As I have said before, Dad’s favorite was the SP&S Railway.
After he retired he and Mom headed to his beloved Pacific Northwest and went looking for “signs of life”.
It seems that they found it
Sadly COLUMBIA seems to have lasted in place until 2006 according to the RRARCHIVE and Google Map.
Things change but the above still ranks as an “artsy fartsy” shot as Dad used to say.
Oakland passenger terminal in the 1970s
I didn’t adjust the colour and all that this week. There is something about admitting that May of 1971 was so long ago that its a little yellow.
Note the UP cat in the background with the kooky 1970’s typeface (font)
Alco made always bring a smile so it counts …-rob
Dad’s beloved SP&S RY was chock a block with interesting equipment.
Here we see SP&S 4068 {an Alco RS3} at the Port of Astoria, Oregon in 1975.
I tried teh Google man for a now/then view but was disappointed that he doesn’t go there.
That Pier face seems to be gone too & the Port is listed as a Cruise Terminal : https://www.portofastoria.com/General_Piers_Information.aspx#
Dad on cruises once: ” Yuk ”
Old man had a point.
Dad didn’t buy many slides but there are three here from “The Rail Image” of Denville, N.J. that I wanted to share.
They are of Dad’s beloved SP&S and each is fascinating in their own way
Oh and who amongst us have not put in a slide backwards !
Portland or perhaps Vancouver, WA side<?> Regardless 1990 is long after SP&S was deceased.
Kinda makes me miss 35MM film & Zoom Lenses for depth of field.
Golly it’s been a while!
I have been remiss in posting so I did a random grab from the Kodak pile in the footlocker that has quite a few “little yellow boxes”.
Here is OCT ’70 someplace on the SP&S – Dad had H.O. version similar to this at one point and I can see why.
Welp today would have been Fred’s 92nd birthday and I managed to grab this print of his.
Although undated it represents SP 4449 before restoring to make The American Freedom Train and then the Daylight thereafter.
Dad lived a few houses off the SP Peninsula line where 4449 and friends used to run by all day, shaking the house like a Three Stooges movie. He credited his interest in trains to this Amazon proximity to these giant, fire breathing beasts.
That was when San Mateo Drive was dirt … he told me about the sight of the elephant towing the steam calliope north up the slight hill with the man playing the circus “oomph path path oompah” music frantically, much to his amusement as a little boy.
That makes sense to me, the train connection…. Also the imagination of those traveling passengers and the places that he could only dream about.
Later in life we visited all 50 states, most several times, large part of Canada and Mexico too… all the while photographing the trains you see here.
Happy Birthday Dad, you would have been humbled by the appreciation shown by followers here.
But dude I wish you had marked the date and location on all these…
This was a funny little shot to find in a box. Location not noted but looks like a good started project for a speeder restoration person.
