h Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It seems to me that they have more than enough
> four axle units, they just don't use them
> properly. I once chased an Ozol local which had
> four units, but not once did it have more than 12
> cars in tow. Later that night on the peninsula, I
> saw the Mission Bay with two GP60's and a GP40-2
> hauling two cars south into Santa Clara. It
> returned north with ten rock hoppers and eight
> cars for SSF. I found the Broadway Local street
> running in Redwood City with a single GP38
> struggling to haul 40+ cars.

Without knowing the specifics of the incidents you've cited, I really can't comment on them, other than to say that the Mission Bay Turn (that's the job you would've seen in Santa Clara) is normally assigned multiple units, although not all of them can always be used as leaders. The Broadway is normally assigned two units, so if it only had one when you saw it, it's likely that a second unit was not available or useable.

As of today, Oakland is using two four-axle RCLs and zero four-axle conventional units. It's supposed to be assigned three RCLs and one conventional unit. East Oakland currently has two four-axle units. It's supposed to be assigned three. Out of these four, three are running with FRA reportable defects, including sander issues (UP demolished Oakland's sand delivery system over 2 1/2 years ago).

On Monday, MP15AC UPY1476 (ex-SP2748) was sent from Roseville to Oakland for use in the yard. It had been in longterm storage somewhere in the Midwest, and is apparently one of the switchers UP is supposedly pulling out of longterm storage at various locations in the Midwest to send west to help alleviate the chronic shortage of four-axle units in the Roseville Service Unit. It has yet to turn a revenue wheel since arriving in Oakland due to a multitude of mechanical and electrical issues.