SP5103 Wrote:
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> I believe Amtrak still has prior right train
> crews. This only applies to the crews that first
> came over from the freight carriers when Amtrak
> started running their own crews. For example, a
> former ATSF employee could not be outbid by a
> former SP or UP employee on the run from LAX to
> San Diego - which is on former ATSF track.

Can't speak for how it is nowadays, but that wasn't the case for engineers and firemen when Zone 12 was created back in November 1986. The employees that were in the first group Amtrak hired from the host railroads had a seniority roster created that was a "Slotted Dove-tail." It was based on the number of train-miles on each of the prior seniority districts. Because the Santa Fe had the most train-miles, the seniority roster was slanted in their favor. (For example, I was SP and in Zone 12 I was #52 out of 68 engineers. Had it gone by straight seniority, I would've been #13 out of 68. It was a major part of my decision to flow back to the SP after I fulfilled my six-month obligation.)

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> Now - what was the difference between the
> "Cornfield" and the "Bull Ring". I remember being
> where all the engines were stored dead in the late
> 70s/early 80s, and there was a small yard that had
> most of a yard ladder or lead of hand-thrown
> double-slip switches.

There were three different parts to the yard - the Bull Ring, the Cornfield and the Links. All those stored engines you've seen pictures of were in the Cornfield. The Links is where all those slip switches were, and the Bull Ring was just southeast of the Pasadena Freeway overpasses. All of these were worked as a common yard, technically called by it's old name River Station.