Railroaders' Nostalgia > Mad Dog Chronicle #305.2 SP Steam Operations 1960 to 1996

Chairman of the Board of SP

DJR
BFB
DKM
PFA, Vice Chairman Bill Holtman

Between 1960 and 1996 the SP had four Chairman of the Board, several vice chairmen and five presidents (six if you count DJR)
These were the individuals who had the final say over steam locomotive operations.  Certainly the VPO, The VP Law and usually the VP of Public Relations were consulted and could usally influence policy.  Any of the rest of us had the task of implementaing steam operations.

DJR
D J Russell  1952 to1972... First President and then Chairman of the Board.
He oversaw the complete change over from mostly steam to complete dieselization.
The complete retirement and disposition of all SP steam locomotives.  Many were scrapped.
A few were donated to Cities, parks and museums for static display  The last officially operated steam trip
was a two day round trip from Oakland to Sparks and return to Oakland in 1958 pulled by the SP 4460.
this enginewas then sent to the museum of transport in St Louis, MO.  (See photo at end)

Russell declarted that there would be no more steam operations on the SP and the SSW.
Any further moves were either to storage or scrap usually moved cold in tow.

BFB
B F Biaginni was president when I joined the SP management team in 1968.  He then became chairman upon the retirement of DJR in 1972. BFB followed Russel's policy up until the American Freedom train operations came along in 1975 to 1977.  When the SP Santa Fe Corporation was established, and the SPRR was placed in trust, both Biaggini and Krebs went with the holding corporation.  D K McNear, the president under BFB then became Chairman and D M Mohan became President of the SP, reporting to a trustee.

DKM
I do not know what the trustee or McNear thought about steam.  I do know that Mike Mohan was at least, somewhat favorably inclined to consider occasional steam locomotive operations.

Starting with the resurrection of the 4449 from a city park in Portland, Or., several other retired SP 4-6-4 types and the SSW 819, another 4-8-4 resting in a park in Pine Bluff, Ar.,began the restoration process.

Now, just where do you think that their restoration angels thought that these antiques were going to operate?
I am here to tell you that a lot of hope, dreams, sweat, and wishful thinking and very little, if any, official discussion was taking place.  No SP commitments about future operations were made.  This takes us up to the Anschutz acquisition and take over of the SP, in October of 1988.

In 1988 I was the AVP Intermodal Operations.  Starting in August I had been acting as the AVPO for Lacy.  With the Anschutz takeover, K A Moore became the VPO and one day later, I was officially made AVPO of the SP/SSW system.
A small part of my job description was overall supervision of all passenger and special train operations.  So now guess what, steam engines came under that umbrella.

PFA
Phil Anschutz had a lot of ideas about how to run the SP.  He was very much into improving the SP
 public image.  he looked at steam operations as one way to accomplish this.
Under Russell signals were definitely red.  Under BFB at least flashing red. under DKM and DMM,
it is fair to say that they went to yellow.  Now, under Anshutz,  they were occasionally showing green.  Actually It would be more accurate to describe policy as shifting back and fourth from green to flashing yellow to yellow back to green, until Ed Moyers took over as President of SP.  The signal immediately went to red.

Steam operations under Anschutes are fairly well documented.  There were the movie initiatives, adopt a branch special, Dunsmuir spill aftermath PR runs, Sacramento Rail Museum trips,. the trip to The NMRA convention in San Jose, at which I spoke in behalf of Mohan.  There were also the trips on the SP Coast line to help promote it as an alternative (much cheaper) high speed rail corridor
between Northern and Southern California  All of this taking place as the SP operating ratio hovered over 100, at one point reaching 105!

In 1994 PFA hired E L Moyers to try to pull the SP out of the ditch.  unfortunatyely ELM fired Mohan with in weeks.  I had been promoted to Vice President of Strategic Development four years into PFA's ownership, reporting first to R F Starzel, another Vice Chairman,  I had kept responsibility over both passenger operations and special movements when I got my promotion to VP.
  Now I would report directly to ELM.  After very little discussion, I was told to shut all steam trips down..

However, there were still a few trips made, although significantly less than before 1994.  I wonder how that happened?
Actually exceptions kept some movements alive.  I was the one who invented the exceptions and was largely responsible for convincing Moyers to grant them...I had some help from Bob Starzel.and several others inside SP. 

There are those who can quote me accurately, saying that all of these historic tea kettels belong in a museum or that they should have been made into rozor blades long ago.  Yes I have said that.  Do I hate steam engines??  Not at all.

mdo 


SP engine 4460   Berkeley, Ca.  stoped at the Berkeley station   headend clear of Hearst St.   1958  
Headed east to Sparks, Nv.  the last official steam operation on the SP per DJR
I was a seventeen year high school kid when I took this photo.

  .



Edited 17 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/15 11:20 by mdo.

---

Great start MDO !!!!!  Looks like it will  be well worth the wait!  :-)
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/15 14:24 by CarolVoss.

Years ago in a Chronicle you mentioned the Cajon run away wreck was caused by, " a steam operation was taking place and no one was minding the store", this begs further discussion. Did this effect future policy?

Thank you, oh great one!  :-). 
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

wharfrat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Years ago in a Chronicle you mentioned the Cajon
> run away wreck was caused by, " a steam operation
> was taking place and no one was minding the
> store", this begs further discussion. Did this
> effect future policy?

Well, it certainly influenced my views and values, to say the very least.

