No one knew it at the time, but when SP 4449 departed Eugene and climbed the Cascades in June 1992, it was the last time it would ever happen. The Daylight train to the NRHS Convention in San Jose... (more)

The only SP caboose painted for the SPSF merger pauses on a summer evening in 1988 at Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Early sales of EMD SD70Ms from the 70 Series was slow at first, with a lot of floor space at the builder devoted to erecting A.C. traction SD70MACs. One exception was a small order of 25 SD70Ms fo... (more)

The "Slim Princess" visits Nevada. Visiting from the Carson & Colorado Railway in Independence, CA, for the "Great Western Steam-Up", here's Southern Pacific's, narrow g... (more)

The Tunnel Motors were designed to keep units from overheating in tunnels and snowsheds like those on Donner Pass. The tunnel motor design was applied to 245 SP-SSW SD45T-2s and 239 SP-SSW and... (more)

Southern Pacific EMD SD40T-2 No. 8355 waits on a train at the SP’s yard in Mojave, California, on March 6, 1995. The optional extended nose houses radio and electronic equipment used for remote-... (more)

Southern Pacific B36-7 7760 rests between assignments at Bedford Park , Illinois, on February 10, 1992. These high horsepower GEs, of 1980 and 1984, set the stage for even higher horsepower 4-ax... (more)

October 14, 1996 - at Dolores Yard in Carson, CA (although I may be over the Compton border for this shot), a pair of speed lettered SP brutes await their next assignment. I was just getting back ... (more)

In October 1987, a pair of slug sets normally found on Southern Pacific's Toledo Hauler are working as helpers in the Cascades. They display the result of ongoing operation in this service as they... (more)

Three southbound Southern Pacific trains sit in the SP yard at Mojave, California, on March 3, 1994. Both freight trains on the left are led by SP EMD SD45T-2s, while the oil cans in the distance ... (more)

SP purchased in 1974, three GP40P-2s originally built for commuter service. In 1993 they were rebuilt and converted strictly for freight service by removing their steam generators. Originally bu... (more)

Climbing out of California’s San Joaquin Valley is a Southern Pacific freight with SP SD40T-2 8505, SP SD40 7328, Cotton Belt SD45 8973 and an SD45T-2 providing the muscle to defy gravity and ge... (more)

Intermodal, 1970s Style!

A westbound Southern Pacific intermodal train, full of those "long" 40' containers (two per 89' flat!) has just crossed the Santa Fe's Third District. T... (more)

Rolling along the Missouri River, an eastbound Southern Pacific transfer freight exits the West Bottoms area of Kansas City, Missouri, on the morning of September 16, 1990.

After Southern Pacific mothballed Siskiyou Summit, traffic off the Siskiyou Line had to go north to Eugene to go south into California. A westbound train with rerouted traffic from the Rogue Vall... (more)