Central Pacific 4-4-0 #1 Gov. Stanford

Photo by Cliff West

Central Pacific 4-4-0 locomotive #1, the Gov. Stanford, was the Central Pacific Railroad’s first locomotive. It is named for California Governor Leland Stanford, the first President of the Central Pacific Railroad. It was built in 1862 by R. Norris of Philadelphia. The 40-ton locomotive arrived in Sacramento on October 7, 1863, and made its first run on November 9, 1863.

Photo by Cliff West

The locomotive was downgraded to a switcher in 1873, and was probably renumbered to #212 at the same time. It was renumbered to #1174 in 1891. It made its last run in January 1895 and was retired on July 20, 1895. It was refurbished in 1899 and presented to Stanford’s widow Jane Lathrop Stanford, who in turn donated the locomotive to Leland Stanford Junior University, where it was placed on display from March 1899 until 1963. In May 1963, it was loaned to the Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, whose collection formed the basis for the California State Railroad Museum.

Dunsmuir, California

Dunsmuir, California, was a division point on the Central Pacific and later Southern Pacific Railroad, where, in the days of steam, trains changed locomotives and crews at the base of the mountains. Though diesel locomotives reduced the town's importance to the railroad, Dunsmuir still celebrates its railroad history.

Photo by Cliff West

Southern Pacific steam locomotive #1727 is on static display at the city park in Dunsmuir.

Photo by Cliff West

Southern Pacific #1727 is an M-6 Class 2-6-0 Mogul built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in September 1901. It was donated to the city of Dunsmuir in June 1957.

Photo by Cliff West

Near the city park is a steel caboose painted to commemorate the Southern Pacific Railroad in Dunsmuir. Despite the paint job, this caboose was never owned or operated by the Southern Pacific. It was built for the Northern Pacific Railway in 1954 as #1068. Later it was renumbered to #10068. After the Northern Pacific Railway was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad, this caboose became Burlington Northern #11411 and operated into the 1980s.

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.

Early 1992 Train Pictures

Here are some more of my dad's train pictures. He usually got his train pictures developed as slides, but he got prints of these as well. These were taken in early 1992.

Photo by Cliff West

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe SD40-2 #5170 is pictured at Burlington Northern's Hoyt Street Yard in Portland, Oregon. It was built by EMD in November 1981.

Photo by Cliff West

Before the merger with Burlington Northern, Santa Fe locomotives were relatively rare in the Pacific Northwest. Though no one could know at the time, looking back, this visitor's presence seems to hint at things to come in the future.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific SD40-2 #3507 is a less exotic visitor to Hoyt Street. It was built by EMD in January 1979.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific SD40-2 #3401 is pictured at Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon. It was built by EMD in May 1977 as Union Pacific #8066 and originally featured high-speed gearing that allowed it to operate at up to 80 miles per hour. In 1981 it was regeared for regular freight service and renumbered to #3401.

Photo by Cliff West

Carnation Cryo-Trans Cryogenic Refrigerator Car CRYX #1270 is pictured at Portland Terminal Railroad's Guild's Lake Yard in Portland, Oregon.

Photo by Cliff West

Kansas City Southern SD40-2 687 is pictured at Burlington Northern's Interbay Yard in Seattle, Washington. It was built by EMD in June 1980.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern SD40-2 #6913 is pictured at Interbay Yard. It was built by EMD in February 1972 as Burlington Northern #6336. In November 1973 it was equipped with Locotrol remote helper equipment at the Dale Street Shops in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was renumbered to 6913. Burlington Northern originally numbered its Locotrol master SD40-2s in the 6800s and the remotes in the 6900s. Even after the Locotrol equipment was later removed, they kept their new numbers.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern GP40G #3078 is pictured at Interbay Yard. It was originally built by EMD in February 1969 as Baltimore & Ohio #3714. After leaving the B&O it became GATX #3714 and was later rebuilt at the Livingston Rebuild Center in May 1989 as one of 10 GP40Gs for long-term lease to Burlington Northern as #3075-3084. All 10 GP40Gs left the BN roster at the end of their lease in February 1992 and returned to their owner, GATX, so this unit's remaining time on the BN was apparently very short.

