Nostalgia & History > Gildersleeve copy slide classics (vol 224): F on Friday!

Gildersleeve set 216, caption #21 reads: "An eastbound freight rolls through the same cut referenced above, Oct. 15, 1966". But I'm not feeling very good about the accuracy. Caption #8 is a slight possibility: “A westbound Santa Fe freight drops downgrade near Keenbrook May 3, 1964". But the sunlight angle doesn’t look right to me… :^(

1. AT&SF 206C near Sullivan’s Curve, CA on October 15, 1966??
Photo by Tom Gildersleeve. Commercial Ektachrome copy slide from set #216.
Scanned from the late James W. Watson collection.

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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That’s westbound near Keenbrook. Freight F’s had disappeared from Santa Fe trains on Cajon by 1966.

What an awesome shot, old Keenbrook correct. No SP up there yet.
JB

What year did SP start moving dirt for the Palmdale Cutoff?

Sweet!

PHall Wrote:
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> What year did SP start moving dirt for the
> Palmdale Cutoff?

I was there, on the overhaul of Santa Fe SD45s, int he spring of 1966, and the SP was certainly already under construction. I could see the earthen work every time I road a consist up Cajon Pass. There was even a case of a large "scraper" turning oven resulting in an serious injury or death.

I found online that construction began April 5, 1966 and the first freight ran July 9, 1967.

Steve

Can't figure the billboard -- maybe bottom right is Clean restrooms?

Those must have been great days in Cajon--the old summit station was accessible (and friendly), few if any sketchy people wandering around, no thieves--just a great place to go to and relax for a day.

coach Wrote:
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> Those must have been great days in Cajon--the old
> summit station was accessible (and friendly), few
> if any sketchy people wandering around, no
> thieves--just a great place to go to and relax for
> a day.

Yes.  First started going up there In the early 70s with my Dad.  Great place to "chase trains" as he called it.  There was even a campground along Cajon Creek, at Swarthout Canyon Rd., wtih a few regular folks camping.  No one sketchy back then.  No traffic jams on the highway.  

timz Wrote:
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> Can't figure the billboard -- maybe bottom right
> is Clean restrooms?

I was trying to read that as well.  

To me, the first word on the large line appears to be "Hesperia" (the city just north of the summit) and the last two words appear to be "Golf Club"?  Perhaps advertising some early residential development in the high desert area.

Sure nuff -- there's a Youtube on the Hesperia Inn
and Golf Club, 1957.

Awesome!

Confirming the May 3, 1964 date of Tom Gildersleeve's photo from his book, Southland, page 198.  The same train is also in a photo at Ono, page 194.
SCAXEngr

Such a great photo, and being a fan of B units, I give it several +++ after an A.  
The B in different paint than the others is interesting.
All those green line wires caught my attention; I am surprised to see so much exposed copper missing the black rubber coating.

Seventyfive Wrote:

> The B in different paint than the others is interesting.

For reasons unknown, Santa Fe received ten ABBA sets of freight F7's without stainless steel grills, 259LABC-268LABC.  Some were later retrofitted with grills, but a number were not.  When the grills were absent as on the second unit in the photo, the yellow band across the top of the carbody was much more apparent.

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Thank you very much.  I would never have come up with that fascinating info.  Such details are much appreciated.