Boarding the San Francisco Chief

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In the summer of 1965 my family took a trip to Kansas to visit relatives. I was 9. I am shown here with my mom getting ready to board the train. We rode the Santa Fe's (ATSF) San Francisco Chief from Richmond, CA to Kansas City.
Behind us is ATSF 529. Reportedly it was a Budd El Capitan Hi Level step down (transition)-68 seat chair car. It was built by in 1956, lot 9679-166. In 1971 it went to Amtrak (AMTK) 9903, rebuilt 1979 at Topeka Shops to HEP step down-14 bunk dormitory-40 seat chair 39903. In 2003 it went to Dr. Plancey and later to Bucol & Associates.
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This photo was recovered, and restored with the help of Photoshop and AI tools.
Photo by: Lloyd D Sloan 

#trains #railroads #railroading #santafe #trainspotting #richmondca #passengertrain  

11 on Elkhorn Slough

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On Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 11:40 a.m., Amtrak (AMTK) Train 11 was at Elkhorn Slough, between Watsonville and Salinas, CA. Power on this train was AMTK 329 and 344.
AMTK 329 is a Siemens ALC 42.
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Nikon D500, Nikon 18~140mm f3.5-5.6 DX lens image,
2026.11.6.1.76-ph 

My Dad

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Southern Pacific (SP) locomotive engineer Lloyd D. Sloan, was at the throttle of SP 8607 on Monday, July 15, 1974, in the Homestead Yard in Oakland, CA. My dad was a Western Division engineer in SP Pool 4, at the time, running down the Coast Line between Oakland and Watsonville Junction. My dad didn't just run the train. He was the train. My dad retired in 1977.
SP 8607 was a GE U33C, SP Class GF633-1. Reportedly it was built in 1969, builders number 36906. The disposition of this locomotive is, retired 1984 and scrapped.
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Kodachrome Slide 2.3.1-116, Scan File 2008.7.14.1.1-ph

#trains #railroads #railroading #southernpacific #trainspotting #oaklandca #freighttrain #kodachrome  

Monterey Local Northbound

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On Tuesday, August 4, 2026, 3:50 p.m., at milepost 113, CP North Salinas, the Monterey local passed target signals as it left Salinas on its way back to Watsonville, CA. Power on this train was Union Pacific (UP) 1081 and 1126.
UP 1081 is an EMD GP60. Reportedly: it was built in 1990 as DRGW 3155 builder number 896043-2. It became UP 1901. Then it became UP 1081.
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Nikon D500, Nikon 18~140mm f3.5-5.6 DX lens image,
2026.11.6.1.139-ph

#trains #railroads #railroading #unionpacific #trainspotting #salinas_ca #uprr 

Train 538 at College Park

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On Monday, October 26, 2026, at College Park in San Jose, CA, northbound/eastbound Capitol Corridor Train 538 was shoved by California DOT (CDTX) 2005.
CDTX 2005 is an EMD F59PHI built in 1994, serial number 926339-5.
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Nikon D810, Nikon 85mm f1.8 FX AF lens,
2026.10.27.1.4-ph

#trains #railroads #railroading #capitolcorridor #transit #sanjose_ca #cdtx 

UP 675 at Sunol

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On Sunday, November 1, 2026, UP 675 was at Sunol on the Tri-City Society of Model Engineers (TCSME) model railroad club in the historic Niles depot in Fremont, CA. My model of UP 675 is a Proto 2000 Series model.
The real UP 675 was an ALCo RS27. Reportedly it was built in 1959 as ALCo demonstrator 640-2, serial number 83556. It was sold in 1971 Strobell Co., it was resold to Montreal Locomotive Works the same year and used in Canadian lease service as MLW 675; it was again sold to Devco Railway 214 in 1975.
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iPhone 18 Pro Image,
2026.11.2.14.31-ph

#trains #railroads #railroading #modelrailroading #HOscale #tcsme #niles 

U50C on the TCSME

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On Sunday, November 1, 2026, UP 5000 is at the Tri-City Society of Model Engineers (TCSME) model railroad club in the historic Niles depot in Fremont, CA. UP 5000 is my Scale Trains model.
The real UP 5000 was a GE U50C. Reportedly it was built in 1969, builder's number 37139, and scrapped in 1977.
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iPhone 18 Pro Image,
2026.11.2.14.17-ph 

 

#trains #railroads #railroading #modelrailroading #HOscale #tcsme #niles