Southern Pacific Vignettes 1970's

A look at SP operations throughout California in the 1970's, featuring an amazing variety of motive power, pre and post Amtrak passenger trains, and the now abandoned Taylor Yard in Los Angeles. Apologies for some of the bouncy footage, I did my best to stabilize it. Sound is dubbed from my video collection and Arkay recordings.

[@jbfranzini9828]

Took me back to my hire date in 1967 with the SP out of SF as a brakeman. Couldn't put it down or stop the film because I lived it all, even the NWP. From Newhall Tower to SLO, and all around the bay ....the TBX, the CLM, Starpacer, Roseville, Oakland.... donner, cuesta...bakersfield...Thank you so much.....want to go back again for a few more trips......

[@W7DSY]

How could we have known in 1985 or 1990 that these scenes would be gone forever? I thought SP was as much a part of the landscape as the trees.

[@carlzipperman6689]

Same here

[@scoobycarr5558]

And as a matter of fact anywhere you go in the Cascades in Oregon you can find trees within the landscape - and of course SP which is now part of UP.

[@floridianrailauto9032]

For all we know UP or CSX could go down under in only a few years

[@brianbooher7318]

@@floridianrailauto9032 i hope I'm wrong but I see one of the class ones going down an itl be csx cause they overlap so much with Norfolk southern an they are to big to go under

[@floridianrailauto9032]

@@brianbooher7318 Based on the current conditions with the NS now, I think Norfolk Southern will. They're feeling the burn right now with lawsuits and constant motive power shortages. The labor unions are NOT happy with the NS right now...

[@patricknoveski6409]

Damn I miss the S.P.

[@W7DSY]

Copy that, Patrick

[@chuckabbate5924]

Ditto...F UP.

[@carlzipperman6689]

Never be another

[@christopherorourke6543]

Same here SP was & is a much better railroad than the UP.

[@patrickmoore2978]

I miss the espee too! I miss the gyrating headlights that was on the locomotives.

[@anthonygermano9363]

Thank you so much for this great video. Being born and living in San Francisco to this day, I miss the SP big time. My dad would take my brother and I down to mission bay and watch the trains. Commutes over at Fourth and Townsend st. I remember SP 3209 had one of the nicest horns on it. Boy o boy the good old days indeed. One more thing, it is just wonderful to see a freight train with no God Damn Graffiti on it. Watching a train go by today is really something else with almost every car tagged up. Thanks again for a nice walk down memory lane. Bless You.

[@markhayes6407]

Enjoyed the show. SP was my favorite railroad .

[@gailyncookMilwRR]

It's all most hard to believe that 50 years ago I was a senior in High School. GP-7s, F units U-boats SD-9's were used as "lead road" locomotives! My parents saw steam loco's in their time. Makes me wonder what will my Grandkids see on the rails when they are 68 years old??? THAT is if RRs are still used that far in the future!!

[@jillworthington6042]

Really enjoy watching vintage train documentaries! I grew up right next to the train tracks in Woods hole, Mass., on Cape Cod, the end of the line for the New York New Haven and Hartford Railroad, where passengers would disembark for ferries to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island. I was crushed when train service ended in 1964 andI wish I'd become a Lady Train Engineer! Thank you, fmnut!

[@TopHotDog]

Scenes so common at those times, some even called them boring. The old timers of the period lamented steam of the generations preceding, scoffing at the diesel -- now all of that is history too.

[@dmaxsba]

How can any SP fan or simply a fan of vintage railroad footage thumb down this video and if you're not an SP fan or fan of vintage railroad footage what the hell are you even doing here?

[@markfrench8892]

Probably wasn't wearing their glasses and hit the wrong button. 😆

[@JGTVideos]

This is pure gold right here.

[@scoobycarr5558]

Must be a follower of the damn highway and trucking industry contributing to the smog in Southern California and elsewhere. Secondly, since I'm a Union Pacific nut I'm proud of UP's heritage like Espee, CNW and Rio Grande.

