Not exactly in Cali, but............. A few ex-SP six-axle Geeps in the Beaver State: LLW SD9 4433 at Independence, OR. On occasion, it gets leased out to the Portland & Western. Kinda curious- was this the diesel George Lavacort repainted? GP9 3859 in Lebanon, OR. IIRC, it has since been refurbished & repainted. SD7 1501, the PNWR's Albany (OR) yard switcher. She ain't pretty, but she runs...... And just a little further southeast...... At Omnitrax's shops, Loveland, CO. The place was a repository for old Geeps.
Excellent thread! I have also heard that Mr. Lavacot has taken a lot of flak over painting the trucks silver on that black widow SD of his. My take is that he did such a fabulous job on the rest of it that I am just thankful that he went to all that work. He could have rattle-canned the whole thing primer gray or butt pink.
So who gave the SD9 the nickname Cadillacs and why ?? I'm sure they rode real nice at that time to get a name like that.
I don't know how that name came about exactly, but I know a lot of Portland and Western engineers like the old SD-9s because of the smooth ride.
Portland & Western SD9 1854 "Beaverton" is a former Espee unit. The "Beaverton" has just been painted and as of this morning was in St. Helens Oregon
