Southern Pacific Slab Train job 1988

SP Slab Train at Long Beach and Cal Nava, Oct. 8,1988. In the background a view of the soon to be dismantled Gerald Desmond bridge.

[@tfs4499]

I miss the days and seeing these locomotives working!

[@brentboswell1294]

SP used to throw MP15'S into the road power consists, I recall seeing a few coming into El Paso mixed in and MU'ed with the SD's and Geeps up front 🙂

[@Mark-jl6tl]

@@brentboswell1294 They would often do it with the many SW1500’s, as well. That’s one reason they were spec’d with Flexicoil trucks and MU connections, do they could pinch-hit as road power when needed.

[@jimbo33]

Great video! I miss those days as an SP hoghead in LA but then I don't miss the hours. There was something about running those engines that got into your blood. I am fortunate to have done it and moved on to other things.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Thanks for the comment. I'm with you on the hours.

[@dmorgan28]

I’m with you on all that. I’m now retired but it’s still in my blood. Love those engines. 👍👍👍❤️

[@goedeck1]

We had our very own SW1500 in Roseburg OR back in the 70's, when we still had SP. Loved to hear that engine chug when starting pulling a heavy yard train.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

They were popular engines; over 800 were built. Thanks for the comment.

[@melvinplant8637]

Wish I had real one, I have model only, exact same road and colour, from across the pond. PS, great video.

[@jarrietfair6497]

I always remember the sp long beach switcher at Cal United pulling the slab train from port of long beach. I miss those days back in the 80s. Thanks for the video

[@vidwilzvids9587]

It's one of my more popular and personal favorite videos. Thanks for the comment.

[@k2kkoos]

excellent video, love seeing the SP in the 70's and 80's in action like this!

[@vidwilzvids9587]

One of my personal favorites. I like to point out that the Gerald Desmond bridge in the background will soon disappear. Thanks for the comment.

[@markschroeder2578]

@@vidwilzvids9587 It reminds me of the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge. Sadly it is slated for replacement too.

[@westernpacificrr]

Awesome video! That’s one of the best sounding p3s I’ve ever heard! Thanks for posting. - Matt

[@azrailfan2717]

I agree. The ones that are recorded for model trains aren’t even close

[@timpriddy349]

I "still" come back to this.........

[@vidwilzvids9587]

I re-visit this one myself every few weeks. Thanks for the comment.

[@jarrietfair6373]

The old SOUTHERN PACIFIC 8TH ST YARD. NOW PACIFIC HARBOR LINE B YARD. I ENJOY WATCHING THE SLAB TRAINS BACK IN THE 80S AND 90S

[@ericdee6802]

LMAO 🤣, love the guy kicken it in the middle of the train, now days the "Rules Czars" will hang you out to dry if you got caught doing that have to work with handcuffs on anymore. Great video of the day, thanks for sharing.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Yep, them was the days. He had just made the double-over at or near the car he was riding. Thanks for the comment.

[@beeble2003]

In 1985, there were 0.07 deaths and 42.8 injuries per million hours worked by US railroad employees. In 2019, there were 0.02 deaths and 9.3 injuries. Curse those "rules czars"!

[@dmorgan28]

Great video. I’ve run that SP 2525. Lots of memories. Thanks 👍👍👍❤️

[@roachaximus5899]

Talk about quite the grind of work, back and forth in a speedy fashion all day, efficiency at its finest, respect to all the railroad workers that had to grind this hard.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

It was the concept of "no wasted moves" that experienced railroaders acquire. Thanks for the comment.

[@rippersix293]

So cool to see the “Cotton Belt” moniker of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, long gone, but not forgotten!

[@Mark-jl6tl]

Such a neat vid. Back when the Harbor used to be an interesting place to visit, before everything turned into millions of containers of Chi-com junk. Love the audio of those low-RPM Diesel pump engines at 2:46, too. So many neat happenings around back then.

[@GilbertLA63]

This was how I knew L.A. I’ll always have those memories of the SP3 horns and pumping units. Long Beach and Signal Hill are my beautiful hometowns.

[@yankee1789]

This video is awesome! It's probably a nightmare to the people in charge of California nowadays.

[@espeescotty]

Wow, how nice an Espee P3 horn could sound. 2 SW1500's working hard and reliably, sounding great doing it. 2 VW bugs, 3 newspaper vending machines (near the roach coach) at the crossing, all the cabover semi's...the only thing not shown but could be heard a couple of times was the engine running the oil pumps nearby. Probably a Fairbanks-Morse engine.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

The Gerald Desmond bridge in the background was only 20 yrs. old at the time; it will be disappearing in the next year or two. Another video I have about Terminal island shows the Henry Ford bridge area before the Corridor project. It also shows some well pumps. I hope you enjoy my SP footage and... Thanks for the comments.

