Nostalgia & History > SoCal Branch Line Pictures for Grant5106 - UP Anaheim Branch

My apologies to Grant5106 ... it took me a bit longer to get time to upload these than I expected (how dare I have a life other than railfanning?!?), but here are a few of what he was looking for...

• First up is a Union Pacific local (pretty much all they ran here), led by GP30 855, heading out of Fullerton CA, approaching Imperial Highway - 06/24/1983
• Next, UP GP30 710 pulling a weed spraying train passing the old UP station in Fullerton, since moved to the parking lot of the Amtrak station and converted into an Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant - 01/20/1977
• Western Pacific GP40 3532 heading out of the Fullerton Hills and toward the old Hunt Wesson plant to switch some cars - 08/09/1983 

CTW

(TO has a spell checker!  Why doesn't everyone on here use it?!?)
 

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• Union Pacific GP20 476 crossing from Fullerton into Anaheim - 05/01/1973
• The "business end" of the weed spraying in the earlier post.
• Union Pacific GP35 743 passing through Fullerton as it heads back to UP's East Yard in Commerce - 04/17/1984

CTW

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CTW: Thanks for posting these now very rare shots of some long-gone Southern CA branch-line railroading.  Please post more if you have them.  Any shots of the UP local going through La Habra and Whittier?

Whittier and La Habra?  Sorry, I never shot those (even though I lived near there for two years, but was leaving for work in the dark and arriving home in the dark much of that time, plus we had a new baby for half that time, so ... I didn't railfan as much as I would have liked).

But ... I know there is a guy on TO who shot that extensively!  In fact, he showed an impressive show of that line, and that area, this past Monday at the Orange County Railroad Historical Society's January meeting.  Perhaps I'll pester him to upload some soon...

CTW

Really nice.  I wish that I had checked out that branch and others in SoCal before they disappeared.  What is the origin of the weedspraying car?

Steve 

SGillings Wrote:
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> Really nice.  I wish that I had checked out that
> branch and others in SoCal before they
> disappeared.  What is the origin of the
> weedspraying car?
>
> Steve 

It definitely has a MILW Road look to it.

CrossTieWalker Wrote:
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> Whittier and La Habra?....
> ... I know there is a guy on TO who shot that
> extensively!  In fact, he showed an impressive
> show of that line, and that area, this past Monday
> at the Orange County Railroad Historical Society's
> January meeting.  Perhaps I'll pester him to
> upload some soon...
>
> CTW

Yes, please do.  I was out of town or I would have attended to see his pictures.

If UP still looked like that, I wouldn't feel as bad about it taking over Norfolk Southern.

Jeff Gast
Greenwood, Indiana  

The first photo looks like it is in Sunny Hills......B

Number one extra nice.
JB

What other railroad in North America had rib-sided passenger cars?  Gerry
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Topfuel Wrote:
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> It definitely has a MILW Road look to it.

Here is a prior TO thread addressing the car.   Note the link in one of the comments that does provide a possible lead on the origin of the car.   Everyone does seem to agree it is Milwaukee Road in origin:   Train Parts 9 1/2

HABX 214 - Craig Walker - Fullerton, CA

Topfuel Wrote:
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> SGillings Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Really nice.  I wish that I had checked out
> that
> > branch and others in SoCal before they
> > disappeared.  What is the origin of the
> > weedspraying car?
> >
> > Steve 
>
> It definitely has a MILW Road look to it.

Were they trying to drown the weeds?   Good lord, how technology has changed.

Dave

These are awesome and somehow make my coffee even more enjoyable. Thank you. 

RSD5 Wrote:
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> Were they trying to drown the weeds?   Good
> lord, how technology has changed.
>
> Dave

Yes. Using water as the most common carrier, along with appropriate surfactants many burn down chemicals used 20-100GPA in applications like this (IIRC).

I haven’t been a custom applicator for almost 30 years, but I know that the chemicals and application rates have changed quite a bit.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

These photos bring back memories of the two decades I lived in SE Los Angeles County. I was an avid cyclist back then (25+years ago) and more or less by accident discovered the abandoned ROW of the Pacific Electric from Imperial Highway to Fullerton. Digging into history of the area, I learned that the UP. ATSF, and PE all served a packing house in Sunny Hills back in the day. After abandoning passenger service to Fullerton, the PE continued freight operations on the line. 

The PE ROW was very picturesque, as I recall, and was pretty much intact for much of the way. I suspect that development has changed at least some of that. 

 

As for all the chemicals being sprayed from the weed sprayer car ... I knew thay were coming, as I'd seen them heading to Anaheim, too.  So I gave them a lot of leeway, and also headed out of there as soon as they'd passed.  "Better living through chemestry"?  Sure, when done responsibly.  But even in the 70s I'd heard enough about DDT and other chemicals (my dad was a chemical engineer ... who stockpiled DDT when it got banned!) to know to stay away from some of them.

Great group of photos of a lesser photographed line.  Really neat to see pics of UP trains running there in the 70s and 80s.

Rich

These are some great photos!, especially interesting to me, is that "WESTERN PACIFIC" in UP paint and colors.

Regarding the weed sprayer, looks like they are spraying Diuron, (dye-you-ron) a pre and post weed emergent herbicide, that prevents seed germination above and below ground. Its a heavy white chalky or talc like substance, after mixing with water in spray tank, it sprays out in a very white color like that, (as opposed to a clear or amber liquid chemical like roundup) and lands on the ground. It still needs rain or more water after that, to soak some of it deeper into the soil. Usually applied just before rainy season. It's "heavier" than a liquid herbicide mix, and a little less prone to off target wind drift.

When they are finished and the pump is shut off, the white chalky mix momentarily drips down and dries on the sides of the car from those roof top and other nozzles. Some of it also sticks to the carbody during spray operation. (Note the white streaks and stains elsewhere on car sides)

Posted from Android

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/26 21:40 by RailRat.

RailRat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> These are some great photos!, especially
> interesting to me, is that "WESTERN PACIFIC" in UP
> paint and colors.
>
> Regarding the weed sprayer, looks like they are
> spraying Diuron, (dye-you-ron) a pre and post weed
> emergent herbicide, that prevents seed germination
> above and below ground. Its a heavy white chalky
> or talc like substance, after mixing with water in
> spray tank, it sprays out in a very white color
> like that, (as opposed to a clear or amber liquid
> chemical like roundup) and lands on the ground. It
> still needs rain or more water after that, to soak
> some of it deeper into the soil. Usually applied
> just before rainy season. It's "heavier" than a
> liquid herbicide mix, and a little less prone to
> off target wind drift.
>
> When they are finished and the pump is shut off,
> the white chalky mix momentarily drips down and
> dries on the sides of the car from those roof top
> and other nozzles. Some of it also sticks to the
> carbody during spray operation. (Note the white
> streaks and stains elsewhere on car sides)
>
> Posted from Android

Thank you for the detailed information.  B