I'm just awe struck. That's a huge amount of power and even bigger amount of torque given that the slugs only provide pulling force and not horsepower. How heavy was that train that it needed that many helpers and it still needed to be brought up in parts?
Like SO MUCH !!!! I bought my first video camera in January of 1988 so you got footage 2 years before me. It is interesting that between this video and my first video at this location 2 years later you CAN see differences already happening. One thing I noticed is that the carfleet was still all Southern Pacific as SP had not yet been forced to liquidate it s own carfleet to raise survival level cash. After that happened you started seeing The Golden West cars appearing.
That is good business right there at the end. I highly recommend Trainz for the PC and a good rig with a bunch of DLC. for me, it comes in very close to the real thing.
When I worked at North 1st and Trimble, my buddy and I used to take off at lunch and railfan this exact area. Used to hang around the Lenzen Ave roundhouse too, and the College Park tower, all long gone ... 1985 was a great transition era for diesel modellers, with SD9s, SD45PHs, and F40PHs all working Caltrain, and the last two on Amtrak as well.
Yeah baby, 5 tunnel motors and an SD45 powering up! Smoking up a storm too ... I once caught 11 units eastbound out of the Dunsmuir yard most of the units were deadheading but still, it was quite a sight! Wasn't it a bit unusual to have such a mongamous SD45-T2 helper BEHIND the caboose?
Man I miss the SP. I can remember hours spent under the San Carlos overpass or behind the OSH there watching the endless Caltrains and SP freights pass by.
Good video. I'm a retired hoghead from Dunsmuir. I hired out on the Sacramento Division in Roseville in 1972. In 1983 I transferred my seniority to the Oregon Division as it was called then. This division was created by combining the old Shasta and Portland Divisions around 1971 or so. The third train with the helper behind the cab is a bit unusual for this time. Usually we would run the helper backwards so we'd be running in the right direction if returning to Dunsmuir as a lite engine. I was a Road Foreman of Engines headquartered at Dunsmuir from 1984 to 1987. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Sigh................
As an 8 year old kid living in Dunsmuir near the north end of the yard, my friends and I used to pick the blackberries that grew in huge bushes next to the river and tracks so when we saw the gyro light flashing in the distance, we knew to hurry up and get clear. Not many of those berries made it home, they were sooo good!
As a kid I lived in Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta (1973-78) and lived next to the rails, dad was a conductor of SP then, was incredible to see the Freedom Train and SP 4449 back in the day. I loved the weather of Mt. Shasta, way too many weird hippies up there (aka: liberals). I remember as the weather got warmer, them creosote on the ties started to smell more and more. And yes, I model the SP and UP in HO scale now, lol. I'm grateful for whoever took the time to make this video.