[@W7DSY]

I think there are people who just cruise youtube and thumbs down/negative comment on anything that comes along. Just a way to yell "fire".

[@Greatdome99]

The guy liked locos but didn't like trains. Did anyone notice the ex-Seaboard obs on Amtrak's Coast Daylight? Blink and you missed it.

[@danasoroko]

Absolutely magnificent! I loved the big ALCO power and the SD9s with the various headlights!

[@BN_6644]

Wow! This is what my grandpa experienced! But unfortunately, he died in 1999, 2 years before I was born in 2002. RIP

[@caseyjonessnr1200]

Fantastic footage of my all time favourite railroad. It was also nice to see consists without graffiti. Thank you for posting.

[@richierich2048]

Some of the clips are from as far back as the mid-1960s. For example, some clips show trains displaying their train number in the number boards, which was discontinued (except on commute trains) in June 1967.

[@fmnut]

Didn't know that. Thanks.

[@kmcc01]

Yes, I don't remember seeing F units or semaphore signals on the main line in the 1970's in California anyway.

[@riogrande5761]

Yes, it looked to me like some of the scenes were from the 60's as well. I didn't start watching SP trains until the mid-late 1970's, and mostly what passed through Davis CA or from the Causeway into Sacratomato.

[@larryarcher4502]

@@fmnut Early sixties 57 Chevy Bellaire's In several photos

[@robertmoir5695]

Thank you for the video I enjoy train videos with the caboose

[@twospeed209]

Thank You!!! What a nice Christmas present for a SP fan!

[@jarrietfair6497]

Great video and memory of southern pacific thanks for sharing

[@DFWRailVideos]

Nothing screams SP like the full light package and 4 or 5 mid-train helpers.

[@patricknoveski6409]

I grew up watching all these trains around Calif. Burbank, SanFernando valley. San luis Obisbo. And when the line went through Filmore. Amazing stuff. So cool to see again.

[@davestrains6816]

Fantastic video. I really appreciate the time and effort that someone took too film this so long ago. Thanks for sharing. Great editing by the way. Dave

[@ScottJohnson4449]

Love this video! This is what I model on my N scale. Just posted a 1972 Coast Starlight Using SP SDs, an Amtrak E9, heavyweight baggage cars and UP through cars. I love looking at this and seeing the real thing.

[@stevengoldstein7890]

I've heard it said that the SP purchased headlights and got the locomotive as an option

[@speedracer3104]

Very nice! Cool shot of Saugus with the Santa Paula branch coming in, coast line, sugar beets, Donner pass on track one....Back when SP was king of the west!!

[@cdp200442]

This makes me confirm my loathing for modern railroad operations even more.

[@IanR1205]

From an outsiders perspective it may seem horrible, but for employees it's pretty damn good. In my nearly 20 years with BNSF the work has improved a lot and conditions are way better.

[@cdp200442]

Ian Rozzano I worked for the BNSF as a conductor for 15 years .. I enjoyed it but still not a fan of what’s going to be the future of the Conductor.

[@IanR1205]

Critical Thinker - What part are you not liking?

[@cdp200442]

Ian Rozzano with new technology such as A.I technology leading to one man or no crew at all .. the urgency to get ahead of this is by far the biggest threat to the Conductor. The lack of rest between runs at around 7 hours I would get .. is not enough. I was literally exhausted working the evening switch then turn and be on a coal in “8” hours .. it’s hard on your body. That’s my to big concerns . As far as rail fanning .. the very lack of variety is mine numbing. Cookie cutter units .. the variety is what drew people to this hobby. And I have a lot of old Rails that agree with me in fact all.

[@bboomer1948]

Thanks for posting that bygone Era. Sure miss that railroad.

[@mbbbjb]

Beautiful!

