Salt Creek Trestle

My dad took these pictures at Southern Pacific's Salt Creek Trestle in the Oregon Cascades while we stopped on a family vacation on our way to California on March 13, 1992. A forest service road off of Oregon Highway 58 provided access to one end of the Salt Creek Trestle. We didn't have to wait long for a Southern Pacific freight train to approach the trestle.

Photo by Cliff West

Southern Pacific SD40T-2 #8557 led the train. It was built by EMD in 1979.

The first railway to directly connect Oregon and California was Southern Pacific's line over Siskiyou Summit, which was completed on December 17, 1887, but mountainous route featured sharp curves and grades of up to 3.67%, the steepest on the entire railroad. In the early 1900s, construction started on a new route through the Cascade Range over Pengra Pass, but came to a halt in 1912. Progress on this new Cascade Line, or Natron Cutoff, didn't resume until 1923. The line was completed on September 1, 1926, and opened to through passenger service on April 17, 1927. The new Cascade Line was 25 miles shorter than Siskiyou Line and had a maximum grade of 2.2%, but it was still a demanding route, with 44-miles of continuous grade.

Photo by Cliff West

Here are the three lead locomotives of the freight train starting across the Salt Creek Trestle. Southern Pacific SD40T-2 #8557 is in the front. It is followed by Southern Pacific SD45T-2 locomotives #9250 and #9337, which were built by EMD in June 1972 and February 1974 respectively.

All three of these locomotives are "Tunnel Motors," featuring a specialized cooling system designed for operation in tunnels and snowsheds in mountainous territory with overheating. The 3000-horsepower SD40T-2 can be distinguished from the earlier 3600-horsepower SD45T-2 by the access doors in the radiator section at the rear. The SD40T-2 has two access doors on each side, while the SD45T-2 has three. Also, the SD40T-2 uses a 16-cylinder engine instead of the 20-cylinder engine of the SD45T-2, allowing a shorter long hood, and making room in front of the cab for either an extra-long short hood or a "front porch."

The Salt Creek Trestle carries the Southern Pacific's Cascade Line over Salt Creek and Oregon Highway 58 near Heather, Oregon. It was built in 1924 and was fabricated by the American Bridge Company of New York. The steel trestle is 1200 feet long with individual spans of up to 125 feet.

Photo by Cliff West

In the middle of the freight train were four Southern Pacific helper locomotives. These locomotives are necessary for the train to climb the steep grades and negotiate the tight curves of this mountainous route.

On the left is Southern Pacific SD45T-2R #6854. It was originally built by EMD in July 1972 as St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) SD45T-2 #9158. In September 1988 it was rebuilt by Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops as Southern Pacific SD45T-2R #6854.

Next is Southern Pacific SD45R #7417. It was originally built by EMD in February 1967 as Southern Pacific SD45 #8846, and predates the "Tunnel Motor" radiator design. In December 1981 it was rebuilt by Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops as Southern Pacific SD45R #7417.

The next locomotive is Southern Pacific SD40T-2 #8544. It was built by EMD in January 1979. 

The locomotive on the far right is a Southern Pacific SD45T-2, but its road number is not visible. I also can't tell whether or not it had been rebuilt into an SD45T-2R.

There were no more helpers on the rear end or even a bay-window caboose, only a Flashing Rear End Device, or FRED.