Southern Pacific

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I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. The Southern Pacific railroad will always be my favorite railroad!

SP and its subsidiaries

Steve Sloan's Trains : UP : Southern Pacific : Locomotives 1100-1102

Click on the following links to see pictures related to the SP:

SP 1100 EMD TR6A, SP Class ES408-1

Reportedly (sources) SP 1100 and 1150 were built as EMD Demonstrators 1600-1600B EMD order number 4147-01 shipped Nov. 1950. Early 1951 while demonstrating on SP SP purchased them, the TR6A becoming SP 4600 SP class DF-300. Class changed to SP class DS-600 in 1963. It became SP1100 SP Class ES408-1 in 1965. It was retired in Feb. 1983. In April 1985 it was sold to a dealer and leased to Eureka Southern. Then in 1987 it went to the Quicy Railroad in Susanville, CA. From there it went to the Feather River Rail Society.

Craig Tambo said, "The steam-era headlight was added after it was separated from its b-unit, as it was originally delivered with no headlight on the cab (of course, the b-unit had a headlight). I believe these units had dual control stands, which would explain the water cooler mounted outside the cab. The 1102, which was based in San Francisco in the mid-70s, looked the same. The TR6Bs were assigned to Roseville in the 70s, often m.u.-ed with SW8s."

DNRY122 said, "Note the extra "plumbing" near the horn in the first photo. Many SP switchers had a Pacific Electric air whistle added to comply with special instructions requiring the use of a "trombone" whistle on lines in the former PE Western District. At first PE/SP used authentic brass whistles, but these often disappeared into the collections of sticky-fingered traction fans. SP shop workers started making them out of scrap pipe with no "resale value". When I learned about this practice, I thought, "that's something I can do." I found a piece of thinwall electric conduit of the correct diameter, some aluminum rod that would be force fit, and with a bit of hacksaw and file work, made my own. Doesn't look the same, but it sounds the same; I can even make it "break" or "chirp", sounding the second harmonic by blowing the air just right."

Jeff Moore of Elko, NV said, "The unit started out as SP #4600, then to #1100. In the spring of 1985 SP sold an option to buy the unit to John Bradley of Willits, California. John moved the locomotive onto the Eureka Southern Railroad, who used the locomotive a couple times, primarily in local service around the Eureka area. According to Stindt's NWP Volume 2 book, the unit already had the Little Lulu name by the time it arrived on the EUKA."

0307 said, "Little Lulu spent some time on the NWP, with that name, and was well hated. It had manual transition, that did not work, and so was less than perfect for runs to Samoa/Korblex or towards Scotia."

Tony Johnson and OPRRMS on Altamont Press reported that 1100 worked at the Sacramento Shops of the SP for awhile after replacing SW1 1004.

Moore said, "The #1100 remained on the EUKA for about a year. In early 1986 the option to buy the unit expired, which coincided with SP's decision to lease the Susanville branch to Sierra Pacific Industries. When the option expired SP recalled the unit from John and then re-sold it to SPI for use on the Susanville line. It remained the sole power on that division from 1986 until 1997/1998, when SPI shipped two ex-Amador Central EMD's north to the Quincy operations."

Even more history as per OPRRMS:
The unit was built in November 1950 as EMD 1600A, half of the TR6 demonstrator set. It and its B unit, 1600B, were immediately sent to demonstrate on the SP, specifically on the NWP. Apparently impressed with the relatively high tractive effort and short wheel-base trucks (much easier on the track than the Baldwin roadswitchers then in use), SP purchased the locomotive, plus orderd three additional sets. The 1600A&B became SP 4600 and 4700, initially just re-stenciled but still in red and maroon demonstrator colors. All four locomotives were initially used on the NWP and SP's Schellville Branch.

Sometime in late 1953, SP decided to swap the A units with dynamic brake-equipped SW8s. The necessary work was done in early 1954 (probably at Sacramento, but need confirmation). The TR6 A units then gravitated to the LA Division switcher pool. The B units and their new SW8 mates returned to the NWP and Schellville Branch. The 4600 (the subject of this thread) was swapped with the 4607.

It's not clear exactly when the cow-calf sets were reassigned to the Roseville Hump. The general consensus is that it happened after the regularly-assigned haulers that operated between Suisun and Schellville were abolished, which is thought to have been around 1961. WAF, do you have any imput on this? (The haulers were for the most part replaced by pool jobs out of the Cal-P Freight Pool.) The units continued to work the hump until being placed in storage circa 1976, and were retired in 1978/79.

1100 in the Links Yard
A cow without its calf, SP TR6A 1100 "Lil Lulu" in the now gone Links Yard near Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on December 28, 1973. This engine ended up in Portola at the railroad museum there. The unique steam engine rear headlight was sadly lost along the way.

Jim Baker of Whittier said, "I believe it is actually in the 'Cornfield' portion of the Cornfield-Bull Ring yards in what was once known as River Station along Alameda and Spring Streets on Los Angeles.

"The two yards were separated by a diagonal string of double slip switches all hand operated.

"The Links Yard was at what is today the MTA Gold Line Maintenance Facility just north of the tunnels on the Pasadena Parkway (formerly known as the Pasadena Freeway) and the bridge at Dayton Avenue Tower.

According to Bob2 on Altamont Press on April 22, 2014

The "Links" on duty point was down at River Station (location of the ladder of puzzle switches) at the top of Spring Street.

The Links were separated from the Bull Ring (no bulls-no old Spanish bull ring- this is apparently pure preservationist bull-just cattle watered by young Mexican boys hired to get cattle in and out of the cattle cars-like in a "bull ring" back in the 1870's and 1880's?) railroad "west" of River Station. These are the famous puzzle switches from the scene in "Sullivan's Travels"

The "Cornfield"-which is the site of the current Gold Line Shops (not where the current Cornfield "park" is "not" located, is railroad "west" of the bullring-north of the Broadway bridge-under which was )located the Bull Ring Shanty.

The story of this according to "preservationist bull" is that there was a "corn field" here in the days of yore (maybe?, though ever heard that on the RR. Rather, the story I got was that the upper yard was then a ways out of town, way back when, and the site of a "cornfield" meet, when a train plowed into the rear of a stopped train after crossing the LA River. Another "old head" RR story I also heard was that grain cars were stored here and the spilled grain would germinate in the winter.

SP 1100 and 1150 were TR-6's. Most other SP 1100's were TNO SW-8's (no calf). They were often used as "dinky" engines at various round houses, and on branch line locals like the Santa Monica Branch, where they were equipped with PE Air Whistles, as Beverly Hills forbade Air Horns. Easy and fun to run, not much tonnage, and some grades like on Santa Monica Blvd. would really slow you down with only 5 or 6 cars for Wonder Bread and the Blue Whale construction.

This material was posted to Altamont Press in April 2014 here.

SP 1102 EMD TR6A, SP Class ES408-1

Reportedly (sources) Southern Pacific EMD TR6A Built As SP 4602 SP class DF-300. Class changed to SP class DS-600 in 1963. In 1965 became SP 1102, SP Class ES408-1.
Serial Number: 15085 Order No: 4100 Frame Number: 4100-A2 Built: 10/1951. Subsequently possibly was or is now being, used at the Hansen-Mueller Grain Elevator in Belleville, KS. It is not positive that the Hansen-Mueller switcher really was/is the 1102.
Cow in East Oakland
SP TR6A "cow" 1102 is in East Oakland, CA in Feb. 1975.

This material was posted to Altamont Press in April 2014 here.

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