Jan. 30, 1988: NWP "Sprint" train w/ SD9s setting out at Schellville and WB at Black Point. Nov. 19, 1993: California Northern GP15-1 at Schellville and Napa.
1972 domiciled out of Oakland as a Brakeman. Ran the Schellville main a couple of times. Always great to be off the main line and working something like this. Unprotected, and you ran on train orders. No pace just do your job and not have to contend with anything else coming at you. Those were the days.
love those old good days, as a kid i remember crossing through the tracks and seeing those SP SD9s by sonoma its so sad how now they just sit and rot now, those were the days, love it
I remember all this well. All my family lived in Mill Valley. In 1988 I was 19 and loved train watching anywhere I could in N Cali. Thanks for sharing. I liked the GP9's espee had also. I lived in Davis, Redding, Reno, and many other places along the SP main line.
I miss being able to run down the street and watch these. I would love to see anything else on the NWP or California Northern. Thank you for posting this!
@@vidwilzvids9587 living in the SF Bay Area myself, it's great to see these tracks in their glory years. Watching these trains follow highway 37 and cross at Sears Point Raceway is a joy.
Wow this brings back memories - I was 17 in 1988 and my buddy and I used to hop the local freights at Schellville and ride to Santa Rosa, then bum a ride back home. We got caught once or twice but the SP crews were always pretty cool about it, I think it was obvious we weren't out to cause trouble. I remember that wig-wag well, it had to be one of the last operating on the SP at the time - they were already in museums. I believe the SP took it out shortly after this video was shot. It's nice to see equipment not covered in graffiti like they invariably are today. When this video was taken I was probably in algebra class, hearing the distant horn and wishing I was out by the tracks. Thank you for the post!
You're welcome. This is one of my personal favorites. I get dislikes for the lack of graffiti on some of my posts. I remember telling a friend about the wig-wag at Sears Point. When he visited the area the following year it was gone. Thanks for the comment.
This brings back some memories! I have a photo of 4362 and two sisters at Santa Clara Yards when I was a younger man and photos of California Northern GP15 110 and an another sitting in Petaluma by the old station there. Today, I see orange GP15 1570 where I live next to the old West Side line.
Brings back great memories of the line between Schellville and Black Point. I worked the one in 1993 and 94 for the California Northern Railroad. The wig wag was near Sears Point. Thanks for including video of Cal Northern #113. Only problem was you never showed any of the swing bridge at Black Point, just Brazos Bridge over the Napa River.
As you can see in the Rt.37 location the train was moving right along as it passed by the wig-wag. I had to quickly get turned around to head west on 37 to find a location at either Black Point or Ignatio. A slow order on the causeway and swing bridge gave me a little time to look.for a location just West of the bridge. Since I was trying to showcase the SD9s I found a close-in location at the Grandview Ave. road crossing in Novato which was about 1/3 mile west of the swing bridge (which can be seen in the distance at the beginning of the sequence). Thanks for providing the name of the lift bridge over the Napa River. And Thanks for the comments.
vidwilzvids I did notice Kelleher's Lumber Company in on the west side of the Black Point bridge we normally switch them out on the way back to Napa Junction in the late evening. Again thank you for sharing this video on UA-cam.
As a young kid in the 50's-60's, observing/following SP in San Pablo, Rodeo, Martinez Tracy, Manteca, Ripon, Modesto, it seems the locomotives external maintenance (washing regularly and keeping paint schemes looking nice) were a neglected item. Seeing the Calif Nothern was obviously well maintained and color scheme was kept up too. Toward the end, SP had some serious breaches on maintenance, serious train disasters, in Southern Calif. Does anyone know if SP was habitually cutting corners. Sure seems like it. Still loved the SP line even if UP absorded them.
None of the terminals that I worked out of on ATSF/BNSF had any facilities for washing/cleaning locomotives. Any cleaning or repainting was only done when the unit was shopped. So I think it was the paint scheme that either emphasized or de-emphasized the dirt. Thanks for the comment.
The bridge is the Brazos bridge over the Napa River. I don't do Facebook but the story sounds vaguely familiar. I'll have to look it up. In the SP/NWP days the bridge was usually left raised until the train crew called the operator of the Carquinez bridge who would drive up to Napa and lower it.
