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Here are a few photos of Southern Pacific trains, mostly in action.
See some of the Photo Essays at left for more action images. Explore around the Rail Encounters site for
more SPL photos-- many are included in
pages on broader topics. |
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On the Road |
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NEW Sunset
on the Sunset Route: a drag freight heads west out of Tucson on the evening
of 3/13/1995. Leading is SD45R No. 7552 and repainted tunnel motor No.
8495. |
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An eastbound autorack train is tied down at Rollinsville, CO
on 12/26/1998. This was a rather unusual movement, given
that UP was routing nearly all manifest traffic through Wyoming by this
time. Also unusual is the presence of the C449-W on the point.
Second in line is an SD40T-2, possibly No. 8560 (the number is fuzzy even at
maximum magnification). A UP SD70M rounds out the power suite. |
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This photo of a westbound train on the Golden State, just
west of Tucumcari in May 1994, isn't exactly the best-composed image ever
recorded, but it does show an example of power during the late SPL days.
Pictured are (in order) a GP60, B36-7 No. 7762, SD45T-2 No. 9375 (or 9325),
an SSW B40-8, and another tunnel motor. Quite a mix. |
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Three GP60's and an SD40T-2 are leading a westbound stack
train into Alamogordo, NM at dawn on 6/25/1997. Nine months past the
UP merger, the red-and-gray is still very prominent on the Golden State
route. High Desert railroading at its best! |
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Road power for the San Luis Valley turn waits in the Alamosa
yard in May 1999. Two SP GP40M's bracket a pair of much older
D&RGW units (although technically, the GP40M's were originally built
contemporary with D&RGW GP40 No. 3072). SP, SSW, and D&RGW units
continued to see service on this job right up to the end in June 2003. |
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Exactly three weeks before the UP merger, a trio of AC4400's
power a westbound taconite train through Cotopaxi, CO at dawn (8/17/96).
There were swing and rear remote helpers on the heavy train. |
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SW1500 No. 2475 is being turned on the wye at Grand Junction on March 7, 2002.
That's Grand Mesa in the background (the world's largest flat-top mountain), and
it looms nearly a mile above the valley. |
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Two views of a pair of SD45T-2 tunnel motors, working as the
west helper out of Tabernash, CO on 12/29/1994. SSW No. 9401 now wears
speed lettering; the number of the unit in traditional paint is
indistinguishable. They are shoving a D&RGW maintenance-of-way tank
car up the 2% grade out of Fraser towards the Moffat Tunnel. It was as
cold as it looks. Back in the Moffat Road days, entire trains used to
freeze to the tracks in this area. |
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Dawn has broken but the Arkansas Valley is still in shadow on 8/17/1996.
Five GP40M's are westbound with a manifest freight at Cotopaxi, CO.
The SPL used four-motor diesels, even older ones, on road freights right up
to the very end. |
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A going-away shot of the power on a westbound
manifest, heavy with CP Rail hoppers at the front end. Three tunnel
motors have a GP60 for company. The grimy trailing motor is SP No.
8341. Someone has left the headlights turned on on D&RGW No. 5403. |
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Westbound boxcar freight, late in the morning of
8/17/1996 at Cotopaxi again. A new AC4400 leads a pair of
decrepit-looking tunnel motors. Note the copious smoke issuing from
the middle unit. |
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An
unidentified SD45-series locomotive is silhouetted in the Tucson yard, March
2000. |
Southern Pacific