[@Tom-xe9iq]

Love the SP's Nathan P3 horns

[@rimodeler7963]

This is an excellent video that depicts a wonderful era of railroading. The P3 airhorn has such a beautiful sound. The SP ran a good show with its swift moving freight trains and fast passenger trains ........ very impressive! Thank you for sharing this tremendous video footage. Mike

[@iusetano]

I enjoyed watching this video. Thank you for the upload.

[@edwardmounsey9208]

Nice video, don’t see much SP footage on you tube these days. Here in ELP it’s all UP and Santa Fe theism days. Thank you.

[@jre617]

Love this collection. Good job dubbing. My friend and I rode SP freights all over Calif and beyond in the 70s (home base: Niles Tower). Brings back so many memories. Thanks

[@railifornia]

13:11 🤩 ... I was born too late.😢

[@paralyzes]

That was a GREAT presentation, thank you!

[@JohnsKeith]

Thanks for the wonderful video! I really enjoyed it! Lots of good action from all over the SP system.

[@carlzipperman6689]

Thank you for sharing this great video footage!

[@chuckabbate5924]

As a conductor working nearly twenty years in commuter service in boston,im really impressed with Espees commuter ops. Those trains hauled ass! Really impressed with FMs....Im a New Haven nut and its been said the engineers on the shorelliner like the C liners. They got up to speed quick...

[@Greatdome99]

SP Commute Trains were limited to 65 mph. Thanks to Westinghouse traction motors (which could take a lot of amps), Train Masters could get up to speed quickly.

[@basilorloff1237]

S P Forever🎯 Great Flick🎯

[@bendover9411]

Incredible historical video, thank you dearly!

[@tommythomason6187]

Super vid! Lots of big lumber trains, Tunnel Motors, SD7s or SD9s and cab units - FP7s and F7s. Looks like SP kept the engines washed.

[@fmnut]

Yes, this was before the hard times fell on the SP and the power was clean and well maintained. Hard to believe it's the same railroad I shot in the late 80s when most of the units looked like they were painted black.

[@scoobycarr5558]

@@fmnut You kind of ask yourself why Southern Pacific was in so much trouble after this era. It could have been calamity after calamity like bad management, government woes, highways and trucks especially in SP's home territory in California, and of course trying to become Santa Fe Pacific with a merger that never was. These same merger difficulties also brought down the Penn Central, Rock Island and Milwaukee Road.

[@michigandon]

My brother drove truck pulling piggyback trailers for a brief period during the '80s, and he always complained about how decrepit and problematic the Espee trailers were.

[@scoobycarr5558]

@@michigandon In time most of the railroads eventually discarded their own trailer fleets and developed agreements with truckers and their companies like Roadway, J.B. Hunt, Preferred Pool and Transamerica to get their freight to their destination by train. Of course the railroad of the truckers' choice was Santa Fe and followed by Union Pacific which had a haulage agreement with CNW and SP. In time these agreements allowed the railroads to flourish. Eventually these railroads were able to establish more successful mergers that were a bit problematic at best like the UP in the present day and today's BNSF, which now has the lion's share of the priority intermodal service in the West with mail and express such as FedEx and UPS and the trucking firms.

[@christopherorourke6543]

@@scoobycarr5558 Milwaukee Road never merged wi5 anyone and the planned Union Pacific-Rock Island merger never took place, it dragged out in court for more than a decade when the Rock Island went bankrupt for the final time in 1973. The Penn Cnetral merger in 1968 was a disaster, only one other merger/partnership was far worse, that was Sears & K Mart which I called Junk Mart.

[@mp165]

AWESOME AWESOME video !!! BRAVE BRAVO Super job. I LOVED loved this.

[@J3scribe]

F9s leading SDP45s on passenger trains. Only on the Southern Pacific. Epic.

[@nitrofumes2012]

Great video! Thank you!