[@espeescotty]

Thanks for the extra info. I didn't know the bridge was scheduled to be coming down. Is it to make room for Post-Panamax container ships? And, with my channel name starting with ESPEE, you know I'm loving this classic SP stuff from SoCal.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

The bridge is being replaced with a suspension type that will have more clearance, but also because the present bridge is falling apart. The time frame is wedged with setbacks in the construction of the new bridge.

[@espeescotty]

Oh ok, I see. It would be neat to get video of the old bridge coming down.

[@remylopez2408]

eSPeeScotty you forgot to mention the ALCO alligators at Metropolitan stevedore not far from there as well

[@user-sh9du2nv5y]

Got to ride in one of those SW 1500 out of Gemco back in 1976

[@vidwilzvids9587]

SP had a bunch of them.

[@ericdee6802]

I remember that shit hole, used to get called to Commerce or Watson yard way back when.

[@remylopez2408]

I got to ride in the 2525 at Los Nietos yard in the mid-80s

[@Hedgehog559]

seeing the train rock back and forth gets me excited. great video!

[@rrbone]

Now this is railroading!

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Thanks for the comment.

[@Wikkus]

Great video of everyday switching life on the Espee! Best wishes from the Mediterranean.

[@whiteknightcat]

Great way to start a video ... a nice little train with a bounce in its step!

[@vidwilzvids9587]

That road crossing definitely needed a slow order. Thanks for the comment.

[@jackjones3001]

I worked in the steel mill over 30 yrs. the slabs looked very pretty when red hot.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

The slabs came from several countries over the years (incl. China & Brazil) and went to a rolling mill in Fontana CA. Thanks for the comment.

[@ottojabelman5334]

That's a fascinating video! Love those SW 1500s -- they could do just about anything! the track was not the best -- just look at those covered hoppers "walking the dog" near the beginning. But it was good enough. Great to see cars with no graffiti. Those steel slabs must weigh a lot! Thanks for posting this interesting video.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Thanks for the comment. I'm glad you enjoyed one of my personal favorites.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

That last one was really swaying!

[@markschroeder2578]

Those steel slabs are heavy. It would take at least 2 truck trailers to equal 1 flatcar.

[@caseyjonessnr1200]

Excellent footage. The SP SW1500’s are fantastic. I really enjoyed this video. Thankyou. 11:13

[@timpriddy349]

Used to see these in Houston in the late 70s.........

[@vidwilzvids9587]

SP had over 200 of them. Thanks for the comment.

[@vthome78]

Awesome video brought memories from my childhood thanks

[@vidwilzvids9587]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment.

[@stuartadamsrailfanningvideos]

SP 2525, now RMPX 2525, now shared between several railroads in Oregon: Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad (CORP), and Coos Bay Rail Line (CBRL). This unit has also seen service on several other former SP lines in Oregon.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Thanks for the informative comment.

[@remylopez2408]

I got to ride in the cab of that very locomotive in around 1985 when I was at service at Los Nietos yard in California

[@David-pn3yp]

Love the SP 1500's

[@badkittynomilktonight3334]

The bridge is now gone! Hard to imagine

[@C3r39att1]

I used to chase the locals around Gardena, Torrance and Hawthorne by bicycle when I was a kid. Either a single or a pair of SW1500's shuffling cars around town. Sometimes I'd catch them switching out those tall monolith cars at the Northrop manufacturing plant. Great locomotives, those 1500's. Millions of miles on those things and they rarely broke down, so say the engineers I've talked to.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Thanks for the comment. At the time that this video was shot the schedule of this move was dependent on ship movements. So it took some luck to catch this switch job. And that's what it was on this day... pure luck.

[@captainecho764]

Damn that train rocks like hell

[@vidwilzvids9587]

I think the hog didn't get the whole train over the slow order on the crossing.

[@beeble2003]

@@vidwilzvids9587 Or really any of it. 😅

[@kevinrichards3288]

I like those switcher engines. Thaz my favorite body design out of all the engines.

[@TheSonicfrog]

Awesome video ... shocking the lack of automatic gates on all those grade level crossings ... must have been truly scary for engineers!

[@vidwilzvids9587]

That area was almost all "Yard Limits" with a timetable speed of 10 mph. So you had to move "prepared to stop" for anything that might be in the way. Thanks for your comment.

[@Sacto1654]

I really miss the sound of the Nathan P3 horns that were standard fit on SP locomotives.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

That's definitely a sound of the past. Thanks for the comment.

[@Ricky40369]

One of those engines reminds me of a song.

