Nostalgia & History > Roger Puta's Cab Ride Around Tehachapi Loop

Roger was in the cab of ATSF F7A 306L, the lead unit of Train #2, The San Francisco Chief, which went around the Loop counterclockwise.  These three Tehachapi Loop photos were taken August 26, 1967, exactly a year after Roger was a groomsman in my wedding.  Also coincidentally there was a Southern Pacific freight looping clockwise.

1. Eastbound about to enter the bottom of the Loop through the short tunnel under the Loop.  The SP train above the short tunnel was on the Loop westbound.  It was lead by SP SD9 3955.

2. Roger's Santa Fe train met SP SD9 3955's train in the Tehachapi Loop siding.

3. Here Roger was almost over the short tunnel.  His camera was pointed east and a little south looking across the Loop at the SP freight still in the siding.

Enjoy,
Marty



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/25 19:56 by MartyBernard.

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Ha! Therein lies the tie to Roger and you, "Groomsman". You are blessed to have been so closely associated with Roger and why the source of all these wonderful posts have been available to you.
I only connected with a railfan which was a fellow worker when I was over forty years of age. And funny he didn't know he was a railfan but developed quickly. I could write a book. He departed our Earth over 5 years ago and I have become an armchair railfan since. Thank You for a bittersweet memory!
Gonut

I scanned Roger's several hundreds of slides.  He and I were High School railfan buddies and up until he bought a one way ticket up bound.

Marty



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/25 19:52 by MartyBernard.

Nice backstory and presentation, Marty.

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

Love the photos of the SD9 Cadillacs and the SD40's.

The third unit back is a SD35. I wish I knew the time this was taken. ATSF #2 was due at Kern Jct. at 10:13 PM. The 3955 looks like it's carrying green signals, so I'm thinking it's a section of train 805 or 807.

Marty , as always thanks for your postings here , they are enjoyed !!

In the first picture, check the open door of the SP boxcar near the top right. He must've been looking at a cool view.

Gordon1950 Wrote:
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I wish I knew the time this was taken. ATSF #2 was due at Kern Jct. at 10:13 PM.

Marty gives the date as August 26, 1967.  The Santa Fe Spring-Summer 1967 public timetable has Train No. 2 leaving Bakersfield at 4:45 PM and arriving Mojave at 6:55 PM.  This would put it in the vicinity of Walong around 6 PM, which seems about right given the summer sun angles evident in the photos.

In the July 1968 timetable, No. 2 does indeed leave Bakersfield at 10:05 PM.

Thanks for sharing Roger's photos, Marty!

mike woodruff
north platte ne



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/25 09:34 by swaool.

Marty, I appreciate it when you post Roger's slides, they are so first rate !

In pic 1 you can see that Tunnel 9 isn't
quite straight. Yellow signal, so the
freight hasn't cleared -- wonder if it
would fit in short Walong.
 

Marty, thanks for sharing these memories of better days at the Loop.  I really like that second shot of the hogger checking you out.

Kent in CArmel Valley

Looking closer at pic 2, might be green signals on the SD9.

The only old employee's timetable I have is the San Joaquin and Los Angeles Div. timetable #4 on March 23, 1969, so that explains the difference in times in 2 years. Still, great photos.

Great stuff!