Tehachapi_(1990) SP Coal Train With 13 Locomotives ***(300th Video)***

[@boringtrainfilms8513]

This is amazing. The rawest, most brutal display of old school EMD diesel power in existence.

[@JMAC-rs6ey]

Yeah I’m spooled up deep. 35 , 372 horsepower.

[@1MTSRider]

I am glad you have enjoyed my train videos. More will be coming. I can't justify keeping these in the closet, and not allowing others to enjoy what I believe to be one of the greatest eras in railroading, along with the Steam-era of the 40's and 50's.

[@MillersRailfan]

No The greatest era of railroading is EVERY DAY YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW telling everyone that the greatest era was yesterday; especially to today’s young people, is unbelievably selfish and narrow minded In 60 years; when you & I are long forgotten, the young people of today will have their own cherished memories of their own era To them, steam means nothing, and your videos and my videos will mean less than nothing to them

[@lynnmcculloch-m4h]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@sawthemin77]

I'm almost 57 and I can say , no sarcasm , that is one of the top 10 coolest things I have seen in my LIFE !!

[@stripervince1]

Do you realize the tractive effort to get that mile long 12,000 ton monstrosity moving up that grade? This was railroading at its finest right here foamers . I was a signalman for SP in the 1980s and early 1990s right there in Tehachapi, Mojave, lancaster and palmdale. Beautiful area. If you think this is cool, you should see these coal and oil can trains coming down the hill on the Mojave side all the way to rosamond and lancaster. This was some mind boggling display of Railroad traction and power. Ground shakers. Ps Fred, she was conductor

[@terryashton3541]

Yeh good one mate, I'm amazed that there's no slippage at all unless it's built into the engines auto system and was the locotrol system used on this train, would love to know.

[@chrislimnios9180]

​@@terryashton3541 as the engines were going by, i saw lots of that tractive silicon being sprayed in front of the wheels.

[@pootispiker2866]

@@terryashton3541 Wheel slip is corrected for automatically and has been since the 40s. Sand is used first for minor slipping. The second step is various levels of automatic power reduction relative to the severity of the slip.

[@hoganrichard9627]

Hats off to the rail crew that keeps this track in such awesome shape. I didn't see a single car rocking or bouncing around. For a piece of track that gets such heavy use--great job guys!!

[@atc2853]

I don't know what it is but I love the sound of those ole EMD 645s chugging to get a heavy train moving, especially on this video. SP sure gave their EMDs a true power test. SP was the best! Thanks for sharing!

[@markhayes6407]

I love hearing that initial startup and increasing power to get the train moving. Miss the SP their drag freights were the best.

[@1MTSRider]

How I wish I could get in a time-machine and see this - one more time.

[@clevelandmaker386]

Now kids.....take notes......this is real power right here.....hear that that is the real harmony of man and machine.....you wanna know how it feels to be the HULK?....SUPERMAN?......there you go!

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

Very cool. I grew up in Tehachapi and hired out in SP signal dept. in May 79 in Palmdale. I worked the Mountain from 84 to 2004 and saw lots of this stuff. Thanx for sharing it and the others.

[@stripervince1]

I'm surprised that I don't remember you. I was a signalman out of palmdale from 1984 til I went to metro link down at mission tower in LA in 1992. Your name don't even sound familiar. Did you work at Sierra and Ave R?

[@TheYoumakemesick]

Thank goodness people were out to film this, absolutely phenomenal stuff. SP were the greatest

[@kenpalmer1965]

Amen to that!

[@qclegg]

Love the Rio Grande coal cars.

[@robertfinch2449]

THIS VIDEO HERE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES IN WHAT IT REALLY SOUNDED LIKE BACK IN THE HAYDAYS OF REAL SP TUNNEL ENGINES POWER BOY OH BOY THIS BRONG BACK MEMORIES OF MY CHILDHOOD THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THIS THATS POWER THERE 💯💯💯🔥🔥🔥👍🏽

[@dmorgan28]

I love this video. I’m a retired locomotive engineer and this was just awesome. Those were helpers that were cut in back there in the train. Not DPU’s. Each set of helper units bot had an engineer and a fireman. And also on the headend. Awesome. Thanks for this. ❤️👍

[@christopherdibble5872]

The engineers don't wave from the trains anymore, not like they did back in 1954, still get a tear in my eye when I hear an old train in the night!

