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Southern Pacific Steam in the Post-Season
new 4-6-23 |
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It could be argued that Southern Pacific steam entered its post-season on December 1st, 1956, the day after corporate ordered the fires "temporarily" killed on all heavy steam , save the few engines still employed on the Commutes. Here is a selection of locos that initially avoided their bigger brothers' fate.
SP #2833 Some smaller Western Division power soldiered on until the end of the year on yard jobs and locals. At about 10:30 on December 2, R. E. Field photographed #2833 at West Oakland on the head end of train #418, which along with #417, comprised the Newark Turn. - Wx4 Collection Nacozari #3423 Although SP n.g. #9 had the honor of performing the last regular steam work in late 1959, humble 2-8-0's on cross-border Nacozari Railroad came in a close second. Nacozari #3406 performed the SP standard gauge steam revenue freight run on January 19, 1959. It and two sisters, #3400 and #3423 - all ex EP&SW consolidations - were vacated that February. Harold F. Stewart caught #3423 at Douglas, Arizona on March 4, 1957, while she still had plenty of steam left. - Wx4 Collection SP #2836 All dolled up with somewhere to go: SP #2836 gained a measure of fame during its second career, as a steam heat source for Third & Townsend depot. Here we see her with fresh paint drying at Bayshore Shops on March 3, 1957 (one day before photo at left), just prior to being sent downtown. Despite all of the monster Malleys and other heavyweight power, hogs formed the backbone of 20th Century SP steam power, even in the post-season. - photographer unknown, Wx4 Collection |