Photo by Cliff West

Kansas City Southern SD40-2 #692 is pictured at Interbay Yard. It was built by EMD in June 1980.

Photo by Cliff West

Kansas City Southern SD40-2 #657 is pictured at Interbay Yard. It was built by EMD in January 1974.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific GP40-2 #907 is pictured at Argo Yard in Seattle, Washington. It was built by EMD in April 1980 as Western Pacific #3552. Union Pacific took over the Western Pacific in 1983. In July 1985, this unit was painted in Union Pacific's Armour Yellow paint scheme, but with Missouri Pacific lettering, as MP #907. It was relettered for Union Pacific in June 1988. Notice that the words "Union" and "Pacific" are in different fonts. "Union" is in the standard Union Pacific font, while "Pacific" is in the "North Little Rock-style" lettering. The shop only replaced the word "Missouri" with the word "Union," reusing the word "Pacific."

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific SD60M #6291 is pictured at Argo Yard in Seattle, Washington. It was built by General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in December 1991 and still looked brand new. It appears that #6292 is behind it. These units might have just come straight from the GMLG plant.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific SD60 #6011 is pictured at Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon. It was built by EMD in April 1986.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific GP40 #674 is pictured at Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon. It was built by EMD in August 1968 as Missouri-Kansas-Texas #239. Union Pacific absorbed the M-K-T, or Katy, in 1988, and this unit became Union Pacific #674 in June 1989.

1991 Train Pictures

My dad usually got his train pictures developed as slides, but occasionally he would get them as prints as well. Here is a group of my dad’s train pictures from early 1991. 

Photo by Cliff West

This retired caboose was on private property in Tokeland, Washington. It was originally built between 1913 and 1921 as Northern Pacific #1710. Later it was renumbered to Northern Pacific #10710. Northern Pacific was merged into Burlington Northern in March 1970, and this caboose became Burlington Northern #10933, though it never received Burlington Northern's Cascade Green paint scheme before being retired.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific GP15-1 #1584 is pictured at Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon.

Photo by Cliff West

This locomotive was built by EMD in December 1976 as Missouri Pacific #1584 and retained its original number after Missouri Pacific was merged into Union Pacific in 1982.

Photo by Cliff West

GP15-1 #1584 was painted in Union Pacific's Armour Yellow paint scheme on June 17, 1986.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern #28 is an EMD SW1500, or an SW15 as BN called them. It is pictured at Hoyt Street Yard in Portland, Oregon. It was originally built in October 1968 as St. Louis-San Francisco (SLSF, also known as the Frisco) #323. The Frisco was merged into Burlington Northern in 1980.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern #214 is an EMD SW1200 or an SW12 in BN parlance. It is pictured at Hoyt Street Yard in Portland, Oregon. It was originally built in July 1957 as Northern Pacific 155.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern GP38-2 #2259 is pictured at Hoyt Street Yard in Portland, Oregon. It is another former Frisco locomotive, originally built by EMD in June 1973 as SLSF #404. It has been repainted in Burlington Northern's new "White Face" paint scheme, which was introduced in April 1989.

Photo by Cliff West

St. Louis Southwestern (SSW) GP60 #9684 at Southern Pacific's Brooklyn Yard in Portland, Oregon. It was built in March 1990. The SSW, as its name implies, operated from St. Louis, Missouri, southwest through Arkansas into Texas, and was also known as the Cotton Belt.

Photo by Cliff West

DLMX #9201 Clackamas River is a sleeping car for the crew of Daylight steam locomotive Southern Pacific #4449, which was stored in the roundhouse at Brooklyn Yard in Portland, Oregon. This car was built by Pullman in 1941 for the Southern Pacific, Union Pacific and Chicago & North Western's City of San Francisco as 10 roomette-5 bedroom sleeper Rincon Hill. It was transferred to Southern Pacific in 1947 as #9201 & was retired in 1966. The Friends of SP 4449 acquired it in 1990 from a private individual in North Dakota. Though a Southern Pacific car, the Daylight paint scheme isn't historically correct as it was only used on day trains, not sleeping cars.

