Post by thespcaboose on Apr 7, 2010 0:37:02 GMT -5
One of my favorite trains operated by the Southern Pacific was the beet train.
The loaded beet train orginated in El Centro, California. It had coast orders to go to Guadalupe, California. After arriving in Guadalupe the Santa Maria Valley railroad would pick up the train and take it to the processing plant in Betteravia.
The sugar beets would be processed into sugar that we would use on such products as cereal or included in products like icing for a cake.
This was a seasonal train operating during the spring months. It was symbolled the ECGUU for El Centro to Guadalupe unit train.
The beets were carried in these old wooden sided hopper cars. The cars were old enough that they were given a 45 mph speed limit. Parts of the coast did have a maximiun freight traffic speed of 60 mph.
The Santa Barbara dispatcher (WR53) would issue direct trafic control (DTC) blocks out over the radio. Normally when the beets were ready to depart Los Angeles the dispatcher would give the beet train the Hewitt, Northridge and Chatsworth blocks and instruct the train to take the siding at Santa Susana. This would give one of the San Diego bound Amtrak trains and the Seattle bound Coast Starlight a chance to hold the mainline and get to their destinations on time. After the Amtrak trains had passed the beet train would be given permission to go back out onto the mainline.
The dispatcher didn't want to put the train in the siding at Chatsworth because of a 1.0% grade going thru three tunnels contecting Chatsworth with Simi Valley. This was a very steep grade for the beet train to deal with because of its weight. The train weighed about 10,000 tons and was given four 3,600 horsepower locomotices.
Usually the beet train would be able to go from Santa Susana to Oxnard. Sometimes further depending on the traffic that day.
When the train would get to the western end of Ventura the tracks would hug the Pacific Ocean for the next 110 miles to the town of Devon. At Devon the tracks would head back inland.
This was a favorite train for many railfans along the route.
The loaded beet train orginated in El Centro, California. It had coast orders to go to Guadalupe, California. After arriving in Guadalupe the Santa Maria Valley railroad would pick up the train and take it to the processing plant in Betteravia.
The sugar beets would be processed into sugar that we would use on such products as cereal or included in products like icing for a cake.
This was a seasonal train operating during the spring months. It was symbolled the ECGUU for El Centro to Guadalupe unit train.
The beets were carried in these old wooden sided hopper cars. The cars were old enough that they were given a 45 mph speed limit. Parts of the coast did have a maximiun freight traffic speed of 60 mph.
The Santa Barbara dispatcher (WR53) would issue direct trafic control (DTC) blocks out over the radio. Normally when the beets were ready to depart Los Angeles the dispatcher would give the beet train the Hewitt, Northridge and Chatsworth blocks and instruct the train to take the siding at Santa Susana. This would give one of the San Diego bound Amtrak trains and the Seattle bound Coast Starlight a chance to hold the mainline and get to their destinations on time. After the Amtrak trains had passed the beet train would be given permission to go back out onto the mainline.
The dispatcher didn't want to put the train in the siding at Chatsworth because of a 1.0% grade going thru three tunnels contecting Chatsworth with Simi Valley. This was a very steep grade for the beet train to deal with because of its weight. The train weighed about 10,000 tons and was given four 3,600 horsepower locomotices.
Usually the beet train would be able to go from Santa Susana to Oxnard. Sometimes further depending on the traffic that day.
When the train would get to the western end of Ventura the tracks would hug the Pacific Ocean for the next 110 miles to the town of Devon. At Devon the tracks would head back inland.
This was a favorite train for many railfans along the route.