I recognized that last location. The Amtrack platform at Ontario, California. The wooden SP station used to be on the northside of the tracks. When I was 12 years old, I would go down to the SP station on a Saturday and spend a couple hours of watching trains. This was around 1953-54. Steam was still being used for maybe half the trains, and I would see Cab Forward's helping a GS4, 2-10-2's and 4-10-2's were pretty common. They would usually send a local to Ontario, from Colton, powered by a 4-6-0 or 2-8-0 on Saturdays, to switch the industries at Ontario. The Sunkist plant had a lot of car loads . In the afternoon, the SP Argonaut passenger train would come through westbound, with a train of heavyweight cars. An all black GS4 was the usual power, until replaced with F7 Black Widows. The train was usually running 65 to 70 MPH and they would throw a mailbag out the door of the RPO car. You made sure NOT to be close to where that mailbag was going to land, I'm sure it would have knocked the Snot out of you LOL On the west side of Euclid Ave, they had a Mail Crane, and every afternoon, around 2 PM, a mail truck with a postal employee would hang a sack of mail on the Crain, and the RPO car would snag the bag as they went flying down the track.. The highlight of all those Saturdays watching trains, was when the local was switching in Ontario one Saturday, the engine crew had seen me watching them. and called me over and ask me if I would like to ride in the cab... OH YEAH!!! The power for the local that day was a 2-8-0. They worked the switch list for about 30 minutes, then it was time to head back to Colton. They told me I could ride with them back to Colton, if I had a ride back. which I didn't 😢 Then they headed East back to Colton. A day I have fondly remembered after all these years. and..YES, I did get to blow the whistle. 😀
I recognized that last location. The Amtrack platform at Ontario, California. The wooden SP station used to be on the northside of the tracks. When I was 12 years old, I would go down to the SP station on a Saturday and spend a couple hours of watching trains. This was around 1953-54. Steam was still being used for maybe half the trains, and I would see Cab Forward's helping a GS4,
2-10-2's and 4-10-2's were pretty common. They would usually send a local to Ontario, from Colton, powered by a 4-6-0 or 2-8-0 on Saturdays, to switch the industries at Ontario. The Sunkist
plant had a lot of car loads . In the afternoon, the SP Argonaut passenger train would come through westbound, with a train of heavyweight cars. An all black GS4 was the usual power, until replaced with F7 Black Widows. The train was usually running 65 to 70 MPH and they would throw a mailbag out the door of the RPO car. You made sure NOT to be close to where that mailbag was going to land, I'm sure it would have knocked the Snot out of you LOL On the west side of Euclid Ave, they had a Mail Crane, and every afternoon, around 2 PM, a mail truck with a postal employee would hang a sack of mail on the Crain, and the RPO car would snag the bag as they went flying down the track.. The highlight of all those Saturdays watching trains, was when the
local was switching in Ontario one Saturday, the engine crew had seen me watching them. and called me over and ask me if I would like to ride in the cab... OH YEAH!!! The power for the local that day was a
2-8-0. They worked the switch list for about 30 minutes, then it was time to head back to Colton. They told me I could ride with them back to Colton, if I had a ride back. which I didn't 😢 Then they headed East back to Colton. A day I have fondly remembered after all these years. and..YES, I did get to blow the whistle. 😀