[@ardenkwong5299]

GREAT captures of western railroad history that was the SP a.k.a. The Friendly a.k.a. The Octopus! 5:05 to 5:30 records FP7A 6441 and 2 F7B units leading train 52, the eastbound San Joaquin Daylight somewhere between 1961 and September 1967 crossing the Tehachapi range. The third car here is the infamous SP Automat car which replaced the coffee shop diner in 1961. The second car is an RPO in active service (not deadheading) which was discontinued in September 1967. 3 coaches and an economy baggage car round out the 6 car train which 'sporadically' sported an observation car when either SP's maintenance rotation happened to randomly change the consist (like seen here) or during the somewhat busier late year holiday seasons!

[@Greatdome99]

After SP closed their LA car shops in the mid-1960s, there was only superficial car overnight cleaning at LAUPT. Cars could only be cleaned in Oakland 16th St. or 3rd & Townsend in SF so it took three trainsets to operate daily Daylights and San Joaquins. SP maintained two parlor obs for the Daylight, but operated them only two days out of three. The SJD had two converted coach-obs and operated them two days out of three as well.

[@Greatdome99]

17:27 at Colton--SP's only FM Train Master brake sled. The photographer had the nasty habit of panning on the locos so we couldn't see the rest of the trains, but I think it's a little too late to complain now.

[@TheClosetBranch]

This video is a gem!! Thank you very much for sharing. Dats

[@fmnut]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@timpriddy349]

Something for every fan here

[@jaggedben]

Great stuff.

[@tombarnes7196]

Not really an SP fan but this was fascinating!

[@rottenroads1982]

Born in 2006, Never got to experience Southern Pacific. But still, Really like the EMD E & F units. Especially when they are Heading Freight trains. Who here believes the EMD E & F series should be revitalized. Maybe we can now have the EMD E10 & F10. Also, EMD SD & GP locomotives are cool too, Especially the High Hoods.

[@user-bq1mj8zx6n]

Отличные видео. Подумать только это 70 -е годы. 👍👍👍👍

[@stevengoldstein7890]

SP the road of the massive Lash UPS miss them so much my favorite Road

[@jacks4733]

Nice!

[@cats0182]

1:58-SP wrecker from the days when railroads had their own wreckers. Now, hired contractors do the job.

[@hogger288]

nice video

[@jarrietfair6497]

I miss the sp rail road. Wish Union Pacific never took. Them over

[@jaymartin3992]

Oh to be young again and see F's going past on the front of a streamliner. . . .

[@timpriddy349]

You got some tasty views here

[@ericschminke153]

Outstanding video! One reason is that there was no "music"; just the sounds of the trains.

[@fmnut]

Yes, I've always felt dubbing music to silent rail films was the easy way out. It was necessary in the old analog days when a complete soundtrack had to be made up on tape and then synced to the video. With digital editing it's relatively easy, and there are plenty of sound sources to choose from. I especially hate the Swing music used on the early steam videos. I do like music with slide shows, and have done several for my channel.

[@ericschminke153]

fmnut: Thanks for the detailed information/explanation regarding the sound 'tracks' that accompany so many train videos. Merry Christmas to you, your family and your friends.

[@Dproud2700]

This is awesome footage. Does anyone have any footage from the late 50's early 60's that would have shown Alco PA's Krauss Maffies or the passenger trains of that period?

[@RailfanNetwork]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@stephenheath8465]

Classic Catch 8:12👍

[@billtimmons7071]

The sound dubbing is great. My ear is not that good but EMD, ALCO and FM all use different engine tech and have different sounds. I believe you even dubbed in units that were in dynamic braking ... that classic resistor grid cooling fan whine. This takes some time and you must have some great sound editing tech. If you dont mind my asking ... what do you/did you do for a profession? Is this a hobby or part of what you do for a living? You're very good at it.

[@fmnut]

I'm a retired track supervisor from Conrail/NS. The video editing thing is just a hobby. The key is understanding the action on film; type of engine, speed, uphill/downhill, etc. and having a good sound library to match it.

[@carlzipperman6689]

@@fmnutWell you did a hell of a job. Even got the correct horn type. Very good attention to detail. Could hardly tell it was even dubbed. Thanks for the video!

