Nostalgia & History > Remember manned helpers?

A set heads up the north track in Cajon Pass back in 1991.

Adam

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Nice example of mother nature's strength (San Andreas).in the background

I do, my memories are more Tehachapi, but we would see them on Donner. Might have seen them in Cajon, and I remember the set in San Luis Obispo. Watching the UP cut in a set at Helper, UT years ago was a highlight of that trip - especially as they roared out of town.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

BobP Wrote:
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> Nice example of mother nature's strength (San
> Andreas).in the background

I noticed this background also.  Can't you imagine the heat these beasts possessed in their forming?  Mother Earth may have needed some Miralax!! 😳😂

They are still out there. Sheridan, Wyoming 26 January 2020.

Hiball, Karl

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I remember them and I also remember how they'd be drifting down grade in Cajon so dead silently at times and scare the bejeebers out of you if you were walking near the ROW.

Manned helpers on Cajon? Sure we remember those, five units on the following train shoving on the caboose with the rear end
crew riding the pilot of the lead unit. The picture was interesting in that we were used to 2 four axle units behind a manned caboose,
that set might have had an isolated unit or be just about the time that cabs disappeared. San Tim was even more interesting for
the four unit sets cut in and running in 8 all the way to the top, ah progress.

Out 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/20 16:52 by callum_out.

Ore Train, West Palm Springs, California

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Completely and utterly killer shot.

Out 

I love the SP Geep helpers! Two of my favorites.... A T&NO geep and black widow geeps. Great!

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

That was West Palm when there was a real station there!

Out 

I miss stagecoaches...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

HardYellow Wrote:
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> Ore Train, West Palm Springs, California

The ore being hauled appears to be of the domestic variety, headed for the mill at Fontana. The pelletized stuff
went to the harbor for trans-shipment overseas. Great photo!

Charlie

cewherry Wrote:
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> HardYellow Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Ore Train, West Palm Springs, California
>
> The ore being hauled appears to be of the domestic
> variety, headed for the mill at Fontana. The
> pelletized stuff
> went to the harbor for trans-shipment overseas.
> Great photo!
>

Didn't the export stuff usually ride in gondolas since the ore cars were busy hauling ore to Fontana?
> Charlie

PHall Wrote:

> Didn't the export stuff usually ride in gondolas
> since the ore cars were busy hauling ore to
> Fontana?

When the Eagle Mountain mine first began operation in 1948 the ore was carried in 41 foot long gondolas
and these trains were limited to 70 cars with limit of 7600 tons. There are photos of steam powered ore trains 
in John Signor's Beaumont Hill utilizing these 41 foot cars.

The photo that HardYellow posted shows the next generation of 29 foot ore gondolas, series SP345000-345699 which
began arriving in late 1958. Just when the 41 foot gons were withdrawn from ore train service I don't know but
they were not around by late 1962 when the first export trains began operation. (See corrections below)

EDIT: I got to wondering more about your question regarding the use of the 41 foot gondolas on the export ore trains.

J. Pat Bray, (Cabhop here on TO's) wrote an article appearing in the Winter 1996 issue of SP Trainline, the official organ
of the Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society, wherein he discusses the fact that the 29 foot gondolas that SP
used in iron ore service came in two orders. The original, 1958 order,  was for 600 cars built in SP's own Sacramento car shop.
The second order, placed in 1962, was for an additional 100 cars built by Pacific Car & Foundry.

In the same issue of the SP Trainline Albert Novak wrote a related article about SP's Kaiser export ore trains. Novak's
article includes two photos showing several of the original, 41 foot, pre-1958 gondolas dockside ".... at the Port of Long Beach
in 1959 or 1960". The caption continues: "Since this is prior to the second order for 29 foot gons, it is interesting to see the
older gons being used exclusively for export service."

So, as to my statement that export ore trains didn't begin until late 1962, I will agree that they began considerably prior to 1962 but
the equipment used prior to the arrival of the PC&F ordered cars was, as the photo caption explained, handled exclusively by the
older, original 1940's era 41 foot gons. As further evidence I refer to the Pacific Electric, (the railroad over which these
export ore trains operated between Los Nietos Jct. and the Port of Long Beach), employees timetable effective February 1, 1960
which makes no mention of any speed restrictions account ore train operations. By the time of the issuance of the next timetable
on January 1, 1963 there were speed restrictions, 15 MPH, over the Firestone Boulevard bridge (as well as a limitation of
only one train while an ore train was moving over that bridge) on the Wilmington Line and speed restrictions over three bridges
on the Yorba Linda Branch. 

Charlie


 
 


 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/20 16:40 by cewherry.