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Re: Just one SP Alco S2
Author: OPRRMS
Date: 10-09-2010 - 20:06
A related question Wrote:
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> I have been asked, "What is that open air shed in
> the background (of the photo at the Glasshouse) in
> between the 1775 and the post office?"
It's the mail dock that SP constructed after Oakland Pier closed, to protect the U.S. Mail contract. There was one track on each side and mail cars would be spotted there for loading and unloading. By the time of your photo it was no longer used. However, the structure and tracks remained until the area was cleared for the I-880 Frreeway project.
There was a question on another board about the "tiger stripes" showing on the battery box cover. The answer is, the box had indeed been painted gray when the locomotive was repainted into the scarlet and gray scheme, but by the time of the photo the paint was wearing off. Not only is it possible to see the "tiger stripes" on the battery box, but you can see them showing through the scarlet on the front of the hood. And the black areas along the lower part of the side of the hood are the black showing through from when the unit was painted in "tiger stripes."
The 1775 was the second-to-the-last S2 to work in Oakland. (1780 featured in a previous thread was the last.) As trivia, a month or so before it was retired someone from SP's Mechanical Department in San Francisco visited the West Oakland Diesel Shop and saw the unit sitting there. The SOUTHERN PACIFIC lettering on the right side of the hood was no longer visible because the gray paint had worn off, leaving just the white (the painting steps were, (1) paint the gray, (2) paint the area white where the SOUTHERN PACIFIC lettering would be, then (3) place the lettering stencils and spray gray over all the white). The Mechanical Department guy told the Diesel Shop people something to the effect that "We don't operate locomotives that don't have our name on them," and instructed them to repaint the unit. So they did. It was still nice 'n shiny when Schnitzer cut it up for scrap. After that, the running joke at the Diesel Shop was that they didn't want to paint any more units 'cause that would mean they were going to scrap!
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> I have been asked, "What is that open air shed in
> the background (of the photo at the Glasshouse) in
> between the 1775 and the post office?"
It's the mail dock that SP constructed after Oakland Pier closed, to protect the U.S. Mail contract. There was one track on each side and mail cars would be spotted there for loading and unloading. By the time of your photo it was no longer used. However, the structure and tracks remained until the area was cleared for the I-880 Frreeway project.
There was a question on another board about the "tiger stripes" showing on the battery box cover. The answer is, the box had indeed been painted gray when the locomotive was repainted into the scarlet and gray scheme, but by the time of the photo the paint was wearing off. Not only is it possible to see the "tiger stripes" on the battery box, but you can see them showing through the scarlet on the front of the hood. And the black areas along the lower part of the side of the hood are the black showing through from when the unit was painted in "tiger stripes."
The 1775 was the second-to-the-last S2 to work in Oakland. (1780 featured in a previous thread was the last.) As trivia, a month or so before it was retired someone from SP's Mechanical Department in San Francisco visited the West Oakland Diesel Shop and saw the unit sitting there. The SOUTHERN PACIFIC lettering on the right side of the hood was no longer visible because the gray paint had worn off, leaving just the white (the painting steps were, (1) paint the gray, (2) paint the area white where the SOUTHERN PACIFIC lettering would be, then (3) place the lettering stencils and spray gray over all the white). The Mechanical Department guy told the Diesel Shop people something to the effect that "We don't operate locomotives that don't have our name on them," and instructed them to repaint the unit. So they did. It was still nice 'n shiny when Schnitzer cut it up for scrap. After that, the running joke at the Diesel Shop was that they didn't want to paint any more units 'cause that would mean they were going to scrap!
| Subject | Written By | Date/Time (PST) |
|---|---|---|
 Just one SP Alco S2
|
Steve Sloan | 10-09-2010 - 09:48 |
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Re: Just one SP Alco S2
|
A related question | 10-09-2010 - 16:07 |
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Re: Just one SP Alco S2
|
pedo viejo | 10-09-2010 - 19:48 |
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Re: Just one SP Alco S2 |
OPRRMS | 10-09-2010 - 20:06 |
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This is great information
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Steve Sloan | 10-09-2010 - 21:51 |
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Re: This is great information
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Peter D. | 10-10-2010 - 09:57 |