[@Kochiha]

8:12 A ghost!

[@timhanesworth2539]

YES, Nice job Thanks for posting! Are some of the SD9s from NWP?

[@fmnut]

I don't know a lot of the locations as about 80% of this film came from ebay. It's possible those 2 shots of the 4 together were on the lower part of the NWP as the photographer seems to have been from the Bay Area.

[@richierich2048]

The two clips beginning at the 9:33 mark show the train passing a set of intermediate block signals. There were none on the NWP.

[@fmnut]

OK thanks for that. The NWP was history when I first visited the area. Nothing beats local knowledge.

[@Greatdome99]

NWP didn't have their own locos, though they did use SD9s almost exclusively. They operated out of Roseville via Schellvelle up to Willits and Eureka. I got to ride one once.

[@maxrailroad]

Hi there! I'd like to use some clips from this video for an upcoming project. Credit will be given to your channel. Is this alright?

[@fmnut]

Feel free to use anything from the video. I have no idea who the original photographer was as I bought the films on eBay. Glad to be of help. When you're finished, perhaps you could send me a link to the final product. Thanks.

[@maxrailroad]

@@fmnut Sure thing! I'm doing a detailed review of a model SD45 and wanted to include some footage of a prototype. Thank you!

[@lisalasoya6565]

Where are the Hobo's in this picture?

[@deannakinsey2888]

can someone please tell me who owned these cars and where i can find some better images of these cars from 2:00 2:26 thanks

[@fmnut]

Southern Pacific owned the cars. That is a SP wreck train. I suggest you search for that on Google to get better images.

[@deannakinsey2888]

@@fmnut thank you

[@w.keithmcdonald8461]

ONCE THE ENGINES GO BY,......THATS THE END OF THE FOOTAGE,....HOPE YOU DIDNT WANT TO SEE THE REST OF THE TRAIN

[@fmnut]

Remember, this is film, not video. A 50 foot roll of film lasted a little less than 4 minutes. A long freight could run you out of film before it passed, even assuming you started with a fresh roll. Film changes in the field risked getting dust in your camera from a passing train. And film and processing were expensive. So most photographers of the day only shot the head end and whatever caught their fancy as the train passed. Plus, IMHO, shooting the whole train gets boring for the viewer after a while, even with high quality video.

[@stinkyroadhog1347]

At 3:37, is the lead unit a Geep?

[@fmnut]

Yes, part of a batch delivered to SP with low noses from EMD. Last GP9s built at LA Grange.

[@markfrench8892]

Espee Lives.

[@christopherorourke6543]

It does for model railroaders. I have the 2020 friendly Southern Pacific railroad calendar that I bought at Reed’s Hobby Shop in La Mesa,CA. I also bought the 2021 friendly Southern Pacific railroad calendar from the same place. I have the Kato N scale 10 car Southern Pacific Morning Saylight set & the Kato N scale GS4 locomotive number 4449 in Daylight colors which is my N scale Excursion train on my Pacific West Coast model railroad which is in the early stages of being built.

[@santafealltheway2791]

Sadly.....only on film.

[@davidharris2519]

want to hear the train horns

[@agrady7216]

6:07 What horn is that?

[@fmnut]

Nathan P3

[@Greatdome99]

In virtually every scene, the camera pans on the locomotives, then cuts off the train so we can't see the freight or passenger cars of the era (for historical and modeling purposes). It's frustrating to those of us who like trains, not just diesel locomotives.

[@fmnut]

Remember, this was film, not video tape. Shooting a whole freight train got VERY expensive quickly. See my SP on Donner Pass series to see more of the train consists. Different filmer, deeper pockets......

[@OnlyTheEd]

That's a lot of locomotives just sitting around doing nothing @ 19:12............

[@fmnut]

In storage awaiting retirement.

[@OnlyTheEd]

@@fmnut Ah! Got it.......

[@gailyncookMilwRR]

Maybe that's why SP went bankrupt bought to many locomotives???