[@bandapulke9499]

I used to see them passing by in front of my house everyday till they brought in da new southern Pacific locomotives, I stopped seeing those trains working today.... I do wanna see 1 hopefully...

[@carlzipperman6689]

You are either a foreigner or an illiterate who can spell

[@carrolmoore49]

“Fired” most of the time, & occasionally worked Engineer’s side of the cab, with SP/CottonBelt road & switch engines. On the Cotton Belt, between Texarkana & Fort Worth; and on the SP between Plano,,Texas and SP Miller Yard, South Dallas.....between 1979 and 1987....( Should not leave out Carrollton, Texas and North Dallas, off the CottonBelt main track).....

[@vidwilzvids9587]

A "veteran" SPer! Thank You for commenting on my video.

[@spacetruckerrob]

Wow never met an SSW hugger from N Texas!

[@tracynation239]

An excellent video. ♡ T.E.N.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@jamesg2609]

The slab steel ran from LA harbor to Kaiser steel in Fontana. Speed limit was 35 mph because the slabs were not tied down on the cars.

[@sernajrlouis]

Great video and channel just subscribed

[@kelvintorrence5994]

That's crazy I was stationed out In long Beach cally from 1988 to 1994 and I kind of remember southern pacific ,butt didn't know there was a steel mill there,Any 1 know the mills name by chance

[@jasonpetersrailadventures]

Cool

[@dennishow1171]

Great video, thanks. Anymore of this kind of action in the LA area?

[@vidwilzvids9587]

After the holidays I'll have time to look. Thanks for the comment AND the sub.

[@markhayes6407]

Great video. Comment on the overseas steel coming in and then rolled here. It all should of remained here in the first place.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

To the corporate executives that greatly benefited from Reagan's "Laffer Curve/Trickle Down" tax policy, cheap import steel made with much cheaper labor costs was just icing on the cake. In other words, Labor should have to compete in international trade, but not corporate executives.

[@markhayes6407]

Amen Brother!

[@SynchroScore]

Thanks to the new tariffs, the steel will be slab-cast, rolled, finished, sheared, stamped, welded, and painted overseas.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Tariffs have always been a Pandora's box of consequences. For too many, the actual effects are "counter-intuitive" and they are exploited with the politics of fear and false nationalism that has been the fodder of unscrupulous politicians for decades.

[@scottsackett7551]

Very cool video - surprised to see they don't secure the steel slabs at all. Is this for a local industry? And is that Stan Lee riding the rails at 11:10?

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Whoever it was had high seniority to hold the brakeman spot on that job.

[@beeble2003]

Slab is _heavy_ and the large contact area between the slabs and the cars means there's a lot of friction holding them in place. Anything that shifts that load has probably already derailed the train.

[@scottsackett7551]

@@beeble2003 Thanks for the clarification and info.

[@peterthx]

That crossing looks like a derailment hazard for the trains going over it. And that pickup jumping the gun by going around the gates - couldn't wait a few more seconds, huh? Death wish much?

[@californiaslastgasp6847]

Is it just me or is the brakeman dressed relatively formal for his job? I haven’t seen any other train crew dress like that.

[@raxxtango]

dude oblivious taking a stroll at 3:19

[@Hanksabutt]

I’ve always wondered what the Slab train was, I remember seeing a lot of pictures with switcher locomotives at the head end, but what exactly is this train?

[@vidwilzvids9587]

It was a local job out of Dolores Yard, I believe. Never knew the train symbol. It picked up flatcars of import steel slabs unloaded from ships at Cal Nava in Long Beach. It then spotted empty flats at the same terminal. I think the UP took the loaded slab cars to a Fontana rolling mill.

[@Hanksabutt]

vidwilzvids Oh that’s really neat, do you know if the UP still runs this job?

[@vidwilzvids9587]

I have no idea; I haven't been in that area for a long time.

[@remylopez2408]

The BNSF now operates the slab train to Kaiser steel in Fontana

[@itsjusttyler5315]

0:39 look at that wobble

[@scubajoe3321]

We had the same exact trains going from my little town in holtville too el centro CA also look at these track conditions 1:11

[@vidwilzvids9587]

I think there was a slow order on that crossing.

[@scubajoe3321]

Kinda unsafe tho

[@scubajoe3321]

@@vidwilzvids9587 I also live these old vids

[@scubajoe3321]

3:20 are they real oil pump things never seen one that small and in the middle of a town were there more or was it just one is it for show

[@vidwilzvids9587]

That area has several hundred producing wells. Some run around the clock. Some don't.

[@JungleYT]

This is GREAT footage... Must NOT have been shot on VHS? Something more professional grade, like a TV news camera?

