Trains in Oakridge in 1996

As the summer of 1996 came to an end, I took these train pictures in Oakridge, Oregon. This was shortly before the Southern Pacific was merged with the Union Pacific on September 11, 1996, making these some of the last pictures of the independent Southern Pacific.

Southern Pacific #9818 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in July 1994. Southern Pacific's group of 25 SD70Ms would inspire Union Pacific to order 1,000 more following the merger.

Southern Pacific #7556 was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May 1967 as a 3,600-horsepower SD45. It was originally numbered Southern Pacific #8920. On October 28, 1985, it was upgraded at Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops to an SD45R and was renumbered to Southern Pacific #7556. It was the first of five SD45R's to receive the  red-and-yellow "Kodachrome" paint scheme of the proposed Southern Pacific Santa Fe merger, which it was still wearing over a decade later, even though the merger never happened.

Southern Pacific #4843 is a 2,000-horsepower GP38-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in July 1980. It still featured its full Southern Pacific light package.

This piece of snowfighting equipment is Southern Pacific Jordan Spreader #4047, which was originally built in 1929 and was rebuilt in 1953. It was still in service, waiting with one of Southern Pacific's wood-bodied flangers for the snow to return to Oregon's Cascade Range.