someone thought to pick them up and save them.

Images 1 thru 3 - SP&S Finley WA Clearance + T.O.'s 29-45  

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I am glad you did too, the SP&S guys called #1/2 the “streamliner”. It was really the Portland section of the Builder/NCL if I remember correctly. I suspect they nicknamed it the streamliner as it was the first SP&S passenger train to receive the new cars and it was probably a big deal on a railroad like the SP&S. Extra 321 East would have been a C425, for those of you keeping score at home. I hope Jim700 sees these!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/19 12:37 by GN599.

GN599 Wrote:
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>  I hope Jim700 sees these!


It wasn't me on #1 but I was leading the way for him as I was out of Spokane at 2130 on 01/17 with SP&S 803 and 153 on train #3, 2'40" ahead of his scheduled departure.  I was on duty at GN Hillyard at 2015 to take  #3's power to the GN/SP&S depot on Havermale Island and tied up in Portland at 0530.  More than likely #1 (whose engineer that night would have been either my father or Warren Thomas - both turns of the SPK-PSC-SPK job worked 7 days weekly and the inbound engineer was relieved by the outbound engineer each night at Spokane)  had to hold at Spokane to get the Portland cars from a late arriving GN #31.  #1's last wait at Roosevelt on those Form 19s was 2'38" behind the TT time.

If it was known far enough in advance that #31 would be seriously late the spare SP&S diner would be deadheaded to Pasco on #4 out of Portland at 2145 the previous evening to run a First #1 Pasco to Portland with the NP coach and sleeper off of #25.  The Pasco to Portland power for First #1 would be one of the three SP&S Alco RS-2s which were equipped with steam generators that had been removed from the 800 to 802 when those engines were upgraded.  An SP&S RS-2 was always assigned at Pasco for the Finley Turn and/or Snake River Switcher so that it would be available as protection passenger power if needed.

An RS-2 with the throttle latch wedged had very quick, tremendous acceleration with only three cars.  One morning when working the Wishram Sandy and Trunk freight pool I was sitting on a bench outside the Wishram register room while waiting for my train as a First #1 got the highball from the conductor who, after registering the train, was slowly sauntering out of the office door and saying goodbye to several of us on the platform.  That was his usual mode of operation with the normal #1 of about 8 or 9 cars lead by two slow-to-load EMD F or GP units.  This particular morning the Pasco - Portland hogger was "Rough & Ready" C. E. "Eddie" Annable (f 09/01/29, e 07/10/42) who, upon seeing the highball, went directly from Run 1 to Run 8 as soon as the train started to move.  He had to stop again to pick up the conductor who, as were most conductors who possessed enough seniority to hold passenger runs, was not quite as spry as in his younger days.