Nostalgia & History > SN F's street running ... have picture and maybe location

Looks like E Scotts Ave & South Union ... and I found an E Scotts Ave in Stockton ... putting my money on that ; ^ )
 

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Back-to-back F3A's and a wooden caboose with street running! Super catch!
Bob

Killer cool shot !!

great shot. near the diamonds at stockton tower.
the hardcore would hang out all day in the shade at railfan park. now its a different hardcore hanging at the park.

Very NICE shot!

Larry

Union Square Park in the background.

Great catch, great composition and lighting.

Jan Austin
Chico, CA
Photography by Jan G. Austin

1960s era?

Is that the SN Detour? The wooden caboose behind the power makes me think of the Detour and the move from one yard to the other, then run around the train and head out ofter that. I didn't follow the action that closely but have read stories about those days of yesteryear.
t4p

Gasp!

Oustanding!  Sure looks like an SN Detour.  Some background: The SN Detour came about in 1954 when the Sacramento Northern's car ferry "Ramon" was declared unfit for service.  This severed the SN mainline between Sacramento and Oakland.  (The line past Walnut Creek to Oakland would be abandoned in 1957).  As there was still traffic on the south end of the SN, and the steel plant at Pittsburg was a huge WP-SN customer, an arrangement was made to use the WP between Sacramento and Stockton and the Santa Fe between Stockton and Pittsburg for the SN to move its cars.  The aptly name SN Detour would pick up its train in Sacramento and come down to Stockton, cross into the WP yard and pick up / drop off cars.  Then the engines would reverse ends of the train to head out the Santa Fe to Pittsburg and beyond.  In 1957, several things occured: the SN was abandoned over the Oakland Hills beyond Walnut Creek, electrification ended on the remaining segment from Pittsburg and three F3As arrived from the New York Ontario and Western.  Two of them became SN 301-302 later 301-A / 301-D.  The third engine, SN 303 on paper, was leased to the WP as 801-D.

After 1957, the SN kept a switcher in Pittsburg to take cars destined beyond the steel mill to their customers.  By the late 1960s, the line was pared back to the north side of Concord.

I have rarely seen photos of the SN Detour north of the Santa Fe line.  Based on the photos I have seen, most fans seemed to catch it in Stockton or Pittsburg and chase along the Santa Fe.

Z

This was a nice spot for watching WP street running in Stockton, although it was only a couple of city blocks long. A few blocks north was the SP Montpelier Branch, running in the middle of Weber Street , which crossed the WP mainline very close to the WP depot. 

Great picture!  One of the many reasons why I like visiting the Nostalgia board.
GK

Alan Miller photo

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