SAN DIEGO & ARIZONA EASTERN RAILWAY:
The annual sugar beet season began in Imperial Valley during the last week in April. During the season the SD&AE will handle about 2500 carloads of the beets from Seeley to El Centro.SPINS was placed into operation at San Diego on May 1. SPINS stands for Southern Pacific Industrial Numbering System. Under this system an instant inventory of all cars within an industrial zone or yard can be made from an IBM card file. Now the various cars are not shown on switch lists by shippers name or destination. The cars destination is indicated by a five digit number such as 11019. The first digit indicates the industrial zone, the next two digits the track number, and the final two digits indicate the spot number on that track. Just think now the switchmen need a road map to find their way, since all the tracks have been renumbered.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC:
The new Palmdale-Colton cutoff is scheduled for completion by the end of July. With the completion of the new line the Techachipi Loop will be a busy place. Including SP and Santa Fe trains, about 50 trains a day will traverse the Mojave-Bakersfield portion of the line. That's an average of one train each half-hour.SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL RAILWAYS:
On April 14, during the heighth of the evening rush hour street cars 1139 and 1142 collided headon at 11th and Market Sts. in downtown San Francisco. Many persons were injured and both cars were damaged extensively. It was all caused by the failure of a spring switch...... SF Muni also is considering the purchase of some new street cars which will be quite like the old Key System units. (Bay Area Electric Railroad Review).WESTERN PACIFIC:
The I. C. C. has decreed that the California Zepher operation be continued in the interest of the general public. The road filed notice on August 3, 1966, calling for discontinuance of these trains between San Francisco and Salt Lake City. Because of the numberous protests the train was ordered to continue service while a final decision could be made. The findings of February 14, were such as to cause the I. C. C. to order the continued operation of the famous C. Z. (PRS Wheel Clicks)FORMER KEY SYSTEM units owned by the California Railway Museum will be operated by the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association on Sunday, June 11, 1967. The trip will be an hour long and operate over Sacramento Northern trackage between Rio Vista Junction and Molena. The units will leave Rio Vista Jct, every hour on the hour between 9:00am and 5:00pm with the exception of noon. The fare will be $1.95 for adults and $1.00 for those 5 through 13 years. Under five goes free. For more info write the Bay Area Electric R. R. Assn., 314 15th street, Oakland, California 94612.
A TOUR OF SOUTHERN PACIFIC'S Taylor Yard facilities on June 3, will be sponsored by the Pacific Railroad Society. The number of persons in a group are limited and there will be two tours, one at 9a.m. and one at 11:30a.m. The cost is $1.50 per person and reservations must be made in advance due to the size restriction of groups making the tour. The tour takes 1-1/2 hours and is very interesting. Better hurry. Write Shop Tour, Pac. RR Society, PO Box 5279, Los Angeles, California 90055.
SANTA FE:
Two excursions operated over the Surf line on the week-end of May 6 and 7. One operated from Los Angeles to Fallbrook for the annual Avocado Festival. The other was a special train sponsored by the Rotarians from San Diego to Escondido for a picnic at Felicitas Park.A switch engine struck the rear trailer of a bulk cement carrier at 28th and Harbor Drive a few weeks back. The trailer was badly damaged and a lot of cement was spilled.
Some new cabooses have been placed in service on the system. They are of the cupola type and are painted bright red with the large Santa Fe herald and a white stripe down the side.
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