Nostalgia & History > Chicken Alcos and other units

Foster Farms is the major chicken processor in California.  At a number of plants in California's Central Valley,  they have used second Alco switchers as well as other units to switch the feed trains that arrive.  I don't know if they still use their own units today or the UP provides the service.  Here are images of most of their units.

1.  Forster's principal plant is at Livingston, CA.  Their first unit was an Alco S4,  here shown on 5/17/77.  It was originally WP 763,  then to CCT #50 in 10/73.  CCT traded it to TS for their RS-1 #746  in 11/76;  TS sold it to FF in 12/76.  Today at the WPRR Museum in Portola, CA

2.  Former S6 #1213 at Turlock, CA  3/17/83

3.  Former SP S6 #1218 at Livingston. 7/15/91   It's lost its SP light package.

 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/20 12:01 by masterphots.

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4.  #1218 at Livingston   6/12/88

5.  #1218 on 3/8/02.   Livingston

6.  GP9 3378 (x-SP) at Turlock  9/12/98



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/20 08:57 by masterphots.

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The following three units are at the former Zacky Farms plant at Traver, CA  which Foster Farms purchased.  Only the CF7 was used by Zacky, the GP9 and SD38 were acquired after the Foster acquisition.   The latter is still in service I believe.

1.  CF7 #2631   Traver, CA  11/20/08

2.  GP9U #1636 at Traver  9/19/03

3.  WRIX SD38 #201 at Traver  3/10/11

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Truly impressive set of industrial locomotives.
Bob

masterphots Wrote:

> 1.  Forster's principal plant is at Livingston,
> CA.  Their first unit was an Alco S4,  here
> shown on 5/17/77.  It was originally WP 763, 
> then to CCT #50 (10/73, to TS #746 for a month
> (1176) before being sold to FF in 12/76.

This one is now at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, CA, repainted green and orange:

https://www.wplives.org/locomotivepages/wp563.html

> 2.  Former S6 #1213 at Turlock, CA  3/17/83

This one was replaced by the GP9 in photo 6.  It is probably the unit ble692 photographed at a scrapyard in Atwater, CA in 2008:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,4415298,4416724#4416724

> 3.  Former SP S6 #1218 at Livingston. 7/15/91 
> It's lost its SP light package.

This should be ex-SP 1229, which was still at Livingston as of last year but unemployed after a Trackmobile (or equivalent) was acquired.  Ex-SP 1218 never wore this scheme.

> 4.  #1218 at Livingston   6/12/88

This unit eventually moved to another Foster elevator at Burrel, CA to finish out its career.  Supplanted by yet another SP GP9 leased from Nevada Industrial Switching by the late 1990's, it sat disused at Burrel for several years before the Pacific Locomotive Association acquired it for their Niles Canyon Railway in 2005.  The locomotive was made operational, but it hasn't been repainted as far as I know:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,994086
https://www.ncry.org/about/collection/diesel/southern-pacific-1218/

The last few times I passed through Burrel in 2018-19, the elevator appeared to be unused, with no cars or locomotives on site.

> 5.  #1218 on 3/8/02.   Livingston

This is ex-SP 1229 again, wearing a new paint job compared to photo 3.

> 6.  GP9 3378 (x-SP) at Turlock  9/12/98

I haven't been by there lately, but more recent photos at Turlock show RPRX RP20BD 5403 working this elevator.  The 3378 reportedly became WRIX 8319 (not to be confused with the ex-IC GP10 that previously wore that number), then NIWX 8319.  Currently listed on Ozark Mountain Railcar:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,3849404,3849412#3849412
http://www.trainweb.org/rosters/niwx8319.html
https://www.ozarkmountainrailcar.com/news/2019/01/25/emd-gp9-8319/

> 1.  CF7 #2631   Traver, CA  11/20/08

ble692 reported this unit scrapped at Traver in October 2014: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4228266

> 2.  GP9U #1636 at Traver  9/19/03

WRIX 1636 (formerly BNSF 1636/ATSF 2245/ATSF 2904/ATSF 704) was a boomer that worked elevators all over the valley, but met the torch at Traver at the same time as 2631.

> 3.  WRIX SD38 #201 at Traver  3/10/11

Still there last I saw, along with ex-RPRX RP20BD 5406.

When I called it the  Chicken Alco I was informed by a former SP employee that they called the S6 the Clucker.

I believe Foster Farms in Livingston has been temporarilly shut down due to a high incicence of COVID with a number of fatalities.

Jim B

Great variety of photos and power for the chicken works.  That SD38 seems like big power for them.

Rich

PasadenaSub Wrote:

> Great variety of photos and power for the chicken
> works.  That SD38 seems like big power for them.

...and then there's the elevator on the BNSF at Kings Park south of Hanford, CA that has a pair of SD40T-2's!

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,5031737,5031740#5031740