I remember a Trains Magazine article "The Schellville Turn, not a good day". It was a pair of GP9s. One dove in, the other hung up on the edge. They would've collided with the bridge conterweight had it not been for a quick thinking signal maintainer who lowered the bridge (and raised the counterweight) just enough to clear. He couldn't save the locomotives, but he could save the bridge. Decades before, the same thing happened to some Baldwin diesel locomotives. The engineer of the Baldwins was quickly dubbed "The Admiral!" The engineer of the GP9s was dubbed "The Commodore!" By the way, the grade crossing near the bridge still had a Wabco gate mechanism. Nice!
Great video. I ran many SD9s hated them. The 24 RL brake valve. Couldn't see out of them. People refer to these engines as Cadillac s. Far from it.. they were more like a Fiat
1972 domiciled out of Oakland as a Brakeman. Ran the Schellville main a couple of times. Always great to be off the main line and working something like this. Unprotected, and you ran on train orders. No pace just do your job and not have to contend with anything else coming at you. Those were the days.
The EMD SD-9, one of my all time favorite locomotives. Love that naturally aspirated sound.
The crews called them "Cadillacs".
This is what I call "Cadillac Style"!
Prime mover is supercharged
@@coldwar1952 Correction: Non-turbocharged sound.
@@coldwar1952 no it’s not
love those old good days, as a kid i remember crossing through the tracks and seeing those SP SD9s by sonoma
its so sad how now they just sit and rot now, those were the days, love it
So glad to see those vintage grade crossings in action, Thank you so much for sharing this video
Long gone... but not forgotten (much thanks to you and others).
Absolute classics. “Cadillacs”!!
Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Fantastic! Great videography!
I love the Mars lights on the SD9's!
I remember all this well. All my family lived in Mill Valley. In 1988 I was 19 and loved train watching anywhere I could in N Cali. Thanks for sharing. I liked the GP9's espee had also. I lived in Davis, Redding, Reno, and many other places along the SP main line.
I miss being able to run down the street and watch these. I would love to see anything else on the NWP or California Northern. Thank you for posting this!
You're very welcome. I wish I had more; it was a long trip with a lot of luck to catch these. Thanks for the comment.
You sir have recorded some real history
I'm glad you enjoy one of my personal favorites.
@@vidwilzvids9587 living in the SF Bay Area myself, it's great to see these tracks in their glory years. Watching these trains follow highway 37 and cross at Sears Point Raceway is a joy.
My fave freight motor of all time, and none looked better than bloody nose SP units. With Gyralight. Period.
Noted.
Those SD9s are beastly machines.
The crews loved 'em. Called 'em Cadillacs.
Beautiful beasts at that.
Cadillacs of the Southern Pacific.
Wow this brings back memories - I was 17 in 1988 and my buddy and I used to hop the local freights at Schellville and ride to Santa Rosa, then bum a ride back home. We got caught once or twice but the SP crews were always pretty cool about it, I think it was obvious we weren't out to cause trouble. I remember that wig-wag well, it had to be one of the last operating on the SP at the time - they were already in museums. I believe the SP took it out shortly after this video was shot. It's nice to see equipment not covered in graffiti like they invariably are today. When this video was taken I was probably in algebra class, hearing the distant horn and wishing I was out by the tracks. Thank you for the post!
You're welcome. This is one of my personal favorites. I get dislikes for the lack of graffiti on some of my posts. I remember telling a friend about the wig-wag at Sears Point. When he visited the area the following year it was gone. Thanks for the comment.
First time I've seen that wigwag on video. It was taken out in 1999. Last time I saw it there was in '98 and it was gone by the next year.
This brings back some memories! I have a photo of 4362 and two sisters at Santa Clara Yards when I was a younger man and photos of California Northern GP15 110 and an another sitting in Petaluma by the old station there. Today, I see orange GP15 1570 where I live next to the old West Side line.
This is one of personal favorite memories from that era. Thanks for the comment.
Man I love this video. Instant favorite. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank You; it's also one of my personal favorites.
You even got the WIG WAG!!! NICE!!!!
