Re: Lathrop connections Fresno line to Altamont question
Author: DCA
Date: 08-12-2017 - 22:42
Thanks for the responses. As an old guy now (well, older) living up in the PNW the situation there at Lathrop is interesting. Before I went into another field of employment I worked at both the WP and, later SP as a brakeman, working through Lathrop very often on both railroads. At that time Tracy was the base for most, if not all, SP San Joaquin Division crews, who worked the Westside line south to the melon-producing areas around Firebaugh as well as into Fresno the "back way." Also north to Roseville and south to Fresno on the main (eastside) line (Roseville-Fresno 177 miles). Because it was a "triangle" division we were often away from home two and three days at a time, something my fiancé didn't seem to appreciate.
Anyway, it seems odd that the UP hasn't already built a connection where the WP crossed the SP to allow movements to easily go over Altamont on the WP's 1% grade. The 2017 Google map shows what looks like unused land in that quadrant where a connection could probably be built without too much cost.