Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
Being born in the late sixties, I missed out on the pre-Amtrak action, and seeing what are now considered classic diesel locomotives (F and E units, and just about every model made by Alco, FM, and Baldwin). That being said, I did get to enjoy a wide variety of motive power and equipment in the seventies. I can vividly recall seeing UP Centennials pulling trains through Pomona, CA. with a DD35B sometimes thrown in creating a perfect A-B-A set. Southern Pacific provided GP9s on locals, and combinations of tunnel motors, SD45, and an occasional U boat on main line freights. SP also ran a local on a remnant of the Pacific Electric through my hometown using a mix of GP9, SW1500, and SD9 power. If I was lucky, I might get to see a Santa Fe train dashing through town on its way to San Berdoo, or heading to Los Angeles. In LA, the UP was still using GP9s and GP9Bs in the yard, and EMD switchers, before they were rebuilt into SW10s, still switched industries in Huntington Park. SP was still running the sugar beet trains, and a couple of rides on Amtrak's San Diegans allowed me to finally see an E unit in tandem with an F40. While there wasn't a lot of variety to the locomotives I saw, it was made up in volume, and in great memories. The years have rolled by, and most of the locomotives of my youth are gone, except for those UP SD40-2s, and a tunnel motor or two. Railroading's all about change and the memories wrapped within. You quickly learn to appreciate what's in front of you on the rails and enjoy it for as long as possible. My children will never get to see a Centenial on the point of a freight train, unless UP decides to press its' one remaining DD40AX into freight service, but they do get to see a solid set of SD40-2s on UP's "acid train" from the Kennecott mine now and then. And today's consists of wide nose locomotives thrills them as much as when I saw a set of SP SD40T-2's tearing through town. So while they may have "missed out" on the trains I saw in my youth, at least I get to hand off my love of railroads to another generation. The excitement is still there for trainwatching, only the players have changed. [8D]
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag