N E W S O F T H E P A C I F I C S O U T H W E S T C O R N E R
SOUTHERN PACIFIC
Permission to discontinue the Coast Line's Lark between Los Angeles and San Francisco has been denied. Discontinuance of the San Joaquin Daylight between Los Angeles and Bakersfield was also denied. The carrier was also rapped for allowing service to deteriorate and for the removal of dining cars from certain trains in an apparant attempt to discourage passenger service. The commission has said that the SP "need not think it can rid itself of services just because they are not profitable." Fare reductions were also recommeded....(S.D. Union -XTRA News)Noted on a recent trip to Bakersfield were many long freights. One of the trains noted had 78 cars powered by 12 diesel units. 10 of the units were on the head end and two more about 10 cars ahead of the caboose. Trains on the Tehachipi line are powered by SD-9's, SD-35's and SD-40's. The Daylight is powered by FP-7's.....
Two freights were involved in a head on collision on the July 4th weekend. The pile up took place at Ravanna, in Soledad Canyon. No one was injured but 14 cars were demolished. Rumor is that it was caused by man failure.....
Construction is under way on the Colton-Palmdale cutoff. Several deep cuts are now being excavated at Summit. The new line will pass directly behind the Summit station and street car. Work at Palmdale is progressing too. A grade separation on the Pearblossom highway near there is well under way......
SANTA FE
Potash movements into San Diego continue to be heavy. And more is on the way....A southbound San Diegan was over an hour late on July 5th after a CTC failure between Oceanside and San Diego...........Freight traffic through the Tehachipis into Norhtern California is heavy. Most of the freights through the pass are powered by six to eight units. Motive power on these trains consist of a mixture of 800's, 900's, 1200's, 1300's and 1400's. The San Francisco Chief is handled by 5 units north of Barstow. With its mail train and the SF Chief, the Santa Fe passenger trains outnumber the SP's over the joint trackage by two to one.
A few items from Kent Anderson, a member, who is working at Barstow. Most of the passenger engines are swaapped off at Barstow, with units going west to LA and back to Barstow. Passenger power going east usually makes a roundtrip to Chicago. The Grand Canyon has been going east out of there with up to 9 units. Sometimes this is rough on the hostlers making yard movements when the rear unit is a "B" unit.
About 10 solid trains of potatoes pass through Barstow daily going east. Westbound there are two solid coal trains daily, destined for Kaiser Steel at Fontana. These trains require helpers between Barstow and Summit, with the helpers usually cutting out at Summit.
SD-45's are now in service. They are in the 1800 class.
Two Shriner's Specials passed through Barstow on their way to San Francisco on July 3rd. The trains were all pullman....(K. Anderson)
UNION PACIFIC
SD-40's and SD-45's pass through Barstow about four times daily. They are numbered in the 3000 series. The usual consist is four units with about 100 cars.The City of Las Vegas goes by other names too. It is cheerfully called the Crapshooter. Officially it is Train 115 or 116, depending upon its direction. An open platform observation, UP 113, was in the consist of the Crapshooter recently......(K. Anderson)
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