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Re: E9A & B on the "San Joaquin" May 1974
Author: OPRRMS
Date: 01-12-2009 - 13:25
Steven D. Johnson Wrote:
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> Was this shot taken just west of Pt. Chicago by a
> couple of miles? I'm thinking the refinery is out
> of scene to the left, and we're maybe a mile or
> two east of the Carquinez bridge cut-off?
Drew's explained it, but I'll add a little.
The photo was taken roughly 2/3's of the way between Martinez and Avon. In a minute or two the train will pass through Avon (used to be where the San Ramon Branch left the mainline to head down the Diablo Valley to meet SP's Altamont line at Radum in Pleasanton), and a couple of miles east of Avon the train will stop and line itself onto the siding at Port Chicago - it was all Timetable & Train Order operation back then, not CTC like now - then onto the interchange track with the Santa Fe, stop and change crews (the Santa Fe crew actually got on the train at Richmond and rode to Port Chicago in the chair cars), then head east on the Santa Fe.
As an aside, the SP crew would technically go Off Duty at Port Chicago, but there wasn't anything to do there. Some would have their wives pick them up while most simply rode the train over to Stockton (I always rode to Merced). The same SP crew would operate Number 711 back to Oakland late that afternoon, so you got on the train wherever you got off and "deadheaded" back to Port Chicago, then swapped with the Santa Fe crew and reversed the process. This was not a particularly desireable run for SP crews because you were on duty for something like 11 hours but were only paid for eight - your Release Time at Port Chicago was free.
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> Was this shot taken just west of Pt. Chicago by a
> couple of miles? I'm thinking the refinery is out
> of scene to the left, and we're maybe a mile or
> two east of the Carquinez bridge cut-off?
Drew's explained it, but I'll add a little.
The photo was taken roughly 2/3's of the way between Martinez and Avon. In a minute or two the train will pass through Avon (used to be where the San Ramon Branch left the mainline to head down the Diablo Valley to meet SP's Altamont line at Radum in Pleasanton), and a couple of miles east of Avon the train will stop and line itself onto the siding at Port Chicago - it was all Timetable & Train Order operation back then, not CTC like now - then onto the interchange track with the Santa Fe, stop and change crews (the Santa Fe crew actually got on the train at Richmond and rode to Port Chicago in the chair cars), then head east on the Santa Fe.
As an aside, the SP crew would technically go Off Duty at Port Chicago, but there wasn't anything to do there. Some would have their wives pick them up while most simply rode the train over to Stockton (I always rode to Merced). The same SP crew would operate Number 711 back to Oakland late that afternoon, so you got on the train wherever you got off and "deadheaded" back to Port Chicago, then swapped with the Santa Fe crew and reversed the process. This was not a particularly desireable run for SP crews because you were on duty for something like 11 hours but were only paid for eight - your Release Time at Port Chicago was free.
