Does anyone know when foreign power started showing up on the Santa Fe Ry? Such as the BN or SP? I mainly model the 1970's Santa Fe and althought I can run what I want, I would like to stick close to actuality. Any help or info is greatly appreciated.
Most pics I have seen that are of the Santa Fe in the 1970's have only Santa Fe power. If you go to http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/locoList.aspx?id=ATSF you will see examples as there are many 1960 and 1970 photos
SantaFeDan Where are you modeling? That might make a big difference on which foreign power might have run on your Santa Fe. Saw some B&O & C&O power going thru Fullerton CA in early 80s. But as you said you're going run whatever you want. It's your RR-right!
I'm modeling a ficticious area of the Southwest, presumably Arizona. I've got lots-n-lots of red dirt & pink ballast. It's a short sub (or branch) that's called the "Union Industrial Railroad. It was originally to be a modern era branch but I keep getting drawn back to the late 60's to late 70's. I'm running Santa Fe GP30's & 35's, SD40's & SD40-2's and a lone GP9. Oh yeah, and some of my favorites: CF7's! All are billboard (BYT2) or yellow bonnet (BYW2). There is a connecting line that has two (8 ft.) 3-track staging yards that are considered everything west. The largest town on my road is called Brooklyn. I named it for my wife who is from Brooklyn, NY. I have a smaller town called Barrow. It's main industry is a large elevator called Cat Mountain Grain Company. Guess who that ones for! I have a small section of Route 66 that has no rail service. It's just places I remember along the Mother Road as a kid traveling between California and Ohio with my parents. I now live in SE Ohio but I grew up just west of the San Bernardino yard in the 60's and saw the Chiefs running along side my neighborhood and the 3751 setting in Viaduct Park thru-out the 60's.
Here's a thought. Have an interchange w/ a fictitious RR that gets alot of hand-me-down power from foreign RRs. Then have that RR use your Santa Fe power & get paid back by using their foreign power as pay back for the hours they used your power.
Sounds like late 70s, as Santa Fe didn't get SD40-2s until 1977, and there weren't many billboard scheme units left into the 80s (judging by photographs). In that time, yes, Chessie/B&O/C&O power did show up frequently. What about PC? I have a vague memory...
The ATSF had CN GP40s leased in the late 70's and they had to renumber them since they were the same numbers as some ATSF units. The CN units where in CN noodle and SGT. Stripes
ATSF and D&RGW were good partners in CO, and interchanged freight and coal trains in Denver, even running joint trains on D&RGW trackage. I would consider a SD40T-2, SD45 or GP40. D&RGW-originated coal shipped to CA went over Cajon, using UP and D&RGW SD45's, and the "Coal Liner" hi-side Thrall gons. In Arizona, I would say SP as well.
Frisco and Santa Fe had runthroughs via Floydada, TX on the QA&P, and after 1971 from Tulsa to Avard, OK (crew changes took place at Waynoka, OK on the Santa Fe), so it may not have been beyond the realm of possibility to see Frisco power on these trains (Fs, U25Bs, etc). The trains involved were known as the QLA (Quanah-Los Angeles, a Birmingham, AL to LA hotshot) and QSF- the "Queen Lady" was Frisco's hottest freight, and woe betide the dispatcher who delayed her. Eastbound, it was the CTB (California-Tulsa-Birmingham). Unless power was swapped out at Tulsa, Amarillo or Belen, Frisco power may have been seen out west. I have a book entitled Six Axle Quartet ( a collection of black & white photography) that even shows B&O GP40s on Santa Fe trackage in California- most likely a borrowing of power. I know I've seen Santa Fe power on the Cherokee Sub in Oklahoma, which is why in HO I have an SD45 and two F45s in Santa Fe colors in my fleet.