[@gopalshekar986]

Awesome video 👏👏👌 What groaning, straining and smoking .. one can feel the clenching of drives . Wow. By the way anyone else noticed the spark flying out of the second loco wheel at 0:42 ?

[@RailroadRadionet]

Folks. those were manned Helpers... No DPUs existed back in those days.. EMD had their "Locotrol' system which didn't work on Tehachapi very well due to all the tunnels and loss of radio connectivity. It was a common sight to see both "thru" and "Swing" helpers on the longer trains. Thru helpers stayed on the train all the way to West Colton. Swing Helpers were cut off either at Tehachapi summit or Mojave. Espee in it's twilight era. Best memories of my railfanning experience.

[@BudmanPackfan]

Locotrol was developed by an Ohio regional phone company in the 1960s. The orignial equipment was so large, it was installed in converted cabooses, boxcars, or gutted F3B, F7B carbodies. North Electric was bought out by Harris Controls. GE now owns Locotrol, which is commonly called DPU today

[@gabrielbennett5162]

My mom and dad said it was common when they were growing up in Tehachapi, for kids to climb aboard the train at the bottom when they stopped to couple-on the swing helpers, ride it up to the summit, then get off and hike back down when they stopped to release them. In those days, as long as you didn't attempt to tamper with the equipment or vandalize something, SP pretty much didn't care. In fact, the railroad police would even walk by and tell kids which trains were safe to ride (ie. stopping at the summit) and which were non-stop express trains. Totally different era. Now days, they'd probably arrest you on sight.

[@enjoyingrailroading1013]

@ Helper crews always coordinate with the head end crew.

@@enjoyingrailroading1013 Helpers are pretty much a thing of the past with DPUs coming onto the scene.

[@enjoyingrailroading1013]

@Talesin Agreed that DPU's are becoming more the norm, but they're not a new concept. BNSF Rwy was working with DPU's in their merchandise network in 2000-2002 when I was a member of their Svc Design Team in Fort Worth. Manned helpers still operate on NS's Pittsburgh Line. However, with Top21 (NS version of PSR) wondering how much longer the manned helper operation will continue on the Pittsburgh Line. Bottom line for me, it continues to be very interesting to observe modern day railroading and research how the innovations from the past have contributed to the present and beyond. Have fun at trackside and BSafe.

[@realvanman1]

We used to camp there back then, just over the little private grade crossing and to the left, but before the entrance to the ranch. We'd be awakened in the middle of the night by the lead units and enjoy them, then fall asleep, then be awakened by the mid-train helpers, then fall asleep lol, then be awakened by the second set of helpers. Man was it AWESOME! I used to lay awake nights out at Glamis listening to them too. I REALLY miss those EMDs. I worked for the BNSF in the early 2000's and was very fortunate to get to spend some time on them then. Thanks so much for the GREAT memories. ;)

[@judefernandez827]

Real vanman 1 you are so lucky to have experienced all that you did .Here I am in Melbourne Australia and wishing I could be there or have been there cos we don’t have that type of landscape here.

[@johnL72909]

All EMD! Can't beat that EMD sound. Way better than GEs IMO.

[@terryashton3541]

Man this is just awesome power, you americans certainly know how to use your EMDs, I live in Australia and have never seen power like this, yeh we have long coal trains too but nothing like this and on a gradient like the Tehachapi loop absolutely fantastic video footage.

[@ployshihashick8240]

Awesome video. The powerful throb of those diesels..... My goodness!

[@RailroadRadionet]

Absolutely the best video display of Espee's Might. Thanks for sharing and especially thanks for being there back in the day and having the presence of mind to record it 1MTSRider!

[@sw1sd70]

Nice! Here is what we're seeing: SD45T-2 9334, SD40R 7375, SD40T-2 8241, -- 33 cars -- SD40T-2 8573, SD40T-2 8290, SD45T-2R 6875, SD45T-2R 6887, SD40T-2 8285, SD45R 7453 -- 32 cars -- SD40R 7325, SD40R 7302, SD40T-2 8356, SD45T-2 9239 -- 17 cars. A point of interest regarding the mention of DPUs, below: The next to last unit (8356) was originally a Locotrol remote but, of course, was no longer functioning as such by this time.

