My railfan friend, George Manley took all of these photos. He has been railfanning for well over 6 decades. They are not the sharpest shots in town as age has caught up with the negatives, but George made many trips to the Feather River Canyon and elsewhere to shoot as many Western Pacific F-units as possible. When he finally realized the FT’s were disappearing, it was too late…but the F’s were still strong. With a little luck…on a good day…George Manley could catch 6 to 8 trains in “the Canyon” and on bad days…maybe two to four.
Matt
Photo #1:
The date is 1964 and George went with two other railfanners to photograph the McCloud RR in Northern California. They went to a place called Lookout. There they saw 2 Baldwins and the McCloud #25. There was also a Western Pacific (WP) F-unit, including the #914-A alongside the McCloud #25.
Photo #2:
The date is April of 1971 at the Keddie Rail Yard. The A-B-A led by #915-D has three US Army 65 tonners being switched. George never saw which direction the 65 tonners went. You never know what you’ll see on the rails and this was a lucky photo catch!
Photo #3:
WP WB led by three F’s and #915-A on the point just as they were rolling out of Oroville, CA, yard. The date is July 1972. The location that George took the photo from is now a tract of homes!
Photo #4:
The date is October 1972 and the SN detour with #915-D is in the process of switching at Pittsburg, CA. The WP would bring 10-35 cars out of Pittsburg to Stockton, CA, over the Santa Fe rails.
Photo #5:
The date is August 1965 and the location is the Oroville roundhouse where
#915-D and #914-D are waiting for their next assignment.
Photo #6:
A northbound SWG #138 is on the bridge with an A-B-A helper cut in. F-unit #916-D was in the lead for the 2.2% climb just ahead.
Photo#7:
The second #916-D is on the point of a six unit set of WP F’s in Vancouver, WA on September 1971. The WP F’s began run-throughs to Vancouver and the BN/SP&S began running their power through to Stockton, CA.
All photos courtesy of George Manley
