Too good to last S
ometimes it’s the smaller railroads that can be the most enjoyable to watch. In a compara- tively short period of time about a decade ago, Pacific Harbor Line, a neutral switching rail- road in Southern California, went from a hodgepodge of secondhand locomotives with a myr-
iad of paint schemes to a modern roster consisting entirely of Tier 2 emissions compliant locomotives. Then, to top that, a few years later the company repowered many of the units with newer Tier 3 engine designs. That’s an impressive feat for any railroad, let alone one with less than 60 miles of track, only 20 of which are actual route miles. The Pacific Harbor Line is a newer railroad. It was formed in the late 1990’s to replace the frac- tured operational handicaps of the Harbor Belt Line, a switching operation owned jointly by Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and Santa Fe at the side-by-side ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Unlike the former HBL, PHL is considered a “neutral” switching operation that owns its own right- of-way. Run-through operations see UP and BNSF power bringing their unit trains right up to the docks and unloading facilities at portside. Operated by Anacostia & Pacific, a holding company with rail operations around the United States, PHL inherited a lot of HBL odds and ends, including a quasi-open air shop building that dates to the 1920’s and a headquarters building whose roof had regularly been dusted by steam locomotive soot. Originally, Pacific Harbor Line operated with a variety of motive power that could rarely be
matched elsewhere. Here, in one almost model railroad-like compact area, were four- and six-axle switchers and road switchers that created a living museum of locomotives from railroads past and present. Visiting fans were always treated to a riot of colorful locomotives. Original owners of PHL’s fleet, rebuilt or otherwise, many of which had already bounced from railroad to railroad, in- cluded Baltimore & Ohio; Boston & Maine; Canadian National; Chicago & North Western; Conrail; CSX; Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; Erie-Lackawanna; Harbor Belt Line; Illinois Central; Illi- nois Central Gulf; Maine Central; New Haven; Ohio Central; Penn Central; Rio Grande; Santa Fe; Southern; Southern Pacific, and Union Pacific. And, I probably left out a few. Some came to the PHL intact as their builder intended them; others were rebuilt with low-noses, spartan cabs, and the removal of various items such as dynamic brakes and turbochargers. Others were repainted in railroad colors they never wore. If I had this much of a mishmash of locomotives and paint schemes on a model railroad, you would have shaken your head and muttered to yourself, “Well, it’s his rail- road,. He can do what he wants, no matter unprototypical it is.” For the most part, this collection of locomotives and paint schemes was quite sensible. When PHL was looking for well-running used power that would benefit its operation, what they were painted in was the least of its worries. It’s what the individual unit could do for the bottom line that was important. One day, however, a day we all knew it would eventually come, it was over. Wanting to clean up its emissions act in a very sensitive air-quality area of Southern California and blessed with finan- cial incentives to do so, Pacific Harbor Lines began replacing its rolling museum of locomotives with brand new ones. Two models–MP20B-3’s and MP20C-3’s–came from Motive Power Indus- tries of Boise, Idaho. Outwardly they resembled EMD SD40’s and GP40’s from the 1960’s, but inter- nally hummed state-of-the-art equipment that made the units they replaced the antiques they tru- ly were. In addition, a handful of National Railway Equipment gensets now also graced the new roster, purchased to work industrial tracks just too tight for the larger units to switch. The biggest shock, however, was the new paint scheme. In an age where locomotive gaudiness is acceptable, these new units were decked out in utilitarian black with white striping, reminding many of an old Santa Fe paint scheme that adorned everything but cab units. As the new units began arriving, the older units began to be shut down, leaving the roster quick- er than many of us imagined. Many a last-minute run to the harbor to catch a few of the old-timers in action resulted in being just a little too late. If there is lesson to be learned from this, it is to not take for granted what we are presented with
today. I had read where many people stopped taking photos of their favorite railroads when steam disappeared. We shouldn’t do the same. Everything we see today should not be considered future- proof, which should be a reminder for us to look and enjoy each railfan moment as it comes. The new units that consigned the old ones to other railroads, or worse yet, the junker, are themselves in danger one day of becoming the ghosts of railroading past.
BOB MILLER photography/BOB MILLER 38 FEBRUARY 2014
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