Patrick Wrote:
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> Nice photo!
>
> Why was the SN unit in Oakland?

The Oakland Yard engines were provided by Stockton, so whatever they had on-hand to send is what showed up. I remember seeing my last silver and orange unit, the 731, working there for a couple of months on the same yard jobs as the pictured 711.

For those not familiar with the area, the location is WP's Oakland Yard. The yard office building (still there today) would be out of the picture to the right. The intermodal ramp is in the left background where the trailers are, with the freight yard and locomotive servicing tracks in the middle. On the extreme left (behind the fence) is the chicken house. UP still used the yard for 4 or 5 years after the UP/SP merger and referred to it as South Oakland. The yard is completely gone now, with the area being occupied by part of the Port of Oakland's Oakland International Gateway.

As trivia, the last WP operating employee in Oakland to still be working is Dave Partridge, the Relief Yardmaster in the West Oakland tower.

Thanks for posting another great memory, FL. Feel free to post some more.