Ken's Blast From The Past
Photgraphy by Ken Rattenne

Spring Time In California, Part II

by Ken Rattenne

It's the late afternoon of March 29, 1980, and I was heading to Southern California from my home in San Jose for a week of photography. As I sped east through Livermore I heard a radio transmission indicating Western Pacific's San Jose Turn was on at the east end of Altamont Pass and heading my way on it's six-days-a-week trip to Milpitas. Without hesitation I exited from I-580 at Greenville Road at the west end of the pass and began driving up the winding Altamont Canyon, praying that the train didn't show up first. I quickly attained the first decent photo location and set up. 

I didn't have long to wait. I no sooner had grabbed my trusty Nikon FM2 from my 1972 Dodge van when the familar sight of a rounded green and orange snout peeked around the bend curve. Cool! The F-units! Well, almost. 

In charge of today's Turn were two of the four Fabulous Four F-units: The 917, in the lead, and the 918 third unit back. The second unit was high hood GP20 2006, and fourth unit back was one of the railroads quirky U30Bs in New Image paint. While mildly disappointed that the queen of the fleet, silver and orange 913, was not in the consist, the train still looked freakin' good! 

The hills that seperate the Bay Area from the Central Valley are alive with spring colors on March 23, 1989. 

By the spring of 1980 both of the F-units in tday's train had been rebuilt then repainted into the carbody version of the WP's New Image scheme; in fact, only GP20 2006 was still in the older (and darker) Perlman Green. By the time of the Union Pacific merger in 1982, the only GP20 to receive the updated paint was 2010.

(Click the top photo) A Spring day two years before finds the San Jose Turn of March 24, 1978 fighting gravity as it works the 1% uphill climb to Altamont Summit. The fourth active F7A on the WP was not yet back on the proprty after its rebuild at Morrison/Knudsen in Idaho. 

"You Shoulda Been Here!"
Upon my return to San Jose I discoverd that the very next day following my departure (and this photo) every railfan in northern California was out in the early chill to chase a sold lashup of Union Pacific E-units pulling a long string of Armour Yellow passenger cars on what would turn out to be the first of sevreal inspection trips over the WP. Thhe kicker to this news? The Armour Yellow streamliner met the  WP's last four F-units on - you guess it - Altamont Pass.

That beautiful streamliner would prove to be the prelude to the future merger of the Wobblie into the UP and Missouri Pacific systems. 

So, while most Norcal railfans were up at the crack of dawn chasing the UP special, I was down in Cajon Pass blissfully photographing the Santa Fe, unaware of what I was missing.. 



Photo Details
This photo was made with a Nikon FM2 equipped with a Nikon E Series 75-150mm lens shot on  Kodachrome 64 slide film. The frame was exposed at f5.6 for 1/500 of a second. 

Text and photographs copyright ©2000-2018 by Ken Rattenne & KPR Media Services