What road names would be included in a freight train running in the So cal area? What engine types would be used?
That's a pretty tall order, but generally any of the roads that were in existence during your timeframe could be represented, along with any predecessor roads. For example, Burlington Northern was created in 1970, so during this period it would have been possible to see new BN equipment (either brand-new or repainted), as well as equipment belonging to its component roads (SP&S, CB&Q, etc.). During that time, it still would have been possible to see older equipment from the 40s-50s (40' boxcars, cars with "plain" [aka "friction] bearings, etc.), although they would be rapidly disappearing, being replaced by the glut of new cars being built in the 1970s. As for motive power, the 70s-80s were a period of big transition on the SP; new SD40T-2s and SD45T-2s were arriving and on their way to becoming the backbone of the fleet, while older power from minority builders like Alco and Fairbanks-Morse were on the way out. There were still a few F-units left in the early 70s, but their days were numbered. GE U-boats were still in abundance, with Espee buying new U33Cs, but they would fall out of favor relatively quickly. With a few exceptions, it was possible to see just about anything on the Espee roster in the LA area; some of those exceptions would have included the Fairbanks-Morse H24-66 Train Masters, which were kept in commute service in the Bay Area, and would have been rare in SoCal. A good place to start would be Richard Percy's SP Modelers' Homepage, specifically his diesel roster section - http://espee.railfan.net/diesel_roster_index.html He's got the SP/SSW roster broken down by year, which is very useful for figuring what they still had in service for a given year. From there, I'd check photos from the timeframe you're interested in, for a better idea of what was operating in your area and era. Joe Strapac's Southern Pacific Historic Diesels is an excellent resource, with each volume covering a specific SP locomotive model(s), with lots of photographs, as well as data covering assignments, renumberings, any differences between various orders, and anything else pertinent. IIRC, he's up to volume 16 of the series, with the next installment due shortly. Any good hobby shop or bookstore should be able to get them for you; here's an Amazon.com listing for reference (keep in mind the first couple of volumes are OOP, rare, and usually go for VERY high prices): http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...+Diesels&rh=i:aps,k:SP+Historic+Diesels&ajr=0 Hope this helps, and good luck!
