Went out railfanning with some friends for the first time in a long time this past Wednesday (April 4th), and was treated to lots of SP action. First stop was UP's City of Industry station, where we caught several trains, one of wich was all-SP power. SP SD40M-2 8582, another SD40M-2 (can't find the number), and SP SD40T-2 8316 headed up a LA-West Colton local that had stopped near the depot. What was really interesting was when he finally got moving; as he approached a grade crossing and activated the gates, me and a friend watched a truck blow right through the slowly-dropping gates and demolish them! Some guys never learn, I guess. We saw a few more trains, mostly intermodals with "winged" UP SD70M's on the point, although we saw a local with a UP caboose and a UP GP15-1 and SP GP40-2. We passed by SP's City of Industry yard...SP SD40M-2's 8590 and 8591 were the only units I could see as we drove by. We moved on and checked out some other nearby sights. I finally got a good look at the rebuilt Valla Yard in Whittier, which is now paved and designated as a plastic transfer facility. Last stop of the day was Los Nietos Yard, where we saw SP GP38-2 4825 working. There was also a pair of somewhat-rare (at least for Southern California) SP SW1500's idling in the yard. While we were there, the crew M.U.'ed 4825 to another unit that was sitting in the yard, SP GP38-2 4805. SP 4825 was speed lettered and still had its L-window, btw. Overall, a lot of fun, especially seeing this was the first time I'd been able to go out fanning in a while. The weather was slightly overcast, and I did try shooting a few pics; if they come out ok, I'll let you guys know when I get them posted to the Espee.railfan.net site. Paul #3
He forgot to mention the part of the grade crossign smashing that made me wish I wasn't standing there. As the SP powered train was slowly accelerating and approaching the crossign headed Eastbound, a UP Z Train was coming west at 62 mph (heard speed on detector). The truck driver didn't even look the other way. Thankfully the Westbound didn't hit the truck, as I would probably have been a permanent addition to the landscape .
