SP 9150 with the Valley Perishable Drag
In the mid 1960s, there was a daily morning drag freight between Fresno and Roseville that picked up perishable cars along the Stockton Subdivision. Here the train is starting up from a stop at West Modesto after picking up a single mechanical reefer. During this era, perishables were being transported in a mix of mechanical, iced reefers and refrigerated TOFC, and this train typifies that mix. The lead unit is ALCo DH643 9150, one of three hydraulic drive locomotives put together by ALCo with a pair of ALCo 251 engines each teamed with a Voith hydraulic transmission. The domestic traction experiment was offered as an alternative to the maintenance-intensive KM hydraulics, but it did not meet with success. Three of these units were built and they lasted a bit longer than the German-built units. The supporting and venerable B-unit had long ago proven it's worth.
SP 9150 with the Valley Perishable Drag
In the mid 1960s, there was a daily morning drag freight between Fresno and Roseville that picked up perishable cars along the Stockton Subdivision. Here the train is starting up from a stop at West Modesto after picking up a single mechanical reefer. During this era, perishables were being transported in a mix of mechanical, iced reefers and refrigerated TOFC, and this train typifies that mix. The lead unit is ALCo DH643 9150, one of three hydraulic drive locomotives put together by ALCo with a pair of ALCo 251 engines each teamed with a Voith hydraulic transmission. The domestic traction experiment was offered as an alternative to the maintenance-intensive KM hydraulics, but it did not meet with success. Three of these units were built and they lasted a bit longer than the German-built units. The supporting and venerable B-unit had long ago proven it's worth.