Last Days of the Southern Pacific Episode 7: 1996

The seventh in my series of Southern Pacific vignettes during the last four years of SP's independence. This episode is based on both the Fresno Sub and Tehachapi Pass.Time is 16:46 minutes.

[@rtd1409]

Great times I was covering it all down here in LA love to see the vids!

[@Peaks209]

Thank you so much for posting this. I never thought I’d see a glimpse of the SP in Modesto!

[@forebee3351]

Look at how clean the cars are; little to no graffiti.

[@microbusss]

years after in the 2000s I was still seeing unpatched SP units! 🤣🤣

[@nikdog419]

They're only recently really getting around to repainting them all. I get excited when the SP Cotton Belt renumber comes to deliver to my local industrial lead. Though I do wish it were a regular SP unit, like when I was a kid. Honestly I wish they'd stop repainting them to UP. They have enough UP livery; if they're gonna repaint them, repaint them as heritage units with UP numbers. One heritage unit per acquired railroad isn't enough.

[@microbusss]

@@nikdog419 I got a few pix b4 the SP units got patched when UP merged in 1996

[@TheSonicfrog]

Dirty. Grey. Smokin'. Loved the SP!

[@seanpacificrailroad3700]

I can’t believe I haven’t seen this yet. This is amazing. Thank you for sharing.👍

[@donstarr7261]

Thanks for the great sp memories

[@crazykong1967]

Got to love that Nathan P3 horn.👍

[@JETZcorp]

SP always looked so much better than a grey box had any right to. Whether it was a pile of filthy neglected SD40 tunnel motors, or the perfect proportions of a speed-letter GP38-2, or the rare gleaming Dash-9s for which the CEO must have mortgaged his yacht to buy, they just looked right.

[@yaboidspdadon5838]

Don’t forget the ac4400s

[@streetrodder2846]

I caught the Oakdale Local several times off the brakeman's extra board. Worked with old Chester Wampler, We'd switch out the Hershey's plant and that old tightwad kept all the candy for himself. I retired about the time the lousy U P took over.

[@CWHobbychannel]

12:10 what crossing was that filmed at? I hear an electronic bell which was rare back in 1996.

[@UncleKenable]

Actually that is not an electronic bell

[@jalilmuhammad8270]

Shortly before cannibalization by the Union Pacific Railroad

[@rockbasso]

Which cannabalization are you referring to? If the railroad, what lines? If the unit in the photo - still around.

[@jalilmuhammad8270]

@@rockbasso Merger.

[@25mfd]

and before the englewood hump yard meltdown... a nationwide fiasco, literally