[@hughjardon5869]

Those old EMDs really put out the sound, and it sounds wonderful on my main stereo speakers!

[@allanegleston13]

i always loved the old sp 's dirtributed power they sure knew how to do it . :)

[@keithode1737]

No distributed power here. Manned helpers all the way!

[@warrenwilliams3653]

A blast from my past. I really miss the old EMDs.

[@keithode1737]

I grew up on Tehachapi in the late 80's and early 90's. My introduction to mountain railroading. This brings back a lot of memories.

[@kenpalmer1965]

Same here! They were definitely one of a kind!

[@portobellotent]

Thank you for making, saving and sharing these videos! We appreciate witnessing engineering achievements which make modern life possible. Well worth preserving!

[@BrianW._1313]

would've given ANYTHING to have been standing there !!! Raw F'n POWER !

[@xreconusmc3156]

Yes I had about 65,748 horsepower this day sir. Thanks for watching

[@thomasdonlin5456]

I also would love to hear the old “SP” horn. I miss the Southern Pacific. 😢

[@thomasdonlin5456]

The train’s naked. Needs a bay window caboose.

[@thomashadlok9914]

I am from Germany and for me it´s the best video, I have ever seen. The sound of these engines I loved five years during my stay in the US.....I think, it‘s gone in the meanwhile, what a shame 😩😭

[@JackF99]

Whats gone? They must have similar locomotives in Germany.

[@thomashadlok9914]

@@JackF99 No, we have NO similsr locos in Germany

[@christopherdibble5872]

The engineers don't wave from the trains anymore, not like they did back in 1954, hope they still do across the pond!

[@zimbomkreuztal6805]

Doch wir haben Erzzüge mit 6000 tonnen und 2 Eloks mit je 8000 Ps@@thomashadlok9914

[@Firebrand55]

I'm in the UK....mega-long trains like this are unknown....but there's something about these slow moving leviathans that is fascinating!

[@mhm2472]

I just now reread the title -- made in 1990. Duh! Sorry! Gawd, I LOVED,those big, heavy trains the SP used to run! Grinding and screaming up steep grades. Tehachapi was one of my favorite places to railfan back in the day. I treasure those memories. Now I am going to watch your other videos! Thanks, again, for this trip down memory lane. :)

[@DothFrmBBL]

Spihk heart bust!? Spihk heart bust tell Sarah from the holy Bible and tell Jonah from the holy Bible to spihk heart bust all all time internet friends and all all time mates internet friends for knights Server at Podium that Zumo's brother's bathroom doorway dad's brother's look alike's brother walked towards while Zumo's brother's bathroom doorway dad's brother's look alike's brother wore a Radisson hotel Server outfit!!¡!!!!¡!!!

[@terryashton3541]

Some of the comments here mentioned `Locotrol`, we had a test run in Australia back in 2001 where 8 GE AC 6000s hauled an iron ore train with a total weight of just under 100.000 tons and they used this Locotrol to see how effective it would be and it was a success, the train actually ran between Newman and Port Headland in the Pilbarra region of NW Australia and it was 7.35 ks long.

[@fritzd2116]

What an awesome sight. Can’t even imagine how it wold sound track side! Thank you for posting.

[@blackflagqwerty]

The variety of motive power back then was awesome. Man I wish HD was around back then Awesome video!

[@JoshsTrainVideos]

SP, doing whatever it took to get the job done.

[@werockyouthministries3089]

Wow! Hadn’t seen a Southern Pacific unit like that since I was a kid! I’m 62 now! Nice video!

[@1MTSRider]

Ohhh how I miss the days of the SP and ATSF. Wish I could get into a time-machine and relive this era, even just one more time. This era had such an impact on me that I can't relate or even enjoy today's trains, even though I have tried, sooo many occasions. It has affected me so much, that my hobby in trains has died, and I have had to find other interests. This is where my other hobbies were created, hobbies in buses and transit, and even non-related hobbies such as Civil War reenacting.