Wow great classic action and even a wigwag!
The wig-wag disappeared within the following year. Thanks for the positive comment.
Brings back great memories of the line between Schellville and Black Point. I worked the one in 1993 and 94 for the California Northern Railroad. The wig wag was near Sears Point. Thanks for including video of Cal Northern #113. Only problem was you never showed any of the swing bridge at Black Point, just Brazos Bridge over the Napa River.
As you can see in the Rt.37 location the train was moving right along as it passed by the wig-wag. I had to quickly get turned around to head west on 37 to find a location at either Black Point or Ignatio. A slow order on the causeway and swing bridge gave me a little time to look.for a location just West of the bridge. Since I was trying to showcase the SD9s I found a close-in location at the Grandview Ave. road crossing in Novato which was about 1/3 mile west of the swing bridge (which can be seen in the distance at the beginning of the sequence). Thanks for providing the name of the lift bridge over the Napa River. And Thanks for the comments.
vidwilzvids I did notice Kelleher's Lumber Company in on the west side of the Black Point bridge we normally switch them out on the way back to Napa Junction in the late evening.
Again thank you for sharing this video on UA-cam.
You're very welcome.
Love the Pyle Gyralite
LOVE those Mars lights.
It's like: "Here comes the SP!" Thanks for the comment,
Do you hear the Red-Wing Blackbirds at 14:15? That's what you would have heard all over the Bay Area before suburban development changed the land.
used to see them a lot around Hercules, North Bay, Pittsburg, etc,
Sinfonic sound EMD SD 9
Just found you and really glad I did! Great videos of a time past!
Thanks for the comment and welcome to the channel!
Up to 1/2 my kingdom and all my silver for just one more day of that.
Thanks for the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed one of my personal favorites.
8:01, YAY, WABCO Bells!
Thanks for the comment.
As a young kid in the 50's-60's, observing/following SP in San Pablo, Rodeo, Martinez Tracy, Manteca, Ripon, Modesto, it seems the locomotives external maintenance (washing regularly and keeping paint schemes looking nice) were a neglected item. Seeing the Calif Nothern was obviously well maintained and color scheme was kept up too.
Toward the end, SP had some serious breaches on maintenance, serious train disasters, in Southern Calif.
Does anyone know if SP was habitually cutting corners. Sure seems like it. Still loved the SP line even if UP absorded them.
None of the terminals that I worked out of on ATSF/BNSF had any facilities for washing/cleaning locomotives. Any cleaning or repainting was only done when the unit was shopped. So I think it was the paint scheme that either emphasized or de-emphasized the dirt. Thanks for the comment.
Hi, got any video of the SP Lodi local on the branch which ended up at Ione?
Is the bridge at 13:30" the one that appears on Facebook posts with the bridge up and a pair of runaway SD-9's splashing into the river?
The bridge is the Brazos bridge over the Napa River. I don't do Facebook but the story sounds vaguely familiar. I'll have to look it up. In the SP/NWP days the bridge was usually left raised until the train crew called the operator of the Carquinez bridge who would drive up to Napa and lower it.
Tom, you have the correct location, but the units were a pair of GP9's ...
nilesdepot.org/niles/wreck.html
I remember a Trains Magazine article "The Schellville Turn, not a good day". It was a pair of GP9s. One dove in, the other hung up on the edge. They would've collided with the bridge conterweight had it not been for a quick thinking signal maintainer who lowered the bridge (and raised the counterweight) just enough to clear. He couldn't save the locomotives, but he could save the bridge. Decades before, the same thing happened to some Baldwin diesel locomotives. The engineer of the Baldwins was quickly dubbed "The Admiral!" The engineer of the GP9s was dubbed "The Commodore!" By the way, the grade crossing near the bridge still had a Wabco gate mechanism. Nice!
My favorite scene is when the sd9s zoomed pass that wig wag
I think that wig-wag is gone now.
vidwilzvids yep it is I have seen that crossing many times before because I’ve been to Petaluma
Great video. I ran many SD9s hated them. The 24 RL brake valve. Couldn't see out of them. People refer to these engines as Cadillac s. Far from it.. they were more like a Fiat
there’s a wig wag