SP&S Number 2 - Combined Empire Builder/North Coast Limited

SP&S 806 - Train No. 2, Portland, Oregon - August 23, 1968

The biggest daily railroad event in the pre Amtrak, pre merger era in the City of Roses, had to be the departure of SP&S Number 2. A civilized early afternoon departure and a consist made up of the some of the finest and most colorful passengers cars, made it the star of the Portland Terminal. On the left is probably an interchange consist off of the SP, note the CP newsprint cars.

Check out this marvelous comment from Jim 700:

I'm sitting in the fireman's seat. SP&S engines 806 and 801. Engineer Ken Boyse and fireman Jim Abney on duty at Hoyt Street Roundhouse at 2:30 PM. Ken tied up at Pasco at 7:30 PM and I continued on to Spokane with Spokane engineer Warren Thomas where we tied up at 10:30 PM after being relieved at the GN/SP&S Havermale Island depot by outbound SP&S #1's crew engineer Gilbert Abney (Jim's dad) and his fireman who would have the 801-806 westbound.

I thought I was really in the chips in those days having earned $77.35 for the trip. The PDX-PSC portion of the trip paid me the basic day plus a 30" steam heat arbitrary (ten miles) totaling $23.16 plus 131 overmiles for $24.37. The PSC-SPK portion paid $2.11 for the steam heat arbitrary plus 149 overmiles for $27.71.

On the return trip I was on duty at 9:50 PM at Spokane with engineer Warren Thomas to relieve my father and his fireman who were arriving on SP&S #2 of the 24th with engines 804-800. We arrived in Pasco at 12:10 AM where Warren tied up at 2:30 AM and I continued on to Portland with Portland engineer Ivan Beherns. We had a delay at Pasco for a late NP #25's Portland cars and departed there at 3:55 AM (which earned us an Initial Terminal arbitrary of 1'05") and tied up at Portland at 7:45 AM. My pay for the return trip was $83.03.

The delay to #25 probably occurred not many hours eastward. If it had been known earlier the SP&S would likely have deadheaded their relief diner to Pasco on SP&S #4 to meet NP #25 whose Portland cars and the diner would have departed Pasco behind steam generator equipped SP&S RS-2 60, 61 or 62, one of which was always kept on the SP&S job at Pasco to provide passenger relief power.