VMV SD40-2

Locomotive rebuilder VMV sent several rebuilt SD40-2s to help out Southern Pacific's horsepower shortage in the early 1990s.

Fall light patterns

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Lights make a diamond pattern in the falling light on Willamette Pass in the Oregon Casacdes as a Southern Pacific train moves into view.

Helper wave

It was not unusual to have Southern Pacific crews wave at railfans photographing trains on the line between Eugene and Crescent Lake, as shown in this picture from 1993.

If one isn't enough

In the past week, additional railroad crossing warning sign were placed at the corner of 16th & Thompson in Vancouver, Wash. near the fruit cannery. The new signs are lighted around the outside and above (is partly hidden by tree branches.) Below are photos of the other sign at this crossing including a closeup of the solar device that powers small lights around the circumference of the sign. This is the first of this type I've seen.

Santa Fe C30-7 Kodachrome

A few of Santa Fe's Kodachrome units still came into Portland in 1993, including this C30-7.

The Dalles display

Used during the construction of The Dalles dam, this GE 25 tonner is currently on display in a city park in The Dalles.

ex Southern EMD

Most of the high nose units seen in Portland area came from the Southern Railroad, including this SD45 under lease from EMD on the Southern Pacific in 1993.

High nose GP50s

Norfolk Southern was noted for many high nose units it used regularly into the 1990s such as these geeps.  The top photo is a GP38-2 photographed along Columbia on the Union Pacific and the bottom photo is a GP50 found at Hoyt St. Burlington Northern's yard.

Santa Fe C30-7

After Santa Fe started to phase out its C30-7s, many were used by the Southern Pacific including this unit photographed at Brooklyn Yard in 1993.

GP9 in Hoyt St.

GP9 captured in Hoyt St. roundhouse, Portland, Ore. in 1993.

CSX units in Brooklyn

In addition to the many CSX & ex CSX GP40s, Southern Pacific used in July 1993, SP powered one train with a GP38 and a SD40-2 from the eastern railraod.

Rio GP40-2

A far cry from today's six-axle 4,000 horsepower AC units, this Rio Grande GP40-2 was used as road power by Southern Pacific in 1993.

C36-7s at Albina

One of Union Pacific's more unique locomotives were the C36-7s, formerly Missouri Pacific.  There were only 60 of them, but they were frequent visitors to Albina Yard in Portland, Ore. as shown in this 1993 photo.

SP leading Amtrak

Southern Pacific GP40-2 leads B32-WH on Amtrak 14 north through Centralia in 1994, passing local Union Pacific and Burlington Northern switchers.

North Portland

Back before the railroad mergers and all the hysteria resulting from 9/11/2001, access to many railroad points was commonplace where now it is banned and reported.  One such place was North Portland where the Union Pacific branches south from the Seattle/Fallbridge subs of the BNSF (then Burlington Northern) where this shot was taken in 1993 as a BN SD40-2 headed for Lake Yard.

Westbound in Gorge

One of the first westbound BNSF trains of the new year in the Columbia Gorge passes Cooks on Jan. 1, 2012.

ex Family Lines SD40-2

The Family Lines operated as a marketing group of numerous small to medium railroads between 1972 and 1982 before it became the Family Lines System and later merged into CSX.  This SD40-2, captured at the Southern Pacific engine facility in Brooklyn Yard, Portland, Ore. was under control of National Railroad Equipment in July 1993 when it was photographed.  Basically, the Family Lines were all located in the deep south, making this paint scheme extremely rare in the Pacific Nortwest.

Remote Control

One of the first remote controlled units in Vancouver, BNSF 2878 in Heritage I paint, moves a car on the NP tail in August 2003.

ex TexMex

BNSF recently purchased two GP60s for yard use.  First in California, the units came north because of a lack of certain pollution controls.  Within a week of landing in Pasco, a runaway train ran into the 169, bending the frame.  The 168 recently has been in Vancouver working on the NP side of the yard.  I captured it Sunday, Jan. 8,  making a crossover move.  Here's a link to the 169 before it was wrecked. http://raolson.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2798309

More Chessie cats

July 1993 in Brooklyn Yard, Portland, Ore.

Black Widow on log train

Portland and Western 1801, in Southern Pacific Black Widow paint, holds near a road crossing north of Eugene Monday as crew (out of view on far side) checks cars prior to heading out.

Brooklyn sub track work

During a quick trip to Eugene Monday I was able to capture some of the work Union Pacific crews are doing between Eugene & Albany.  Above, framed by a roadside fence, tie crews work near Shedd.  Below, crane drops tie plates just north of Shedd.

Full moon rising

Full moon rises above Vancouver team tracks as fog closes in about 1715 Sunday, Jan.8, 2012.

Chessie in Brooklyn

Another in the group of ex Chessie GP40s & GP40-2s that Southern Pacific was using in 1993 & 1994.  This was in Brooklyn Yard in August of 1993.

Western Maryland Chessie Cat

Photographed near Hampton on the Brooklyn subdivision in June of 1993, this former Western Maryland unit was one of many Chessie System cats used as lease units on the Southern Pacific.

Aberdeen grain loads

Two C44-9Ws lead a grain train probably bound for Aberdeen, Wash., past The Dalles Dam near Dallesport on Jan 1, 2012.  Photo below shows coloration the low sun at this time of year adds to the picture as the DPU passes the same location.

High nose SD45

Former Southern Railroad high hose SD45 under EMD numbers visited Brooklyn Yard, Portland, Ore., in July 1993 as one of Southern Pacific's "Rent a Wreck" lease units.

Loco over Moody

Last Distributed Power unit,  C44-9W 4832,  on the PASBAR crosses trestle at Moody on the Oregon Truck on the first day of 2012. 

ex ITS GP40

Southern Pacific used a lot of GP40s for road power in 1993, including this former ITS unit shown under the sanding tower at Brooklyn Yard.

Across the bay at Lyle

A small jut of land at Lyle, Wash. allows a sun-backed shot of eastbound coal empties passing through the tunnels at Chamblain Lake Rest Area (above) and passing the bridge over the Klickatat River (below) on Jan. 1, 2012.

Stealth CSX

Ex Seaboard Coast Lines, this SD40-2 was captured in July 1993 in Brooklyn Yard under sucessor CSX ownership in what was lovingly called "stealth" paint.