Portola in Plumas County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Western Pacific Railroad 501
Diesel Electric Switching Locomotive
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2016
1. Western Pacific Railroad 501 Marker
Inscription.
Western Pacific Railroad 501. Diesel Electric Switching Locomotive. This little engine was the Western Pacific's first diesel-electric locomotive. Sent west by the Electro Motive Corporation in 1939 to demonstrate the virtues of diesel power to the WP, the railroad tried the locomotive in various locations and services in late September. Management liked what it could do and authorized the purchase of the engine and the building of two sisters within two months of its arrival. This event marked the beginning of the company's push to eliminate steam locomotives. Less than 14 years later, the WP became the first large western railroad to be completely dieselized., The 501 worked at a number of terminals, including San Francisco, where it was needed to eliminate smoke and steam while spotting cars inside a can factory. Early in her career, the engine most often worked the yards and spurs in Oakland or San Francisco, including switching the barges and ferries that carried freight cars between the two cities. In later years, it was more likely to be found in Sacramento or leased to subsidiary Sacramento Northern., In 1965, the 501 and sister 502 were formally transferred to the Sacramento Northern (a onetime electric interurban railroad). They were renumbered SN 401 and 402 and used to eliminate the SN's last electrified freight operation, located between Marysville and Yuba City, California. A "hangar queen" (locomotive from which parts are stripped to keep others running) by the late 1970s, some believed this historic locomotive would never run again. However, in 1980, 401/501 was repaired and sold to Corn Products Corporation in Stockton, California for use as a plant switcher. In 1987, Corn Products donated the locomotive to the Feather River Rail Society. It has since been restored to its original Western Pacific appearance., builder . Electro-Motive Corporation, division of General Motors , built . August 1939 , type . SW1 , horsepower . 600 , serial number . 906 , original cost . $64,525.00 , top speed . 45 MPH , operating weight . 201,000 lbs , acquisition . donated by Corn Products
This little engine was the Western Pacific's first diesel-electric locomotive. Sent west by the Electro Motive Corporation in 1939 to demonstrate the virtues of diesel power to the WP, the railroad tried the locomotive in various locations and services in late September. Management liked what it could do and authorized the purchase of the engine and the building of two sisters within two months of its arrival. This event marked the beginning of the company's push to eliminate steam locomotives. Less than 14 years later, the WP became the first large western railroad to be completely dieselized.
The 501 worked at a number of terminals, including San Francisco, where it was needed to eliminate smoke and steam while spotting cars inside a can factory. Early in her career, the engine most often worked the yards and spurs in Oakland or San Francisco, including switching the barges and ferries that carried freight cars between the two cities. In later years, it was more likely to be found in Sacramento or leased to subsidiary Sacramento Northern.
In 1965, the 501 and sister 502 were formally transferred to the Sacramento Northern (a onetime electric interurban railroad). They were renumbered SN 401 and 402 and used to eliminate the SN's last electrified freight operation, located between Marysville and Yuba City, California. A
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"hangar queen" (locomotive from which parts are stripped to keep others running) by the late 1970s, some believed this historic locomotive would never run again. However, in 1980, 401/501 was repaired and sold to Corn Products Corporation in Stockton, California for use as a plant switcher. In 1987, Corn Products donated the locomotive to the Feather River Rail Society. It has since been restored to its original Western Pacific appearance.
builder Electro-Motive Corporation, division of General Motors built August 1939 type SW1 horsepower 600 serial number 906 original cost $64,525.00 top speed 45 MPH operating weight 201,000 lbs acquisition donated by Corn Products
Erected by Western Pacific Railroad Museum.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical month for this entry is August 1930.
Location. 39° 48.217′ N, 120° 28.597′ W. Marker is in Portola, California, in Plumas County. It can be reached from Western Pacific Way Ό mile west of Main Street. Marker is mounted directly on the subject locomotive, on exhibit in the Western Pacific Railroad Museum yard. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 700 Western Pacific Way, Portola CA 96122, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in California’s Shasta Cascade and in the Sierra Nevada. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, in the Cascade Range, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
Also see . . . Western Pacific 501. The Electro-Motive Corporation, a subsidiary of General Motors that would become the Electro-Motive Division (EMD), had begun making a line of diesel-electric switching locomotives. To promote this new technology, they built several demonstrators and offered them to various railroads for testing. The WP accepted and on September 26, 1939, plain black SW1 906 began a 30 day trial. It was put through a variety of tests, including switching the yards at Elko and Stockton and working the industrial trackage in San Francisco. The results were outstanding: the little engine could out pull one of the road's 0-6-0
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2016
3. Western Pacific Locomotive #501 Cab
steam switchers and it always seemed ready to go. In less than a month the WP was convinced, and by mid-October they requested EMC to build two more units. (Submitted on December 26, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2016
4. Western Pacific Locomotive #501
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2016
5. Western Pacific Locomotive #501
Credits. This page was last revised on December 27, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 25, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 599 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on December 26, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
