A set of SD24’s led by 949 makes its way past one of the most famous locations in railroading, the 3829-foot Summit of Cajon Pass, before dropping down the 3 percent grade to the LA Basin on September 7, 1966. The photographer was alerted to the immanent arrival of this train by no less than Chard Walker, longtime Santa Fe agent at the Summit who always found time to chat with the visiting railfans, which occasionally outnumbered actual trains. The scene is much changed today. In a few years, Southern Pacific will build its own line over the pass, wiping out the section house in the background. And reconfiguration of the trackage here will lower the summit altitude to 3,777 feet, eliminating the wye tracks at right, where for years helper engines have reversed direction.
Aside from Warbonnets and Chiefs, Santa Fe was a workaday railroad like any other. This album showcases that less glamorous--but no less vital--side of the famous ATSF.
