The Everyday Railroad

We raced down CA 99 until we caught up to Extra 7304 East at Turlock where we took a couple of quick shots before piling back in the car to continue the chase. Next stop was the tiny town of Livingston where Rob pulled up to a weathered black girder bridge just south of the Foster Farms chicken processing plant. Though the sky was grey, the photograph I made that day captured the essence of Espee in the Central Valley.

In 1988 I moved to the Central Valley and decided to recreate that 1980 photo with an updated one. 

(Right) Union Pacific 4054 South races past my camera on December 16, 2003

However, when I sought it out I was dismayed to find the trees and underbrush had grown to a height so as to obscure the Southern Pacific lettering that made my 1980 photo so memorable. 

In 2017 one can still catch freights on the bridge, though they are led by Armor Yellow diesels instead of grey and scarlet. The underbrush is now so high one can barely see the Southern Pacific lettering on the  faded side of the bridge which is just as well since several layers of graffiti now cover most of the letters. 

- Ken Rattenne

Photo Details
Image was shot with a Nikon FM2 equipped with a Nikkon E Series 50mm lens, and shot on  Kodachrome 64 film. .