Re: Vacaville's "Onion Plant" & Sacramento Northern ...
Author: George Manley
Date: 08-01-2011 - 09:41
8-01-11
During the fruit season during the steam days.. the Esparto branch would produce up to 550 loads and in the spring SP use to bring cattle and sheep via stock cars to the end of the line to fatten them up and there was other traffic also....during the winter and spring the 4-6-0's 2248 and 2252 would work the branch until the summer came around when they would go back to roseville for fire train service.....The 4-8-0 2937 was brought down from Oregon to work the branch...but the foreman at suisun said he would never run the engine and the 2937 finished her days doing nothing...2-6-0's 1643 and 1660 did some work on the branch...but it was the 2-8-0's that were the main stay.....At winters...Union Ice use to handle the loaded reefers before they went on to roseville....at one time this was a very busy branch....