[@brianw338]

I love this video. You captured the essence of railroading right there for that era. I retired from BNSF/Santa Fe in mid 2018 as an locomotive engineer. 41 years exactly. My last run was LA-Needles. However I can SO remember waiting in the siding or another main for a hotshot to clear and then calling the helpers saying we’re lined up, here comes the release and then gettin on the power of those amazing 2 stroke turbocharged Chevys. For myself, the late ‘70s to early’90s was the best railroading. Good power and good dispatching. Most of the dispatchers then we’re given total charge of their territory and used , get this, common sense to move trains. Good times good memories. It was a fabulous job and I have no regrets for leaving. Thank you again for your video it is much enjoyed.

[@stripervince1]

SP was rockin and rollin in the 1980s when i worked there. I loved my signal job and the people i worked with. We had a blast for a handful of years in acton palmdale lanscatter mojave and tehachapi. Amazing place at the swansong of the great southern Pacific railroad

[@h1aa]

The noise is terrific. Must be great to be there and see this stuff as it happens.

[@sixcues]

Love the sound at the beginning when they throttle up, can just feel the power!!! 82 Cars of Coal & 13 Engines, yep I was bored and counted it.

[@rens9247]

Do they realy need 13 engines to pull 82 coal cars or has the grade something to do with it

[@rungcox4823]

Rens konink the grade is I think around 3%

[@stevedorsett6103]

@@rungcox4823 2.2 to 2.5 percent grade

[@1MTSRider]

Yes, the lower radiator intakes are Tunnel Motors. Lower intake to avoid pulling in heated air from the top of the tunnel bore.

[@larrydepretis2281]

Very impressive! And I like that the assistant Engineer is a Female. I like when the Ladies like and do whats normally thought of as a Mans occupation. Those engines just sing out power!

[@bboomer1948]

Still an awesome video to watch.

[@bonniemilliard2408]

Love the sound of the old emd's working-classic

[@rolpfeiffermuller935]

Thanks airing the Outstanding vid.sounds and force are unmatched.Bliss

[@Arpeggio2007]

This coal train is amazing: all those embedded locos.

[@copperhead712]

New to railroading,and I even rail model in my basement.I drive tractor trailer,but I find every aspect of railroading very interesting,great video!

[@chaitanyanandurkar9009]

The sound is amazing. Today’s locomotives look better and are much quieter.

[@1MTSRider]

Thank you.m I'm glad you enjoyed it. Keep looking for more to come. I have hours upon hours of material. I'm happy to share these for others to enjoy.

[@mhm2472]

Wow.....Just wow.....THANK you VERY much for putting this on KZbin! THAT ws the SP I knew and saw and really really enjoyed. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, quite like SP SD-45s grinding and growling up a stiff grade, like Tehachapi --all in Run 8. Wow. When was this awesome video made?

[@carlosturren2683]

¡ Máxima aceleración !. Una belleza, muchas gracias.

[@bobw7066]

I love the sound of all that power WOW.

[@hughvane]

Great train video. That was a very shapely assistant engineer i spotted within the first 15 seconds!

[@atc2853]

Wish we could've got a better view of her... Damn those poor quality VHS cameras 😔

[@larrydepretis2281]

@@atc2853Yes Its a very shapely assistant Engineer. I also like that she must of loved trains like us.

[@stnicholas54]

Superb stuff. Keep them coal trains rolling !!

[@hobbeekid]

Back when run 8 meant something!!! 1MTSRider you have the best videos!!!!

[@stanszumel3808]

hobbeekid7

[@lamontduplessis3552]

Just Truly Awesome Video!! Listening to those Screaming EMDs is pure heaven to my ears!! Right from the Start I immediately had fond, fond memories of my days 40+ yrs ago when I was working Flightline Security with the USAF and the Distinct Sound of one of those Huge C5A Galaxies taxiing for takeoff!! Nothing could replace those Great EMDs!! ☺✌Ty

[@GP30RDMT]

This is just incredible.

[@jrrailroad7631]

BADASS! Great footage for SP/Rio Grande/UP fans and modelers. Thanks for posting!

