SP Jawbone Branch (Part 38) - Freight Forwarders & Connecting Freight Symbols

In this post, I'm moving away from the Jawbone Branch that I'm modeling, and to the larger world around it, through which the cars to and from the Jawbone travel.  La Mesa Model Railroad Club in San Diego has modeled the areas that I'm talking about.  So I will be using my photos from the last 26 years of operating sessions.

Mojave Shorts West

SP Mojave Shorts West works Caliente on the LMRC layout.

The Mojave Shorts West works from the Los Angeles Yard (Taylor Yard) west with "Shorts" traffic to Mojave where most of the traffic for the area around Mojave is exchanged for another block of cars going west of Bakersfield.  Some low-priority through cars for points short of Fresno may continue west of Mojave to Bakersfield after spending a day being sorted out in the Mojave yard.

Mojave Shorts East

Typical mid-train photo of Mojave Shorts East between Cliff and Cable on the LMRC layout.

The Mojave Shorts East works from Bakersfield east to Mojave where most of inbound cars for Mojave are exchanged with outbound cars from the local freights that work out of Mojave.  Eastward cars arriving from the local trains into Mojave are resorted and make up a new strings of cars the train continues to Los Angeles Yard (Taylor Yard).

Santa Fe Interchange at Mojave

ATSF 265 with N-34 switching on the old A&P mainline in Mojave, Jason Hill photo at LMRC.

The Santa Fe freight symbols N-34 and BAW are the regulars that work Mojave.  While Santa Fe does have agreements with the SP to solicit traffic off the Jawbone Branch (mostly China Lake, Trona and West End), the SP hauls the traffic to Mojave then hands it off to the Santa Fe.  Traffic also can come in on the Santa Fe to the Jawbone Branch.

Although there are photos of ATSF boxcars on the Jawbone branch.  These are probably from two sources. 1. ATSF home cars to support the traffic that they have solicited on the Jawbone.  2. ATSF freight forwarder cars traveling to destinations on the Jawbone Branch.

Searles Turn

Trona Rwy Engine 50 & 51 at Searles - This is the interchange train with the SP's Searles Turn. - Jason Hill collection.

The Searles Turn works out of Mojave and primarily interchanges with the Trona Railway at Searles, called Searles Station on the Trona Rwy about 40 miles Northeast of Mojave.  I suspect that the Searles Turn was allowed to go as far as Inyokern for heavy interchange to the US Navy Weapons Center, China Lake.   The Employe Timetables show heavy engines being allowed as far as Inyokern, so that would make since that the job could go that far without getting into trouble.  China Lake had it's own US Navy switcher, so the SP simply dropped and picked up cars on the interchange track.

I'm not sure if the Searles Turn worked the smaller spurs between Searles and Mojave, such as Saltdale and Cantil, or if the Owenyo Local worked those and the Searles Turn stayed with the largest two interchange stations on the branch.

Owenyo Local "Long Haul"

SP 3237 works cars at Bartlett on the Jawbone branch - Leo Barusch photo - Dani Collection (color balanced)

Worked between Mojave and Owenyo, primarily north (compass) of Inyokern I suspect, see comment above.  This was 143 miles by rail through the desert, although no two scenes were the same along the way.  The eastern side of the Sierra-Nevada constantly changed, with the mountain range to the east, including the White Mountains changing as well and the valleys in between marked with evidence of various geologically activities.

Local Freight Loading

Freight Forwarders

Santa fe Freight House LA - Photographer Unk

Street side freight docks to transload goods to boxcars to move around the nation using the companies known as freight forwarders.

Acme Fast Freight (SP)

The SP contracted with Acme Fast Freight for their freight forwarding services.  This isn't to be confused with the SP subsidiary Pacific Motor Transport (PMT) which is famous for the L.C.L. freight movements around the SP system.  Acme was the 'friendly' connection to the off-line freight forwarders.

PMT Loading at LA Freight House - Alden Armstrong photo

The SP Freight House at Los Angeles would handle the PMT and Acme freight needs for the Jawbone Branch.  The Jawbone might also get the occasional carload of freight forwarder traffic consolidated coming from the Bay Area at Oakland, but more likely it was gathered at Los Angeles as the closest large freight house to consolidate the carloads.  I suppose Mojave's Freight House might have also re-consolidated regular cars from LA or Oakland into more local service L.C.L. or Freight Forwarder carloads for the various branch lines.  

SP 2751 at Little Lake 1950 serpico_little_lake003_sml - Owens Valley History,com

Some stations such as Little Lake on the Jawbone did have a small freight platform on the mainline as late as 1950, so this suggests that the regular local freight would have a single L.C.L. or Freight Forwarder car that was worked en route and stopped briefly to work each of the very small freight docks.

Western Car Loading (ATSF)

Typical Santa Fe boxcar used for Freight Forwarder loading around California.

Like Acme Fast Freight for the SP, the Santa Fe preferred Western Car Loading for their freight forwarding service.

Station Codes

My planned Employe Time Table for the Jawbone Branch layout.

By the post-war years the SP had established a system of station code numbers.  1511 was Bakersfield, which would be the immediate destination of all westward Jawbone Branch cars and 3429 Los Angeles Yard would be the eastward traffic.  Beyond which the cars would probably have additional routing information provided.

I'll probably use these to some extent, but in a way this is the unfortunate part of modeling a branchline which is not part of the SP's main trunk route with the bridge traffic moving through between a variety of station numbers.  It would be interesting to set up a model railroad to use these station codes properly.  I know the ATSF used these station codes, based on mile posts, regularly to help direct cars with only 4-5 digits.  I'm not sure what logic was behind the SP's station numbering system.

I can certainly use this system for inbound cars going to 3144 (Owenyo), 3130 (Bartlett), and 3089 (Little Lake) with 1579 being Mojave on my switch lists.  I'm considering some form of spot numbering as well, shown on the station drawings.

In Closing

Hopefully this larger view will help expand the view of my layout's position in the larger world.

SP 102856 post-war B-50-28 boxcar SPNG Owenyo Transfer Dock 1954 - owensvalleyhistory,com (s-l1600_ebay01_sml)

It will be fun to incorporate these traffic routings into the operations on my layout, but I have the feeling they will be pretty shallow, and not as in-depth as I'm used to in the past.

Jason Hill

Related Articles:

Jawbone Branch Index Page - Links to all my blog posts on my new Jawbone Branch layout.