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Anything dated before May 1989 was shot using a Sony 8mm camcorder (CCDV8). After that I used a Sony Hi8 camcorder (EVO9100). The hardware and software workflow that was used to convert analog to digital is too complex to describe here and involved a few years of trial and error. Thanks for your comments.

[@JungleYT]

Well, Thank you for this excellent work. I did not realize that those little camcorders were this good!

[@JungleYT]

Wow! What ever happened to the SW1500? Very common out here in Los Angeles from the 1960s till last time I saw one in the early 1980s... When did they retire? Are there still any left around?

[@vidwilzvids9587]

I don't know if the UP is still using any of them. Any that are left are probably on short lines or museum rosters.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

They were still around running out of Anaheim till a few years after the UP takeover. I remember seeing them patched and also in full UP paint.

[@JungleYT]

What year was that, approximately?

[@NiceMuslimLady]

It's been a few years now. Usually it's 4 axle Gensets out of Anaheim now.

[@JungleYT]

I was hoping you could have given an approximate year or number of years? Over 10 years ago? Less than 5 years ago? etc.

[@AlexMendoza69]

That looks w.thenard out of track 300 @ ictf support yard now

[@ht40]

At 8:03 Wolfman Jack catching a free ride.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

I thought he was Clark Kent.

[@rrbone]

I have to believe these days riding in between slabs like that would be highly discouraged.

[@markschroeder2578]

It's a safety and liability issue. And remember...there's no shortage of lawyers in California! LOL! 😁😁😁😁

[@FerroequinologistofColorado]

What type of locomotive are those switch engines?

[@Mark-jl6tl]

EMD SW1500’s

[@FerroequinologistofColorado]

@@Mark-jl6tl thank you

[@Mark-jl6tl]

@@FerroequinologistofColorado YW

[@carlfalt174]

What years would those yard pushers have been built?

[@timpriddy349]

1968-1969

[@jaggedben]

Is there seriously nothing holding those slabs down to those flats?

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Yeah... their sheer weight. Pulled behind the SP they were in Yard Limits (probably 10 mph). When the UP took them to Fontana the train almost certainly had a weight and "shift-able load" speed restriction of 45 mph or less; maybe even 35 mph or less thru certain curves and switches. That info would have been on the waybill AND the Timetable Special Instructions.

[@b2major9th]

The 2507 has a very nice, in-tune old cast Nathan P3 horn. The 2525....not so much

[@vidwilzvids9587]

I'll take your word for it. Don't know much about horns.

[@doanster]

Do these lines still exist?

[@ssweeps]

Is this in long beach?

[@scoobycarr5558]

Mostly in the area around Los Angeles. SP had the same number of branchlines in and around L.A. as in San Francisco.

[@kelvintorrence5994]

I haul steel ever day on a tractor trailer, and not 1 toe down on any off those slabs,unless that inter mill,it's OK, butt if they where going to cross streets ,it should have been tie down ,they would have raised hell if I tried any of that,butt we know the railroads have been in bed with the government since the beginning of them.

[@ssweeps]

Cotton belt hopper cars...

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Thanks for the comment.

[@patricknoveski6409]

But, oh Long Beach. Just a dirty funk zone. Not what u think a " long beach" looks like. Ha. Maybe 90 years ago.

[@vidwilzvids9587]

Every location seen in this video has changed drastically. The Gerald Desmond bridge seen in the background will also soon be gone.

[@MrTrainGuy1972]

The railroad as a job is about the worst decision you could ever make for the health of your family these days . It used to be a good job you could raise a family and have some time for your family , not no more . Not talking about the short line where they treat you half way like your human or say Amtrak or some other commuter rail carrier . Im talking the Big freight railroads . I retired , and even the guys that loved management and would defend the companies practices are now saying its a 100 times worse then when I still worked for the railroad . Everyone is talking about wanting out , and thus far in 2 years Ive had 20 friends leave their jobs and go else where or to something like Amtrak . If your thinking about the railroad , DON’T , go get a job that affords you a life outside of the job . The railroad currently has no room for people who want a life outside of the job . The railroad will be your life period as it is currently being ran .

[@TestTubeBabySpy]

look at those 2 sw1500s, trying to be as awesome as 1 sd7

[@vidwilzvids9587]

On that job they were like prima donnas. I think the Hi-Ad trucks were beneficial and probably required lots of sand. Thanks for the comment.

[@thomaslusk7621]

No Chem trails in the sky and non if the degenerate graffiti better days.

[@JohnR.1968]

Terrible track,fix it already

[@vidwilzvids9587]

This is how they fixed it in 2002: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alameda_Corridor

[@jarrietfair6373]

The tracks are much more different now and it's now pier B YARD