For those in the mood for a brief story and some of my Dad’s grainy Tri-X Pan from my his Argus Cosina –
On August 1, 1978, after convincing my parents to include San Jose in our California vacation (man I had understanding parents), I spent an entire day trackside waiting for the four reamining WP F units. They never came. As my parents took me back to the hotel, I thought I heard a horn, and I begged my dad to take me back to the tracks. It was an SJT (with no Fs) which my dad snapped on grainy Tri-X Pan.
The next morning, my dad and I got up before dawn and headed back out to the tracks, determined not to leave Milpitas without seeing those Fs. As the sun just began to rise, we saw a light down the track. It was the APF. No F in front, but rather a Sacramento Northern GEEP.
Although I was far from California in the seventies (I was in NY, WI and IL during that decade), your post brings back a lot of memories, helped along by the black and white photos…thanks.
Would that I had been as knowledgeable a railfan then as I am now - the year I spend in CA (72/73) would have produced all sorts of similar pictures, I’m sure.
But I wasn’t, and it didn’t. I’m glad you’ve got those (and more I’m sure) and you’re willing to share.
I lived in the bay area from 79-81, I was only 10 but I have faint memories of the WP in Niles Canyon and Altamont pass. It wasn’t till years after that I gained appriciation for the WP. By the time I got back to railfan that area (lived in San Jose for a couple short stints) the WP was long gone [:(]. Anyway thanks for the photos & memories.