I am a die hard Southern Pacific fan. It’s no surprise. I grew up in a SP world. At least when it came to trains that is. My family heritage had something to do with it. My mom’s mom was from a SP family. Her father, my great-grandfather, was a SP conductor. Two of her brothers were SP conductors. One of them, Neil Hallamore, was not only a conductor, but also the union representative for the Los Angeles division. Though that is not the main reason I am a die hard SP fan.
The biggest reason I am a die hard SP fan is that I grew up next to the Southern Pacific. The first ten years of my life I lived in Oxnard, California on the SP coast line. Some of my first memories were of SP trains pulled by the mighty tunnel motors. They were huge machines of the most impressive caliber to my very young and impressionable mind. When I was ten years old my family moved to Belmont, Ca. on the San Francisco peninsula. We lived just 2 blocks away from the SP line between San Francisco and San Jose. When I got out of school in the afternoon I would invariably find myself hanging out trackside. Back then (1979-81) the SP still ran the commute service. There seemed to be a non-stop parade of commute trains pulled by second generation motive power with either bi-level gallery cars or even older single level coach cars in tow. At that time there was even a few big freight trains still plying the peninsula. And of course there was the daily local with EMD switchers working the industries on and beyond the mainline. During the summer I would ride the commuters down to San Jose on the weekends to work for my uncle. Everywhere I went The SP was there. Out in Modesto where I visited my cousins, there was the SP. Down in Santa Cruz, there was the SP. Over in San Jose, again there was the SP.
Then when I was 11 my family moved to Alturas, on the Modoc line. The Lakeview, Or. Branch actually crossed our property. Every morning the Lakeview job would pass our house with 10-15 empt
Yeah, its too bad the Santa Fe now is no longer even included in the “BNSF Railway Corporation” name… On a more happy note, some of the former SP
SD45T-2’s operate on the Duluth,Missabe, and Iron Range unit ore trains.
Jesus Christ Chad!!! Love the story man, I had to catch my breath after that one! You had me ready to fall off my seat! I just really got into your story. I used to be coast-coast truck driver and used to do the same thing when I was out west. would drive like hell just to catch a train. Thanks for bringing back old memories.
I liked your story and I understand the thrill of the chase.
But I wonder how many railroad engineers and other trainmen agree with this thought:
There is no excuse whatsover, ever, for speeding so far above the speed limit.
You might have hurt yourself or others. You bet your life that your car would stay together and that the road had no unpleasant surprises. You were lucky. Please don’t try it again, please.
About the speeding, I grew up driving the back roads of Northeast california, and western Nevada. I’m no stranger to high speed driving. There are some fundamental rules to follow. Always keep your vehicle in tip-top condition. Have EXCELENT brakes and tires. And never ever ever let your braking distance excede your line of sight.
I always back down to within 10mph of the speed limit when cars are ANYWHERE near me.
If you ever traveled on these desert roads you would know most of them are razor straight. Visibility is excellent. And cars are FEW and FAR between.
I’ve driven over a million milesin my life, and only been in 2 accidents, both were not my fault. I’m a very responsable driver.
Note: When the Modoc CHP was fighting to get radar guns in there cars they did a survey on US395 by Madeline (a major road in this area. They found during daylight hours the AVERAGE speed there to be 87mph.
Yes to bad the SPRR went the way of some other fallen flags before it. The stories were real enjoyable though. [8D]
[quote]
QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas
The Steel Freeway
I am a die hard Southern Pacific fan. It’s no surprise. I grew up in a SP world. At least when it came to trains that is. My family heritage had something to do with it. My mom’s mom was from a SP family. Her father, my great-grandfather, was a SP conductor. Two of her brothers were SP conductors. One of them, Neil Hallamore, was not only a conductor, but also the union representative for the Los Angeles division. Though that is not the main reason I am a die hard SP fan.
The biggest reason I am a die hard SP fan is that I grew up next to the Southern Pacific. The first ten years of my life I lived in Oxnard, California on the SP coast line. Some of my first memories were of SP trains pulled by the mighty tunnel motors. They were huge machines of the most impressive caliber to my very young and impressionable mind. When I was ten years old my family moved to Belmont, Ca. on the San Francisco peninsula. We lived just 2 blocks away from the SP line between San Francisco and San Jose. When I got out of school in the afternoon I would invariably find myself hanging out trackside. Back then (1979-81) the SP still ran the commute service. There seemed to be a non-stop parade of commute trains pulled by second generation motive power with either bi-level gallery cars or even older single level coach cars in tow. At that time there was even a few big freight trains still plying the peninsula. And of course there was the daily local with EMD switchers working the industries on and beyond the mainline. During the summer I would ride the commuters down to San Jose on the weekends to work for my uncle. Everywhere I went The SP was there. Out in Modesto where I visited my cousins, there was the SP. Down in Santa Cruz, there was the SP. Over in San Jose, again there was the SP.