The Crud Gets Around…

In going through slides, I notice that I’ve seen certain units at different points on a railroad. Nothing unusual there, as moving around is what railroad rolling stock does.

Nevertheless, it’s fun to note the coincidence. As such, I think it merits a new category here on Southwest Rails. Let’s call it “I get around”.

To kick off the category, SP SW1500 2507 is the participant.

SP SW1500 2507 helps with a bad order set-out in El Paso, TX on Sept. 9, 1978

I’m at the west end of the trainway in El Paso, TX on a typically hot Sept. 9, 1978.  A Dallas Street yard job with SP SW1500 2507 has coupled up to the power of a WB freight to pull a bad order car from the train.

When did union rules change to permit road crews to set out bad orders in yard limits?

SP SW1500 2507 returning to West Colton with the Riverside local.

My next encounter with the 2507 was 9 years later.  It and fellow SW1500 2454 are returning to West Colton Yard after a day work on the Riverside local.

The ascending track in the background is the Palmdale Cut-Off, completed in 1967, which permits traffic to and from Northern California to avoid the congestion of the LA basin.