The 60's foreign power on the Santa Fe is a difficult one to pin down. The Pennsylvania Railroad, the New York Central, some B&O and C&O motive power operated on Santa Fe freight trains. I have video of early jeeps, GP 30's and 35's operating as far west as Kansas City, Kansas. They would be turned at Kansas City, KA and headed back to home rails. It's possible some of these units made it into California, but I rather doubt it. Here in the Southwest you just didn't see a lot of eastern or foreign power during the 60's. You might see SP or UP power in Santa Fe consists. I wouldn't consider them foreign power by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps, foreign by definition. From the mid 70's and into the 80's: We did see some D&RGW power on the point of coal trains headed for Fontana, Ca., and the Kaiser Steel Mill. These trains originated out of the coal fields of Colorado, often accompanied by UP power. These would be turned at San Bernardino, CA and would work the point of a Santa Fe train back to Barstow, CA or pull a unit train of empty coal hoppers back to Colorado. When pulling a E.B. Santa Fe freight the locomotives switched out at Barstow, CA., and the D&RGW power would be handed over to the UP, for the return trip to home rails. Actually, this didn't work out so well as sometimes they would be needed to pull the now empty coal hoppers back to home turf. So, this practice was stopped just shortly after it was started. In later years 80's and into the 90's before the mega mergers we did see Conrail, Soo Line, Burlington Northern and other eastern roads. You could almost pick the railroad of your choice and it most likely made it's way to the west coast (ok for you midwestern types the Pacific Coast)...grin!.
Santa Fe leased a number of B&O/C&O GP40s and maybe a few GP40-2s back about 1979-1980 or so. I have photos of them running in Northern Arizona. There is a note about this in Extra 2200 South, but mine are packed away at this time. Drop me a line. Ed
Just had another memory. In 1978 when we first moved to Northern Arizona there were a number of N&W locomotives leased to Santa Fe. This was late Summer and early Fall time frame. Once the N&W strike ended the units were called home. Ed
The whole deal of run-through and leased power was in its infancy then. I mean, I'm a 70's kid railfan and it was a BIG DEAL if somebody else's locomotives showed up on your railroad. Nothing at all like now. There were some notable run-throughs on ATSF. Several of them are covered, as mentioned here, in "Route of the Warbonnets" by McMillan, appropriate for the 70's era. I'm doing ATSF Albuquerque Third District, July 1972 and have spent an outrageous amount of time adding to the research base for my operations. I've never seen any pictures of off-road power on that section of the Coast Lines. The east end to KC (Argentine) was a different deal, so was the Joint Line. Santa Fe wasn't exactly power short, just the wrong power, then. Lots of F's being converted to CF7's, SD45-2's and U36C's arriving. One approach you can take is new locomotive shipments; remember that EMD was on the Santa Fe, GE is is Erie, and that if a west-coast shortline or something had a locomotive delivery to the west coast it had a fair shot of going via ATSF if there wasn't a closer delivery interchange point. I've trudged all over Arizona in my lifetime, and one of the areas you might want to look to for inspiration is the south end of the Peavine near Phoenix. Ennis had an industrial district with some agriculture, a quasi branch line district, etc. It's busier today than it was then. You've got branches, mining, industrial districts, etc., actually a lot more diversity than the main, which has flat running from Albuquerque, Gallup, to Winslow. I model Winslow-Flag, but there isn't really all that much there either. The Apache Railroad is a great prototype, but only if you like Alcos and lumber industry movements. SANTA FE TO PHOENIX: RAILROADS OF ARIZONA - Vol 5/Myrick The complete history of Santa Fe's route to Phoenix. Includes the histories of predecessor railroads; a great reference book. Hardcover, mostly b&w photos, but some color, 275 pages. Book Produced by Signature Press Another very odd thing on the ATSF that doesn't get sufficient press is the Navajo Army depot at Bellemont. Great location for scenery, odd loads, its own 'industrial' switcher, yeah, about everything you'd want for a typical 'shortline' and heavy industrial branch area except you sure won't find any grain at 7200 feet. Microsoft TerraServer Imagery Verne Niner modeled part of that in N scale. When I was out there a couple years ago I was kinda stunned how big it was, how little it was publicized, and what a great modelled area it would have made, particularly if you like military modeling on the side.
B&O GP40 #9733 is eastbound near the 334 mile of the Third District of the Albuquerque Division. Santa Fe changed the first number of the B&O unit to avoid computer conflicts.
I remember seeing a CN "noodle" SD40-2 in consist here in Dallas back in '78. It was on a 589 train (mostly pigs and containers) which would have ended up in Richmond.
There was a feature article in Rail Classics from that time period about the N&W invasion on the Santa Fe. Quite a few different N&W unit types were involved. I would also expect you could find that Richard Scholz posted the N&W and Chessie units to Extra 2200 South from those days.
