NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/rec/railroad/10921

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-25 | 3.4 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!ogicse!decwrl!pacbell.com!tandem!dgb.storage.tandem.com!user
From: [e-mail] (David G. Baird)
Newsgroups: rec.railroad
Subject: Re: SD9's in Bay Area
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 25 Jan 93 21:11:29 GMT
Article-I.D.: dgb.Baird_David-250193125752
References: <[e-mail]> <clark.727563031@angelo>
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Followup-To: rec.railroad
Organization: Tandem Computers (Cupertino, CA)
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In article <clark.727563031@angelo>, [e-mail] (Brad D. Clark)
wrote:
>
> [e-mail] (Nolan Hinshaw) writes:
>
>
> >Well, dinosaurs still live on the class 1 roads. Just last week I spotted 3,
> >count em, three, SD9s at South San Francisco. Two were Roseville power and one
> >was from Houston. These old dogs have been around the block so many times
> >there's hardly an original piece of metal left in 'em, and they're still
> >providing the same good old service. I have the unit numbers at home (brought
> >the wrong lunch bag today - sorry) and will post 'em for those interested as
> >soon as I can reclaim 'em.
> >--
>
> Aha! So, someone else has seen them!
>
> Actually, even though they're not actually on True SP trackage, there are
> some SD9s running between Willits and the Bay Area on the old Northwestern
> Pacific. One of them even still has some of the steam-generator hardware
> on it. I have some pictures of four units I caught last fall, will try to
> get one or more scanned to share with the rest of the 'net...
>
> Brad

In the past I have mentioned the Permanente branch that SP runs from
San Jose to the Cupertino hills. The plant is at the end of Stevens
Creek Blvd. It is within biking distance of my house, so I've often
ridden up there on Sundays when the train comes through.

A few months ago the train motive power consisted of 3 SD9s and 2
4-axle locos, GP9s I think. They were all standard SP dirt and grime,
no Kodachromes. The consist was 35 hoppers, some covered, on that day.
Note that this train uses a bay window caboose.

Yesterday (Sunday 1/24) I watched the local train go by, and this time
it was 2 GP40s or some "new" GP type (square noses and roofs). One was
Cotton Belt, the other Rio Grande. It took 2 full coal hoppers and the
caboose up to the plant. I got bored waiting for them to get everything
ready for the return trip, but it was about 25 hoppers, mostly empty
coal ones, and 6 covered ones I assume contain cement from the plant.
I went home, and a little while later I heard the engines blowing
their whistles at the grade crossings. They were saying "If you'd have
waited just a little longer, you be seeing us now!" :-)

I do recommend this area for a neat bit of railfanning. The view from
the cement plant is nice. Rolling hills overlooking the south
San Francisco Bay, and the rails go right by a Christmas tree farm
just before entering the small plant yard.

The trains go up Tues/Thurs/Sun. The timing is not precise, but
Sundays around 5PM has been good for me.

There was a thread going about runaway tracks on hills. There are
two easily visible from the bridge over the tracks at the plant.
The switches are normally set for the runaway tracks. They just
go off to the right, slightly uphill. They deadend into the hill
after about 50 feet. You also can see the metal chock put in front of
the wheel of the first empty hopper. The plant yard is on a grade.

DGB }