A Southern Pacific train of empty beet racks passes through Modesto's "South Ninth" neighborhood on its way from the Spreckels Sugar refinery in Manteca back to Fresno, where the train's cars will be sent to various sugar beet loading sites to be refilled … and then the cycle repeats. It would not be much longer before sugar beet refineries in this part of the San Joaquin Valley would cease operations in the early 1980s, bringing an end to these distinctive SP trains. This part of Modesto also saw trains on Western Pacific subsidiary Tidewater Southern, and there was even a diamond near here where the two lines crossed, located near the rear of this sugar beet train. This southbound SP train (eastbound on the SP, of course) is led by Cotton Belt GP35 6519 and SP U25B 6744. I didn't realize it at the time, but these two locomotives were teamed with SP U25B 6755 passing through Oakland’s Jack London Square three days earlier. For such a large railroad, the SP could, at times, seem small, local and comforting, particularly when one would see the same power just days apart. (Modesto, California – July 6, 1976). Thanks to Ted Benson for assistance with information about his hometown!
