A Texas & New Orleans (SP in Texas) weed sprayer arrives in Yorktown, Texas, on a summer day in 1953. Yorktown was on a T&NO branch in South Texas between Cuero and Kenedy, initially the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad main line between San Antonio and Houston, via Yoakum. Joe McMillan photo.
A circa 1900 shot of a Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio (SP predecessor) train moving through Paisano Pass out near Marfa and Valentine, Texas. Per the Texas State Historical Handbook: "PAISANO PASS. Paisano Pass is a gap (at 30°17' N, 103°49' W) between Twin Mountains and Paisano Peak, twelve miles east of Marfa in northeastern Presidio County. The pass, at an elevation of 5,074 feet above sea level, rises 228 feet above the nearby prairie. The surrounding terrain is desert mountain canyonland of volcanic deposits and alluvial washes of sands and gravels. The local soils are light reddish-brown to brown sands and clay loams; vegetation includes sparse grasses, cacti, and desert shrubs. The pass has long figured prominently in local transportation. When the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio built its tracks through the area in 1882, Paisano Pass was reportedly the highest point on the line between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Portland, Oregon.
Colton Ca. Depot and Express building about 2009. I thought I took these before that date, but I cannot find proof. These are gone to make room for the UP flyover at the BNSF diamonds.
From 04/18/1987 at Amtrak's Beech Grove, IN shop, former square roof/economy baggage car SP 6710. PC&F built six of these for the Espee in 1962, so it was only 25 years old at the time. The car also shows two hastily spray painted AMTK numbers, 17081 and 1010. I'm not sure what happened to these cars.
I dimly remember a story about that diamond. If I remember it correctly, when the Santa Fe first popped up in southern California, the Octopus, er, I mean SP, kept a switcher locomotive parked on their track right where the ATSF needed to cut in their diamond. When a train came along, the switcher would abandon its position temporarily, then come right back. They prefabricated the crossing and got the thing cut in between when a train cleared the spot and the switcher got back from the nearest siding.
In 1930 the Southern Pacific took delivery of 14 new 4-8-4 locomotives from BLW. Four were assigned to the T&NO. In 1937, the 10 Pacific Lines locomotives received 22,000 gallon rectangular tenders to replace the 16,000 gallon cylindrical types. In WWII 4404 became T&NO 710.
The Texas & New Orleans Sunbeam. Here a shorter version of the Hustler is departing Houston Grand Central Station in early 50s bound for Dallas. The two trains used the same equipment, the Sunbeam was the morning train and the Hustler was in the afternoon. A parlor car was pulled from the Hustler making it a bit shorter for its run. One of the train sets overnighted in Dallas while the other in Houston. Passenger cars have been repainted from Daylight paint scheme to the General Service silver paint scheme. Story Sloane Collection.
Sounds about right, but it took a Marshal (one of the Earp brothers) plus a small army to move the SP aside. The SP had a gondola full of armed men to defend the spot. The SP had no legal right to not allow the SF to add the crossing. I wish I could find the story to share, but I cannot. My understanding is some of the family is buried in Colton and the house is still standing on H street.
Looks like a slight typo in paragraph 2, where it reads "...parents-in-operation..." I would tend to think they meant "...partners..."?
