I sure am glad to see that some of you guys still talk about the SP. It's a fav of mine.
I grew up in Oakland and can remember laying on my bed and hearing the diesel horns way off
in the distance by Jack London Square in that area or down by the SP shops. Horns have certain unique tones and to this day I can remember the SP ones. I saw a Lionel model GP9 that captured the sound exactly. When I heard it I knew what it was without lookin'. So I bet those old guys were looking for the street cars but also were probably just as confused hearing the SP sounding so different. Anyway, thanks for the memories. OS