SP's Evening Commute "Fleet" at Visitation (near Bayshore), April, 1969

Southern Pacific's Evening Commute "Fleet"
Visitation (near Bayshore Yard), April, 1969

Back in April, 1969, a friend of Wx4 stood at various spots along Southern Pacific's Peninsula main tracks near the Visitation end of Bayshore Yard to photograph the passing of the Evening "Fleet" (SP employee term for morning and evening rush hour trains), along the lines of what I did in San Jose at about the same time. Accompanying this record are two of his images of Train 139 at San Carlos a few years later. The the decriptions are his. Also here on a different page are his photos of the Evening "Fleet" at Third & Townsend Depot, San Francisco on a different April day. Thank you, sir! - EO

click on images for larger versions

5:04 pm, Train 128, engine 3029, a mile south of the yard at the highway 101 overpass

Trainmaster 3028 waiting just south of the overpass. This is likely a light engine move from shop work at Bayshore, the guys are just waiting for the fleet to pass. (or that the loco was the Evening Fleet protection engine, and subsequentaly headed to 7th Street when its duty was done - E.O.)

5:20 pm, Train 130, engine 3030. Notice the switcher in the distance in the yard. (Also note the retired passenger cars in the "deadlines. - EO)

Train 130, engine 3030, was the 30th frame on this roll of film ...should have bought a Lotto ticket.

Train 130 engine 3030 passes 3028

5:23 pm, Train 132 engine 3026. The scan made the headlights into a sunset.

Train 132 engine 3026 passes 3028. (3028 is sitting on the Inbound Bayshore lead; track to the right is the Outbound -EO)

5:26 pm, Train 134 engine 3034. Yard switcher still in the background. (Employees called the brick former Union Ice Co. building the "Ice House", and the collection of oil storage tanks at the right, the "Tank Farm".

5:29 pm, Train 136 engine 3035 passes 3028.

5:32 pm, train 138 engine 3020 passes 3028. 3020 was demonstrator TM-3.

3028 pulls up to go east (through the crossovers to the Westbound Main -EO).

3028 comes back from crossing to the Westbound Main.

(The movement headed out of the bottom end of the yard because there was no crossover between main tracks at the top end. Had I been the hostler on the loco, I would have parked it back at the Visitation switchmen's shanty to engage in a little gossip, rather than wait out the Fleet at the signal. No way was the Fourth St. Tower operator -who controlled the Visitation crossovers - going to let them across before #138 passed, because the "holes" between trains were too tight. -EO)

San Carlos, a few years later

Train 139 and station, before the tracks were raised

Train 139 going away

Evening Fleet at Third & Townsend, April 1969