Santa Cruz Local in the SP days. It was freaking great. Usually it was an early morning drive down the Monterey Highway from home, we'd regularly catch a northbound intermodal before getting to Watsonville. Arriving at 8:00AM it was time to breakfast at the Del Monte Cafe adjacent to the SP Watsonvile depot on the Santa Cruz Branch. They made some excellent pancakes and sausage on that ancient cast iron stove. I hope it still there in the building, as it's another taqueria at present. If the local wasn't to the Junction after breakfast, it was time for a trip to Elkhorn to catch our first photo there. Afterwards we'd follow them to spring switch at Watsonville Junction. While they were stopped it was usually enough time to get down to Walker Street to see the wig-wags and a little street running. From there there are all sorts of places to catch the local on its 12mph jaunt to Capitola. Manresa was always a highlight especially if there was some fog.

From Capitola SP bumped it to 20MPH so you had to make quick time on Portola Dr in order to get to Beach Street in Santa Cruz. Back in those days there were no bike medians, and there was parking on both sides of Beach. The local would make a short stop at Orby to unload a tank car of corn syrup for Wrigley's and then it was another 20MPH dash to the cement plant at Davenport. So many good SP memories of GP40-2's, Kodachromes, and fresh speed letter painted locomotives during the time I caught as an SP train.

Sam Reeves Photography
Pacific Grove, CA