mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmSP Railroaders' PagesmmmmSP IndexmmmmErnie Kiesel Collection

Retirement Party for Ed Smith and Phil Galata
SP Newhall Yard Office, San Jose, ca.1995
last update: 10-7-2020


SP's presence in San Jose was a small fraction of what it was a decade before, when these photos of "Ed and Phil's" retirement party were recorded. The once-cramped yard office is now looking quite spaceous. Originally we judged these photos to date to about 1990, but new intelligence points towards sometime after mid-1994. Sadly, at this late date, we don't know the identity of several individuals. Click on the photos for larger renderings.

Russ Danley (see: The Leaning Tower of Newhall), the late SJ yardmaster of imposing presence, likely shot these images, which came to Wx4 through the kind efforts of his son, Burl. If you are able to fill in some of the blank names in the following photos, please send a note to : wx4org@ yahoo.com

-E.O. Gibson


Ed Smith (right) and Car Foreman Phil Galata with their retirement cake.




(Later Caltrain) Engineer Tommy Grace standing to right of center.





The fellow on the left is Road Foreman of Engines Brad "The Lad" Wilson, according to Mike Metz, who was San Jose Yardmaster from April 1993 to June 1994, when he was forced to Oakland. He believes that the party occured sometime after his departure.





W. King (left), Mike Kadlubowski (center), Willie Witzel (seated, orange shirt)


W. King (checkered shirt) and Jack Wyrick (center).




All unknown.



Willie Witzel




Bob Blinkenberg (striped shirt) and Phil Galata .







home