Here are two shots from 2000 of stacks swapping crews at the northern end of Alcoa in Torrance. Because this area was nothing but obstructions, I’d never ventured down there for pictures and only stumbled upon this one when trying to get ahead of the sb stacker. The two pictures show the obstructing objects in both directions… but are still interesting for an operation that I don’t believe we will ever see again as the Harbor Sub no longer sees through trains (it’s mothballed in the middle). SB stacks approach Alcoa.
Any Harbor Sub experts out there able to tell me if this was a standard thing (swapping crews here)? Also, is the NB considered to be in Alcoa Yard still? Or is this a siding here? Is it called Alcoa Siding?
Stacks wouldn’t be going to Alcoa (and I don’t think there are Alcoa crews anymore… but don’t quote me on that… I could be wrong). The stacks, however, would be on their way down to the Harbor.
Alcoa Yard is something of a misnomer. It used to help supply the Alcoa Torrance, CA plant via a 1.5 mile spur coming out of Alcoa yard along with SP trackage that fed it from the other side (the two railroads met in the plant).
In the 1990’s the spur was hardly used, maybe one switch move a month and the vegitation just about swallowed the spur until RailCycle (Trash Train) proposed loading trash trains in the Aluminum Plant or the Douglas Aircraft fabricating plant next door. The Aluminum Spur used to be 110# Jointed rail on poor ties. The spur was kept just in good enough shape to handle the rare switch move accross Van Ness and Torrance BLvds… Mobil Oil used most of the Alcoa yard and crew changes happened at Hobart with switch crews at Watson. Crew changes would happen wherever the crews going into and out of the ports (LA and LB) happened to die on the law… Since the advent of the great Alameda Hole-in-da-ground, I’m not sure what the deal is (Nadeau?)