Railroaders' Nostalgia > Does anyone have pics of Taylor Yard pre or post 1984?

Does anyone have pics to share of Taylor Yard, post abandonment, before they took all the tracks away and demolished the buildings?

The yard was abandoned around 1984 and I don't see any pics but one on the internet. And it's merely a pic of one hump retarder tower.

Abandoned pics would be great just to see what the yard looked like completely empty.

I worked Taylor from 1973 to 1983. Resigned at this point in time.

At this time also, I was the A Yard Car Foreman, midnight shift.

Spent my first 4 apprentice years at the (LACHMP) Los Angeles Car Heavy Maintenance Plant at the end of the foot bridge (at the former reefer facilities).

These were the best years of my working adult life and I would cherish a chance to see more of the yard the way it was back in the day.

I have lots of experiences to memory.

Thank you for reading this.

The Charles Smiley video Tehachapi: SP and Santa Fe era has some excellent footage of Taylor yard.

Thanks for the info CajonRat. I'm gonna purchase it immediately.

On the internet there are lots of images of Taylor Yard before its closure.

Google "Southern Pacific Taylor Yard Los Angeles" will produce quite a find of images.

I have numerous links as well of SP Los Angeles.

But the images I'm trying to find are of the yard just prior to its demolition.

Someone must have taken pics from the footbridge looking both ways from the top end of A yard to Dayton Tower, unless the footbridge was shut down at that time.

1973 was a unique time to be hired on within the mechanical departments...it was old school.

Although 13 years after my resignation I hired on with the UP as conductor and then Engineer for the Pacific Harbor Lines in its infancy.

Couldn't handle either one and I was gone again never to return to railroading.

The SP was a special railroad and Taylor Yard for me was a tremendous experience because it was a railroad in every sense of the word.

> The SP was a special railroad and Taylor Yard for
> me was a tremendous experience because it was a
> railroad in every sense of the word.


Indeed it was and I sure miss it.

How about these threads.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,3345707,3346785#msg-3346785

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,1368142,1368691#msg-1368691

Enjoy,

Mike Mikado Anderson

Here is a pic that I found on the internet.

Who ever took this pic must have been on the bridge and I'm sure he/she panned in other directions.

Probably mid 80's. It looks as though yard is abandoned except the roundhouse operations.

Where are the yard pics of A, B, C yards? Must be on a site somewhere I cannot locate.

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The low corrugated steel building was the wash room, locker room and on duty location where switchmen and enginemen
signed the 'Federal' while going to work on the hump jobs. The track closest to it was the "A" Yard lead where inbound
trains and cuts of cars from outlying points destined to be humped accessed the low end of the 'A' yard. IIRC tracks 1-8 were
the longest tracks, (behind the photographer) and could only gain access to the hump by pulling their cars north, (timetable west),
of a series of hand operated crossovers before shoving to the "hill". The track in the immediate foreground was one of the
caboose service tracks where water and stove oil were dispensed from the overhead reels.

Charlie

Yes Charlie thank you for the info.

The carman's locker room and office was just in front of the these buildings.

My front door was pretty much lined up with the hump's front door.

The clerk would step over the hump track to deliver our inbound/outbound train schedule.

During my shift I supervised the car department duties of the A yard and the caboose track.

To this day, I can still hear the hump at work.

Would love to see more pics of the yard such as the one we are commenting on above.

This is one I posted on Trains Trackside Contest, from 1973. What bridge was I on???


Bob

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Another nice pic of the hump I have not seen before.

Thank you so much!!!

Obviously you were on the SP 'Westernmost' bridge over the 'A' yard and the hump.

Look through the smog a little to the left of center, and you can see the 'Easternmost' bridge, which didn't go as far across the yard. The bowl tracks were arranged in groups of eight on each lead, so look over the second lead from the left, over bowl tracks nine and ten, and you can see the bridge that went to the Desk and the AGYM's tower and the 'C' yard.
G

Taylor Yards 1978..A series I post a couple of years ago

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,4078477,4078691#msg-4078691..

What was the need for the multi towers in the photo.

Perhaps ExSPCondr is a better authority on this but until George does I'll take a stab at it.
Looking at the photo that robj is referencing, the three concrete towers, two on the left, one on the right are where the 'CRO's', car retarder operators,
operate their assigned retarders. The larger structure in the right foreground is where the Hump Yardmaster along with clerks and others
concerned with operation of the hump operate from. The switch foremen of the yard jobs that actually do the humping are located directly
beneath the yardmaster (not visible in this view). Edit: I just realized that I am answering this in the present tense. My mind will not allow
me to think that all of this is gone.

Charlie



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/17 12:20 by cewherry.

My friend Charlie is correct, the three smaller towers are for the CROs. The 'A' tower is first on the left, and he controlled the first three retarders, and switched the cars onto the five leads. The 'B' tower is next on the left, and he has the last retarder on each lead, and the switches to put the cars into the proper track. The 'B' tower CRO has the left 24 tracks, including the center fan in the picture. The middle track is bowl 20. The 'C' tower is kind of hidden behind the light tower, he has the last retarder on the last two leads, and tracks 25-40.

I was hired as a switchman in February of 1966, and was able to work all spring, summer and fall. The towers weren't popular with many of the switchmen, so the seniority ran a little low, also when you bid a tower job from the ground, you couldn't be bumped for 90 days. You couldn't bid off either. The trick to working thru the winter with low seniority was to wait as long as you could, then about Thanksgiving, bid in a tower job, and you were safe until March when business was starting to pick up. Also, it was warm and dry in the towers on rainy days!
G