Photo by Cliff West

Southern Pacific GP60 #9732 is pictured at Brooklyn Yard in Portland, Oregon. It was built in May 1991.

Photo by Cliff West

Southern Pacific #9732 was brand new and was one of the first locomotives to wear the new "Speed Lettering" that was introduced in 1991.

Photo by Cliff West

Here is another picture of Cotton Belt (SSW) GP60 #9684 at Brooklyn Yard in Portland, Oregon. The St. Louis Southwestern was a subsidiary railroad that the Southern Pacific had controlled since 1932. It would not be completely taken over by SP until 1992, but its locomotives could be found across the Southern Pacific system since the 1960s.

Photo by Cliff West

Southern Pacific C-40-3 Caboose #1140 is pictured at Brooklyn Yard in Portland, Oregon. It was built in 1942. It had probably been retired and sold by this point, and was only being stored here.

Alaska Heavyweight Passenger Cars

I'm not sure, but I think my grandmother took these pictures for me while on an Alaskan cruise around 1991. At the time I think these cars were in Palmer, Alaska. Now they are located at the Museum of Alaska Transportation & Industry in Wasilla.

Alaska Railroad Sleeping Car 92 Lake Minchumina was built by Pullman in 1924. It was a 12-1 sleeping car, with 12 open sections and one drawing room. It was originally named McCord. It was sold to the Alaska Railroad in February 1956 and renamed Lake Minchumina. It was retired in 1973.

I don't know much about United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Mines Mine Rescue Car 5. It is clearly a Pullman-built car, but I don't know if it was purpose-built for the Bureau of Mines or if it was rebuilt from a passenger car. I also don't know when it was retired, but I assume it was around the same time as the Lake Minchumina.

My First Train Pictures

These photos from 1989 are the first train pictures I ever took, making them ideal for a relaunch, even though they aren't very good. I was seven years old when I took these pictures with an old Imperial Mark XII camera from the 1950s from my grandparents house.

The first picture shows Union Pacific's Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon.  Shown here are Union Pacific's two main locomotives of the era, a GE C30-7 and an EMD SD40-2, both 3000-horsepower six-axle road freight diesels. The C30-7 still wears its original pre-1980 paint scheme with the UP shield on the cab, while the SD40-2 is in the current paint scheme.

A sole ex-Missouri Pacific caboose was on the caboose track. Union Pacific studied this design in the 1970s for its own new cabooses, which ended up with longer bodies. Union Pacific would take over the Missouri Pacific in 1982 and acquire the entire fleet of these cabooses, which operated across the entire UP system in their red MP paint.

Across the Willamette River at Burlington Northern's Hoyt Street Yard were a group of wreck-damaged Union Pacific SD40-2s. These locomotives were wrecked in Kalama, Washington, on March 3, 1989. This image of Union Pacific 3695 ended up as a double exposure.

I'm not sure what the number is of this Union Pacific SD40-2 with the side of its cab ripped away.

Union Pacific SD40-2 3282 was the only one of these locomotive that didn't return to service on the Union Pacific. It was sold to Burlington Northern on June 21, 1989, and was rebuilt at West Burlington, Iowa, using parts from BN's own wrecked SD40-2 6906, and was completed as a new BN 6906 on May 25, 1990. Also pictured here are UP SD40-2s 3695 and 3569. As bad as the other locomotives look, Union Pacific repaired them all and returned them to service.

The SD40-2 on the left is the same one in the picture above that I am not sure of the number. It is hard to read here, but it might be 3635. On the right is another view of UP 3695.

Finally, here is a Burlington Northern tank car in company diesel fuel service with the Hoyt Street turntable in the background. This yard is no longer there and the property has been developed.