Western Steam

[JimValle]

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1950's I witnessed the end of steam on three railroads.  The Western Pacific was the first to completely dieselize as it was relatively small and didn't have to buy too many units to accomplish it's goal.  They were all done by 1954.  The Santa Fe was next owing to a head start gained during WWII when it was allowed to buy a fleet of FT's to add to it's roster of passenger diesels.  Southern Pacific took the longest.  It's first priority was to dieselize its mountain and desert districts.  As this took place a lot of its most modern steamers were concentrated in the Bay Area and ran on the Coast and Western Divisions.  Cab Forwards, GS Northerns, and MT class Mountains drew freight and passenger assignments originating in West Oakland or South San Francisco and terminating in Roseville, Salinas or Bakersfield.  In addition, a stable of Moguls and Consolidations was kept on hand to handle seasonal fruit and vegetable traffic and  many locals and extras.  It was not until 1958 that the last steamers were retired from Bay Area rails.  I remember it well because it was a great show while it lasted.

[wjstix]

Railroads in the West embraced diesels early on, because diesels didn't need the huge amounts of water a steam engine did...a big factor if your railroad crosses a desert.

[FlyingCrow]

Um...I must admit I read your post several times and still cannot figure out whether this is a question , a statement or exactly what you wanted to say.  Perhaps you should re-post.   

[SPer]

if the railroads of the West that did not dieselizing earlier they could stay loyal to steam until 1958-60