[@pourindiesel]

Who would in their right mind would thumbs down this video?

[@B10Mman]

11 GE fans lol

[@SmithConductor]

The EPA

[@kokenhammer]

A freekin GREENIE"

[@waynekennedy2096]

An Idiot.

[@kofola9145]

Truckers.

[@altonwhipkey2411]

More Helpers, Wow My dad worked on B&O for 32 years in Maryland and West virginia

[@KBuckyRailVideo]

Very cool. I filmed a similar SP coal train on the loop in 1987. One of my favorite railfanning memories!

[@bocefus1983]

Nice catch of the SP Kodachrome @ 3:37.

[@scoobycarr5558]

pabrony83 Southern Pacific shouldn't paint so fast.

[@scoobycarr5558]

pabrony83 that is the SP and SF merger

[@keving7546]

Shivers ...thank you for the footage

[@stlgevo51]

That is very impressive! Thanks for uploading this gem, along with all of your others! Your old Tehachapi stuff is some of the best old railroad footage I've seen on KZbin.

[@AllanLoveJr]

My God. That was increadable.

[@carltonmasteur1]

Very impressive. Let's see now.....13 big SD-something locos running notch-8 balls to the wall, probably consuming 3 gallons of diesel per minute each, figure around 240 gallons used just in this 5 minute video (or around 33 million BTU's)! Solar-powered trains are still a few years away ;)

[@danieledwards6983]

Good video just like the Utah Railway in the 80s when they had old SP sd 45s they pulled coal like crazy and sounded good doing it liked the old flashing lights

[@ElyJaffeMusic]

amazing video!!! damn that coal must be heavy! :)

[@Cornelu]

As you said, it doesn't get any better than this.

[@espeescotty]

Wow, what an impressive sight! Overall about the same length of the oil cans of the day and probably nearly the same weight, but you can tell they didn't want to get caught on the hill with a broken knuckle or worse a pulled drawbar. More engines and spread 'em out is probably what the power desk said before they left Bakersfield. Running the "cans" everyday, the engineers kind of knew the handling characteristics of that train, where these rare coal trains were a whole different animal I bet.

[@danielkennedy1524]

Whew!! a great video!! nice catch! thanks

[@Espeelover]

Excellent video!! Thanks for sharing, that is indeed railroading at its finest!

[@RailwayWorld]

As technology progresses, Everything gets more and more BORING ! I'm 29 and would love that time machine to see so many things from the past, you can keep your iphones and computers, just send me home ! Thanks for posting ! ~ This was a time machine ~ for 5 minutes !

[@struck2soon]

Impressive display of power and traction. Imagine that same train in the days of steam though: sure, it would have been shorter but the sound would have been spectacular, let alone the smoke...

[@mrbluesky2050]

lots of horsepower and an SD45 too,

[@Crookedriverandeasternrr]

Awesome video. Good or SP Power! I’m a huge fan of them long coal drags! Thanks for sharing I liked and subbed to your channel 😃👍

[@carlosturren2683]

Formidable acumulaciòn de potencia, en un precioso video. Muchas gracias.

[@Mraknup]

Beautiful video, excellent filming & presentation, thank you my friend I wish you happy day 🍁

[@JoeL-kn9tc]

Nothing like the deep and loud roar of run 8 EMD locomotives.

[@cpeast]

Love that EMD 645 sound.

[@hugosbnsfrailfan7380]

That coal train had 13 locomotives and 82 hopper cars. That’s a lot of locomotives for 82 cars.

[@model-man7802]

Great Video!!!! SP kicking Butt!!!

[@rnelson5770]

Thank you. Mind blowing.

[@clearingbaffles]

5 miles down the road from me the SP/UP yard in Roseville cruise down there and see/hear 50 engines idling

[@mrlickalotopuss3761]

Good motors the EMD's, I spent 30 years offshore with these motors, 16-645 -9B & 20-645-E9's. We'd run em wide open @900rpm and there was no escape from the noise.

[@juliuswilson5424]

The second train holding 1,280,000 to 1,920,000 pound of coal that 660 to 960 tons

[@jaycousland9835]

Coal is the most abundant energy resource in the US,with over1000 tons per person.If we run out of oil,we might return to the romance of this era.I hope so.

