Sunday, June 15, 2014

Southern Pacific steam, narrow gauge style

The SP ran a narrow gauge line along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  Here is diminutive SP no. 18, a 4-6-0 three foot gauge loco built in 1911 originally for the NCO Railroad, at Kearsarge, CA in the late 1940s.  No. 18 joined the SP's "Mina Brach" along with sisters No. 8 and 9 in 1926.  With the abandonment of the northern portion of this branch, No. 18 worked out her days from Laws, CA to Keeler, CA.  SP standard gauge operations met up with the three foot gauge in Lone Pine, CA.  Indeed the 3' gauge locos were loaded onto standard flat cars in Owenyo, CA just north of Lone Pine, and sent to Bakersfield, CA for any major servicing. 

No. 18 is still with us, located in Independence, CA where she is being restored to active operations by a very dedicated group of steam enthusiasts.. To learn more about No. 18's fantastic restoration, check out this very dedicated group here: http://carsoncolorado.com

 
Steam operations on the SP 3' gauge line, Kearsarge, CA late 1940s.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

       SP 5021 a 4-10-2 in Los Angeles, December 1955 at the end of her career.     
    The 5000 class steam locos were the longest rigid framed locos on the SP.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

SP 4416 4-8-4 a GS-2 at Los Angeles Central Station (off Alameda Street) in 1937.  LA Union Station was under construction just north of this location. 



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Monday, May 12, 2014

                              SP 4279 a 4-8-8-2 AC-12 "Cab Forward" 
                       Third Section of Train 803 - Mojave, Calif. 1948

Saturday, May 10, 2014

                              SP 2724 a venerable 2-8-0 in roundhouse late 1940s
                  SP C.P. Huntington No. 1 at the 1939 New York World's Fair

Monday, May 5, 2014

SP Steam - Just Dirty black locomotives... right?

My earliest recollection of steam locomotives was probably the Hooterville Cannon Ball on Petticoat Junction which aired on CBS from 1963 (no I don't recall that year) to 1970 and Artemus Gordon and James West gallivanting about the west, fighting off Sherlock Holmes like master nemesis on the "The Wild, Wild, West" which aired on CBS from 1965 to 1969. The Hooterville Cannon Ball was the Sierra Railroad 4-6-0 (ten-wheeler) No. 3 decked out to look like a wood burner and based in Jamestown, California. The Gordon/West loco was the Virginia & Truckee No. 22 "Inyo" was also decked out as a wood burner although converted to burn oil by the time of the series.  Both locos are still with us, if not operational.

From here I could actually touch and "taste" steam locos at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, with the Knott's engines having been former narrow gauge Denver & Rio Grande Western and Rio Grande Southern locos. So my first impression of steam, both on TV and live was not Southern Pacific.  Nay that would come later, 1984 to be exact, Big Brother and all...

I modeled some SP diesels since I wanted to model what I had been around and SP was it with that nifty gray and bloody nose scheme.  Small shelf layout attempts here and there and more or less collecting freight cars of the 70's and early 80's.  Hanging out at the train store talking about SD45's and Tunnel Motors.  We had heard that some old steam train was going to come through Soledad Canyon and to Saugus/Newhall, Calif in 1984.  The Worlds Fair was to be held in New Orleans and SP was sponsoring some steam locomotive and passenger cars.  There was no internet in those days. So we wondered what kind of steam engine were railfaning for.  My buddy had changed the crystals in his hand-held scanner so we could hear when the steam engine would be coming our way.  That was big technology for us then and it was May 12, 1984.

What came around the bend of the canyon was not a black steam locomotive at all. This thing was orange.  Lots of orange.  Some red.  Some black for sure.  But orange.  Who would paint a steam locomotive orange?  Why...it's... beautiful!


The cacophony of steel on steel; the whir of massive siderods churning away; steam seeking escape under super-heated pressure; air pumps beating.  This was an orchestrated sound I never experienced until this orange and red rocket blasted underneath us on our perched highway location.

The next day the plastic diesels were set aside.  The 60' boxcars with roller bearings and build date of 1974 would certainly not due.  I was converted.  I was on a quest to model steam.  Not just any steam.  Nope. Nothing short of the most beautiful train in the world...


So what is it about steam locomotives that catches our fascination and makes us a bit giddy?   Share your thoughts below.


Speaking of steam, have a look at HO modeling of 1895 on the Stockton and Copperopolis Railroad!



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Great service and great low prices on model railroad track and DCC systems, throttles, decoders, and supplies.  Tell The DCC Shop you found them from this Southern Pacific blog site!