The SP is thought of very fondley in the hearts of many. (It was a very sad day when UP finally took over and started turning everything yellow.) Never fear though, the SP lives on! The fleet may have been flung far and wide but we still have alot of them...somewhere... Lets have some fun and see how many we can find! Post a photo and give a history if you can. Here's two of my favorites: First off is Napa Valley RS11 #62. Blt in 1959 as SP #5854, renumbered to SP #2919. Went to California Western as #62 and is currently on the NVRR. Next up is Yolo Shortline GP9 #131. Ex SP #3803, nee SP #3600, nee SP #5159. Blt in 1957. Recently she became Sierra Northern #131. Too bad they removed part of the light package.
Here's A GP9 that's still working in Albany, Oregon. Was on the Willamette & Pacific,But has since been transfered to the Albany & Eastern.
I've gotta start carrying my camera with me! This last spring in beautiful downtown Martin City, MO, I spotted an mty coal train with a reasonably clean and UNPATCHED C44-9. I was so surprised with the unpatched unit I might be wrong and it was an AC4400 - think it was.
Excellent! Man I need to get back up to Oregon! Here is former SP SD9 #4319 as Mosaic #202 in Florida. She was also California Northern #202 for awhile. Blt in 1955 as SP #5372. Renumbered to 3850 before becoming the SP #4319.
here's the roster list http://members.trainorders.com/dan.sheets/Roster/roster.html Looks like mainly geeps and caddys with the occasional other engine. 2 of the SD45Rs were apparently moved to a different G&W property back east for coal service. They have one GP9 from the Rio Grande, so that sorta counts and one of the SD9s is in Black Widow. The GP39-2s from ATSF are the most ubiquitous though. I've seen the B23-7s in Albany, but I never caught them on a train.
SP GE 70Tonner #5117 blt in 1951 b/n 31162 became White City Terminal & Utility #5117 based in White City, OR. She is now at the Modesto & Empire Traction to be numbered #612. Appearantly she has recieved the hood from MET #606 which was wrecked awhile back.
Montana Rail Link has a lot of former SP units........18 SD45-2's , 1 GP35, 3 SD9's , and one SD19 (an SP SD9 rebuilt by MRL with an SD40 cab,nose and electronics) I have the current (MRL) and past (SP)road numbers for each of these, but I didn't want to be here typing all day:teeth:
SP 1233 There are tons of ex SP out there. Here's another great one! Baldwin 0-6-0 origianally on display in Woodland,CA. Owned by the Sacramento Valley Historical Raiways and leased to Yolo Shortline for a time. Pending plans now are to put her back on display next to the restored(work ongoin) Woodland depot.
Earlier this month I found this ex-SP locomotive in the UP yard at Fife, WA. Sorry, guys, I couldn't resist the temptation. :teeth:
Triplex Originally they were standard SD45's , rebuilt by SP in 79 and 80 to SD45R's, and finally to SD45-2 standards at Sacramento in 1985. Last SP numbers were in the 7540 to 7560 range. They still have SD45 bodies with the flared radiators. MRL numbers are between 314 and 331 They're easy to spot if you can get close.....they are marked SD45-2 on the side of the walkway, but have flared radiators. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=105912
I wasn't aware of SP doin a second upgrading on these either. They've always been referred to just as SD45Es or Rs depending on the source. From your number series it is only 21 of them that got it. Hmmm, I'll have to go checking my references.
My info says the upgrade to -2 standards was under the "GRIP" program in 1985. MRL got 18 engines. SP #'s 7540,7541,7542,7543,7544,7545,7546,7547,7548,7550,7552,7554,7555,7556,7557,7558,7559,7560. I'm working off MRL info, so I don't know how many engines SP might have done, only what MRL ended up with. The following is from a search I did under "Southern Pacific GRIP program". The MRL engines fall into the 3600HP group which apparently is different from the original SD45R rebuilds. I'm not sure what all this means, but the above mentioned #'s are currently on MRL roster (or were) and MRL designates them as 45-2's as can be seen in the photo link I posted. 3200 HP or 3600 HP Although all of the initial SD45R rebuilds were completed as 3200 horsepower units, over the following years, several units were in service as 3400 hp and as 3600 hp units. Sources at UP who were also part of the SP mechanical department have said that this was not a formal program, but rather a result of the railroad having to support two types of 20-cylinder equipped locomotives, the older, unrebuilt units, at 3600 hp, and the newer rebuilt units at 3200 hp. While the railroad tried to keep sufficient spare governors for each type at its several maintenance points, at times a 3200 hp unit needed a new governor, and that particular type of governor was not available, especially at remote locations, so the unit received a 3600 hp governor instead. This change of horsepower rating is very apparent when the road's locomotive data books are compared. In the January 1986 book, SP 7400-7536 are referred to as 3200 horsepower (EF632-R1), and SP 7537-7557 are shown as 3600 horsepower (EF636-R1). In the August 1989 book, all except SP 7516 are show as EF636-R1 to EF636-R3. SP 7516 is shown as EF632-R1. The June 1991 locomotive data book only adds to the confusion, with SP 7497, 7500, 7507-7509, 7514-7519, 7522, 7524, 7526, 7528, 7532-7534, and 7542, a total of 18 units, shown as 3200 horsepower. All others are shown as 3600 horsepower. Sources at SP have said that many units were also in service as 3400 horsepower, although the locomotive data books do not seem to reflect this variation. This same June 1991 data book also shows the SD45Rs with classifications from EF636-R1 to EF636-R5.