Nostalgia & History > Chase of AT&SF #3751, Part 1, Tehachapi Pass, 12/29/91

I don’t remember all the details.  An excursion, The California Limited, was run over four days (12/27 – 30/91): Los Angeles to Barstow, Barstow to Bakersfield, Bakersfield to Barstow, Barstow to Los Angeles, with AT&SF 4-8-4 #3751 providing the headline power.  I worked the first two days, but not the second two.  Both my sons, Karl (15) and Dan (5), were with me and so were thousands of other railfans.  On Tehachapi Pass the weather was cool and dark overcast with occasional rain showers and a snow flurry.
Allard, California
1. An e/b SP intermodal train led by SD40R #7346, built 4//66, rebuilt 1//81, later rebuilt to WAMX SD40-2 #4121, approached Tunnel 2.
West of Caliente, California
2 & 3. The e/b X-3751 was led by 4-8-4 #3751, built by Baldwin 5//27 (1st AT&SF 4-8-4), retired 8/23/53, owned by and restored to service by the San Bernadino Railroad Historical Society in 1986.

Gerry

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East of Caliente, California
4 & 5. It looks like #3751’s drivers slipped.
Bealville, California
6. Those FP45s looked clean.

Gerry

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Bealville, California
7 & 8. At this time, it was not unusual to see 15 to 20 railfans here on weekends, but this throng was unusual.
9. #3751’s drivers may have slipped inside the tunnel east of and above Bealville.

Gerry

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The crowds on Tehachapi Pass were too much for me, so I decided to go further east.
Edwards, California
The AT&SF had a passing siding, wye and sidings for helper storage at the entrance to Edwards Air Force Base.
10. AT&SF helpers: B23-7 #6367, built 4//79, to BNSF #4224, to MMA/CMQ #2002; + SD45u #5399, built 5//69 as SD45 #5599, rebuilt 9//85, later WC #5399, renumbered #6628; + SD39u #1567, built 5//69 as SD39 #4009, rebuilt 10//85, to BNSF #6211, renumbered #1921, to LTEX #1921; + 2 SD40-2s, were tied down in a siding.
11. A w/b AT&SF intermodal train led by SD45-2 #5710, built 5//74, rebuilt to Trona SD40-2R #3003, to HLCX #6243 or #6408, maybe to MEC #617, stopped in the siding; and C30-7 #8159, built 12//82, to NREX #8159, to ALL (Brazil) #9309, was added west of B23-7 #6367.
12. Yonder came the train after the helpers were added to the w/b intermodal train in the siding.

Gerry

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Edwards, California
13 & 14. I hoped the FP45s would be washed in Barstow.  My 10,000 and 10,002 train slide pictures.
 
References:
That site that archives railroad pictures

Gerry

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Great stuff Gerry. I still can’t believe we were in Bakersfield visiting my grandpa when all this went down and didn’t have a clue what was happening.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

First-rate set - You chose your locations well. My favorite is number two with the train coming around the S-curve.
Bob

Great stuff! 
At some point east of Bealville, the 3751's exhaust cleaned the roof of a tunnel, the accumulated soot, etc. from which were deposited all over those beautiful FP45s. 
 

Working 3751 through that tunnel was inexcusable! Tunnel roof had decades of diesel snot just waiting to be blasted loose by the heavy exhaust from 3751's stack.
I would have worked a very light throttle for lubrication purposes and let the diesels do the work.
Wonder how much it cost to get that slimy crap washed off.
I can tell you that it is nasty, oily soot and it is hell to wash off yourself. Was in 3985's cab, which was working behind 844 through Hermosa Tunnel. We had the cab sealed up tight and still looked like a traveling minstrel show.

Thanks for posting.  As stated, the "crap" on the FP45's came when 3751 got worked hard through some tunnels, I believe #'s 3 & 5.  There have been several accounts of this previously posted on TO, that Evan will chastise me for not looking up.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/25 07:59 by ntharalson.

What a great series! Thank you for posting, and as always, for the details and roster provenance.

This is why the Santa Fe locomotives assigned to the Valley Division had the smoke deflectors on their stacks. Tehachapi's tunnels!
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/25 10:31 by PHall.

Thanks for bringing back so many great memories. Thst was quite a chase!

Larry

This is a video I posted previously of my view of this spectacle.    https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4938773,4938773#4938773

Great memories, glad, I wasn't at the Bealville road crossing, that was a zoo.

Tom

Thanks to all for the compliments, and thanks to SP4360 for the link to the video.  Gerry

Your welcome Gerry. You have some great stuff, as always.

GPutz Wrote:
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> Thanks to all for the compliments, and thanks to
> SP4360 for the link to the video.  Gerry

PHall Wrote:

> This is why the Santa Fe locomotives assigned to
> the Valley Division had the smoke deflectors on
> their stacks. Tehachapi's tunnels!

The 3751 had one of those when it was retired and hung onto it all the years it was on display in the park in San Bernardino.  The SBRHS elected not to re-install it when they restored the engine.

Frisco1522 Wrote:
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> Working 3751 through that tunnel was inexcusable!
> Tunnel roof had decades of diesel snot just
> waiting to be blasted loose by the heavy exhaust
> from 3751's stack.
> I would have worked a very light throttle for
> lubrication purposes and let the diesels do the
> work.
> Wonder how much it cost to get that slimy crap
> washed off.
> I can tell you that it is nasty, oily soot and it
> is hell to wash off yourself. Was in 3985's cab,
> which was working behind 844 through Hermosa
> Tunnel. We had the cab sealed up tight and still
> looked like a traveling minstrel show.

IIRC I think volunteers in Barstow washed off that soot overnight and had them looking good again by morning?

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

I think you're right Jim.  When I caught the special entering Pasadena the following day, she looked quite a bit cleaner:

https://cdn.trainorders.com/attachments/fullsize/279000/ATSF3751PASADENA013091TO.jpg

Rich

RailRat Wrote:
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> IIRC I think volunteers in Barstow washed off that
> soot overnight and had them looking good again by
> morning?