Last Days OnThe OTR
All things must end and the use of the 5623 on
the OTR is no exception. Errol retired from the UP in early 2003
and Howard is retiring from the OTR 12/31/04. The following
narrative and photos were originally posted to Trainorders.com by Ryan
Martin on 11/24/04 and the post was viewed by over 1200
visitors. I think Ryan's words and photos well reflect the last
OTR days of the 5623 and they are posted with Ryan's permission.
Thanks Ryan.
With about two weeks of loaned
Oakland Terminal RR service left, Howard
Wise's restored black widow GP9 SP5623 is working it's last freight
revenue days in West Oakland. As per the norm, the OTR regular switch
engine in OTR97 or "Eugene" has been taken out of service for scheduled
maintenance. As with previous scheduled maintenance for the former
Sante Fe GP7, Howards's black widow beauty comes alive for the various
morning industrial duties around the OTR's West Oakland trackage.
But sadly, this year will be
the end for the SP5623 in regular OTR
freight service. Her owner is set to retire early next year, and the
OTR97 should be good to go by the second week of December for regular
service. Current plans call for the SP5623 to go to the Niles Canyon
Railway Museum along with a bunch of other P.L.A. owned equipment
stored in West Oakland including F7A WP918D, the GP7 WP713 and the
recently restored SD9 SP5472 plus an interesting group of old
Army/OTR/Alameda Belt locomotives, SP/WP/ATSF passenger cars and
rolling stock. Should be one cool "hospital train" when UP gives the
okay to the P.L.A. / Niles group to move the museum equipment from
Oakland to the museum via the ex-WP Oakland Sub and the new Hearst
connection. So anyone plan to be in the West Oakland area on a weekday
morning? Bank on 7 to 9AM on most weekday mornings around the old Army
Base at Grand Ave and the I-880 to get your last revenue service photos
of this beauty Geep in action!
So, this past Monday morning saw
the SP5623 out and over the wood
trestle on Wood Street in nice early morning light.
Pictures show the Geep on Wood
Street after servicing Pacific
Supply, switching cars in the Wood Street yard (ATSF/UP interchange)
with the new I-880 towering above and all around, and last the
pick-up/set-out of foundry sand filled hoppers at Pyro Minerals on 26th
Street.
Second photo shows the infamous
Evan Werkema himself caught working it on
Wood Street as he strikes a pose (vogue!). Engineer Bryan C. up in the
cab, brakemen/conductor Joe is on the left, OTR Juan is digging down to
throw the buried street switch and Ricky is
seen checking me out probably wondering who the hell is that dude with
the camera!
Sure wish Espee Black Widows
were out running on the mainline today!
With
Pacific Supply work accomplished, the SP5623 is coming off Wood Street
and heading back to the Wood St. Yard.
Some 15
years after the Loma Prieta quake that took down the old
doubledecker Nimitz I-880 (behind me to the east). the new I-880 towers
over the West Oakland landscape. The late 90's built Nimitz was
contructed over most of the former SP Desert Yard and old mainline. The
OTR came into play with the CalTrans engineering team with their
curving wood trestle making the new freeway layout a little more
complicated (and much more elevated). Most oldie east bay railfans hate
the new structure but being the urbanite railfan, I really love it. The
original Red Car/OTR trestle and tracks of the reconstructed SP/UP
Desert Yard literally curve and zigzag through a maze of overengineered
concrete freeway support columns.
Backing up
for the Pyro Hopper move.
Howard's Geep coming around the
26th street lead. Seeing I work with
concrete design and fabrication everyday, even boring Caltrans freeway
columns
are interesting to me!
/
As OTR Juan watches out for
more Big Rigs and typical running fast West
Oakland speeders, Bryan toots the three chime horn as Joe goes for a
nice short ride across Wood Street and on to 26th street.
/
Working
within the Pyro Minerals yard.
Moving out of
Pyro after some asphalt scraping under the SP5623's beautiful front
pilot.
/
(I could not ignore this nice shot by Evan Werkema taken from further
down the steet.)
Juan
protecting Wood Street around the blind corner at 26th. Why the
sad face? Not sure why but maybe it is because like Mr. Wise, he too is
only a few months away from retirement. In talking with him I actually
think he might miss 42 years of working on the RR. Juan worked for the
WP a few decades back.
Support this website by joining the Silver Rails TrainWeb Club for as little as $1 per month.
Click here for info.