[@espeescotty]

I ran out of space on my first comment, but congrats on #300 Kevin! I'm surprised that the flange greaser didn't give the crews more trouble, but I guess that's the beauty of having 3 sets of engines spread out over the trains length. It looked like that rear helper engineer wasn't going to risk stalling and pulling anything apart with the amount of sand he was laying down!

[@140ex5]

A dime size contact per wheel, amazing.

[@andross51]

Do you miss these AWESOME days of SP and ATSF on tehachapi MTS? Btw thanks for this 300th video SP AT ITS FINEST! :)

[@DeathLetterBlues44]

What a show!

[@juliuswilson5424]

The third on hold 680,000 to 1,020,000 that 340 to 510 tons

[@1MTSRider]

Thanks toorivers, and thank you for all the encouraging and positive comments you have always put on my videos. It's people like you and others that I am so glad to share these videos with. Always better to share and let others experience and enjoy, rather than have these sit in the closet and never be seen. Thank you again for the support, I will continue to upload more. Enjoy, 1MTSRider.

[@EMDSD14R]

awesome video and congrates on the 300th video :-)

[@suprheater9850]

Incredible"! Probably rarely seen -- fascinating

[@irelandbloke]

Excellent vids !

[@Ottos_ScLm_Race_videos_2009_on]

Just seeing this on Dec 26th 2021 SP ran DPU's before DPU's were the thing. Wow they run a lot of helpers at Tehachapi. I grew up from the late 60's to the early 90's on SP's Siskiyou line. Most of the trains ran from Roseburg OR to Eugene OR. Lumber lumber and Lam beams.

[@RailManSD]

Amazing! I am speechless!!

[@altonwhipkey2411]

Helpers in middle of coal train, how neat

[@cal4840]

We dont need shiny electric trains, we need locomotives that get the job done efficiently and hastly no matter how dirty it gets

[@christopherdibble5872]

The engineers don't wave from the trains anymore, not like they did back in 1954!

[@lamontduplessis3552]

I am 62 and not since I was in the USAF guarding C-5A Galaxies (one of the largest aircraft in the world), have I heard RAW kick-ass power like this. This reminded me of the C-5 making it's final taxi for take off!! Those engines just whining at full throttle and you would swear that it could never get off the ground!! Not since have I heard real power like that in all these years. And that was 1974 to 80. Such a truly Awesome Video!! And the Great Southern Pacific besides!! Congrats on the 300th and yes, Sir you saved the right one!! Ty very much!!

[@9carcottrell246]

Lamont DuPlessis a c5 will never out pull my loco's. The strongest thing on wheels are locomotives. Nothing on dah planet 🌎 will out pull me PERIOD

[@jimgemmell2831]

Good old 9 car knows his stuff lol. Claims, on C5 Galaxy videos to be Captain and Shift Commander LaBonte USAF Patriot Wing lmao

[@uncleenore]

Well, by god, I sure as shit enjoyed that, yes I did. Thank you.

[@ncmtman]

I don't care what anybody says, those turbo-charged EMDs were impossible to beat as far as the sound factor is concerned. You really felt the power, with those engines wide open. The GE "cabbage choppers" were no match as far as the sound was concerned. I miss those days of the all-EMD trains. Today's BNSF especially is kind of boring with the mostly GE trains, one after the other these days.

[@joshwebster644]

ncmtman yeah and ge locomotives are absolute total junk! i work at argentine diesel shop ge`s fall apart right out of the factory

[@joshwebster644]

phillyslasher lol yeah i dont know anything i only work on them 5 days a week in theyre guts tearing them apart rebuilding them

[@joshwebster644]

phillyslasher lol funny on our railroad they only put the 70 macs and aces on coal they trust the junk evos to hold up to that kinda hard pulling! oh and if it werent for those 70s none of the ges would get back to the shop !

[@joshwebster644]

phillyslasher just so you know by our studies and emd is 13.7 times more reliable than ge over a 5 year period

[@joshwebster644]

cant tell you how many times they had to send those ' trash ' emds down to emporia to drag in a z train due to the ges on it quitting