That's the question or challenge that started this thread. Interesting to hear the story, we sure seem to be in another galaxy at this point though.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Years ago in a Chronicle you mentioned the Cajon
> run away wreck was caused by, " a steam operation
> was taking place and no one was minding the
> store", this begs further discussion. Did this
> effect future policy?

The 4460 picture is at Berkeley just for the record. Back in freight station days. Nice shot.

During the DKM regime, the biggest SP show of all post-regular-service steam operations took place: the 1984 Louisiana World's Fair Daylight. Portland - New Orleans and back.(Easily the most beautiful steam train in history, by the way.) And wasn't Cotton Belt 819 also allowed to operate during that era? So it would seem there was a green light for steam during the McNear era.

Best regards,

Rob L.

Thanks for the look inside MDO.
Wondering about the 1977 Amtrak promotional trip with the 4449 from back east. Did they need the SP to bless the 9's movement under it's own power or did Amtrak have the authority to do the run? Photo is on horseshoe curve north of SLO
 

---

That might be an interesting Case Study, what was the 'biggest' or  'best' or whatever steam event in the SP days and what events transpired, for good or for naught. The original question here was the Duffy St event so maybe we could move around that and see if there's a basis for how much disruption the goodwill of Steam causes.

Or how about is Steam as disruptive as the Fourth of July for example, where the crews are best left at home, the locals are planting couches and mannequins on the tracks so the best thing to do is leave the trains at the Terminals?

Or Christmas, or New Years, or Super Bowl Sunday...

Is a Steam train more disruptive than an Officers Special? Not as justification, just as in 'disruptive'.

-------------------------------------------------------
..., the biggest SP show of all
> post-regular-service steam operations took place:
> the 1984 Louisiana World's Fair Daylight. Portland
> - New Orleans and back....

mdo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> wharfrat Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Years ago in a Chronicle you mentioned the
> Cajon
> > run away wreck was caused by, " a steam
> operation
> > was taking place and no one was minding the
> > store", this begs further discussion. Did this
> > effect future policy?
>
> Well, it certainly influenced my views and values,
> to say the very least.

What WAS the big steam Cajon wreck?

WP-M2051 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mdo Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > wharfrat Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Years ago in a Chronicle you mentioned the
> > Cajon
> > > run away wreck was caused by, " a steam
> > operation
> > > was taking place and no one was minding the
> > > store", this begs further discussion. Did
> this
> > > effect future policy?
> >
> > Well, it certainly influenced my views and
> values,
> > to say the very least.
>
> What WAS the big steam Cajon wreck?

I believe he was referring to the Duffy Street incident on the SP. If one was to look up here, or even other well known search engines and search for either Duffy St or perhaps San Bernardino one could find out awhole bunch about this particualr incident.  Ben

ns2557 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WP-M2051 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > mdo Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > wharfrat Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > Years ago in a Chronicle you mentioned the
> > > Cajon
> > > > run away wreck was caused by, " a steam
> > > operation
> > > > was taking place and no one was minding the
> > > > store", this begs further discussion. Did
> > this
> > > > effect future policy?
> > >
> > > Well, it certainly influenced my views and
> > values,
> > > to say the very least.
> >
> > What WAS the big steam Cajon wreck?
>
> I believe he was referring to the Duffy Street
> incident on the SP. If one was to look up here, or
> even other well known search engines and search
> for either Duffy St or perhaps San Bernardino one
> could find out awhole bunch about this particualr
> incident.  Ben


Trouble with you thought Ben, is that "Duffy St" had nothing to do with steam.

SLOCONDR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ns2557 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > WP-M2051 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > mdo Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > wharfrat Wrote:
> > > >
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > >
> > > > -----
> > > > > Years ago in a Chronicle you mentioned
> the
> > > > Cajon
> > > > > run away wreck was caused by, " a steam
> > > > operation
> > > > > was taking place and no one was minding
> the
> > > > > store", this begs further discussion. Did
> > > this
> > > > > effect future policy?
> > > >
> > > > Well, it certainly influenced my views and
> > > values,
> > > > to say the very least.
> > >
> > > What WAS the big steam Cajon wreck?
> >
> > I believe he was referring to the Duffy Street
> > incident on the SP. If one was to look up here,
> or
> > even other well known search engines and search
> > for either Duffy St or perhaps San Bernardino
> one
> > could find out awhole bunch about this
> particualr
> > incident.  Ben
>
>
> Trouble with you thought Ben, is that "Duffy St"
> had nothing to do with steam.

Not in MDO's mind, V

WAF Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SLOCONDR Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ns2557 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > WP-M2051 Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > mdo Wrote:
> > > >
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > >
> > > > -----
> > > > > wharfrat Wrote:
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > >
> > > >
> > > > > -----
> > > > > > Years ago in a Chronicle you mentioned
> > the
> > > > > Cajon
> > > > > > run away wreck was caused by, " a steam
> > > > > operation
> > > > > > was taking place and no one was minding
> > the
> > > > > > store", this begs further discussion.
> Did
> > > > this
> > > > > > effect future policy?
> > > > >
> > > > > Well, it certainly influenced my views
> and
> > > > values,
> > > > > to say the very least.
> > > >
> > > > What WAS the big steam Cajon wreck?
> > >
> > > I believe he was referring to the Duffy
> Street
> > > incident on the SP. If one was to look up
> here,
> > or
> > > even other well known search engines and
> search
> > > for either Duffy St or perhaps San Bernardino
> > one
> > > could find out awhole bunch about this
> > particualr
> > > incident.  Ben
> >
> >
> > Trouble with you thought Ben, is that "Duffy
> St"
> > had nothing to do with steam.
>
> Not in MDO's mind, V

MDO is not alone in this.