Nate Beal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> By this time in summer 1988, the SP had stopped
> using their tracks (under the bridge on the right
> side) and had begun utilizing trackage rights over
> the UP, here we see what is most likely the
> Mission Bay turn? Any SP guys feel free to help.

So I sent a query along to someone who'd know, and here's his answer:

"Read all of the posts up until yours at 1952. Sorry, but I can't help. I don't remember SP attempting to bypass the Bay Area with an RV to (LA?) via the coast train, nor do I even remember a Salinas to Tracy train. However, I DO remember a SSF to Tracy train because I worked it regularly for some time (my conductor was Don Swain). We went over one day and back the next; on duty at SSF at 1:30 PM (I think) and usually (but not always) called at Tracy about 11:00 AM the following day. Always went via Warm Springs (so we didn't have to run around our train at SJ, plus there were always a lot of cars to/from WS). It was a fun job, though usually underpowered. I was stunned looking at the photo (in the post) with so much power; if indeed it was out of SSF, they must have picked up extra power at SJ for RV or somewhere. BTW, we stayed on the UP all the way to Lathrop, NOT Lyoth, and then back on SP and around the big wye and headed back west across the SJ River for Tracy. The (lack of) power, though second generation, usually called for two or three units, but frequently we only had one, causing the UP dispatcher to always ask us what we had, and what kind of speed we thought we could make, and even if we could actually make Altamont before he would let us on "his" railroad....didn't want us stopping, or even slowing down, his "hot" trains. One time we had one unit and were so slow climbing thru Niles Canyon he informed us we would be heading in at Livermore and if we didn't get more power, that's where we would stay. Well, we were trying to figure out just how we would get more power unless we waited until the next day's train, sure enough we were lined in to Livermore. But after an eastbound passed us, he let us out.....guess it was dispatcher humor. And we did make it over Altamont, though it wasn't very fast.
Sorry, but that's about it for my memories of SP trains on UP over Altamont. As one poster said, they did run the beets that way sometimes, though I don't know when nor for how long."