OPRRMS Wrote:
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> Patrick Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > 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.


There's still an ex-WP trainman working for Amtrak in Oakland as well.