Stampede Sub Willapa ViewsSP 8292 takes a Christmas Eve break at Southern Pacific’s East Bakersfield, California yard in 1984.
SP 8292 is an EMD SD40T-2 “Tunnel Motor” with openings for the radiator intakes just above the walkways at the rear of the car body.
SP 3771 sits in the yard at East Bakersfield, California, on Dec. 24, 1984.
SP 3771 is an EMD GP-9.
Photo by David J. Cooley.
Here’s an example of Murphy’s Law as expressed in railfan photography: The rarer the subject, the worse the photographic conditions. In this case, a one-of-a-kind paint job of red and orange on SP 7399 is spoiled by working in the tunnels of Tehachapi. Second, my camera was loaded with black-and-white film and a normal lens. Third, the loco was behind a chain link fence, so I had to shoot between the links. Lastly, the sky was densely overcast with no highlights and no shadows, no blacks, no whites, just grays. The paper formerly packed in a roll of film by Kodak should have called this “Cloudy Dark.” Sometimes you just take the picture ‘cuz if you don’t, you’ll never get a second chance.
SP 7399 is an EMD SD45 parked in Southern Pacific’s East Bakersfield yard on Christmas Eve of 1984.
Photo by David J. Cooley.