January-February, Page 29
RECENT RETIREES
OTHERS
Gaylord S. Clark, agent-telegrapher, Marcelle L. Valentine, Assistant cashier, both of San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway Company.

June, Page 28
RECENT RETIREES
OTHERS
David W. Eastridge, locomotive engineer, SD&AE.

June, Page 31
DEATHS
OTHERS
Pensioners: Jose J. Camacho, track laborer, San Diego & Arizona Eastern.

July, Page 29
RECENT RETIREES
OTHERS
Dave W. Eastridge, locomotive engineer, San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway Company.

November, Page 27
Keller Passes Away
Willard D. Keller, retired traffic manager for SP's subsidiary, the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway, died October 2 at his home in La Mesa, Calif., after a long illness. He was 66.
Keller also had served as district freight and passenger agent for Southern Pacific from his headquarters at San Diego. He retired in July, 1964, after 50 years of service.

November, Page 28
RECENT RETIREES
OTHERS
Donald Little, conductor, San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway.

December, Page 19-20
New Numbers for SP Locomotives
During the next six months, some 1,600 Southern Pacific and Cotton Belt locomotive units will be re-numbered, and all of the more than 2,200 units in service on the system will be re-classified.
Discussing the need for this step, W. D. Lamprecht, vice president-system operations, explains that "our present system of numbering and classifying locomotives has grown confusing over the years, as we have added new and different types of power to our locomotive fleet.
"SP people responsible for assigning, distributing and maintaining the diesel units can no longer obtain the information they need from the numbering system. They have to go through the time-consuming process of referring to timetables and classification books in order to determine what a given locomotive number and classification represents."
Under the present system, for example, Lamprecht points out, locomotive units of different types, made by different builders, and having different horsepower are often numbered in the same sequence.
The numbers of some Cotton Belt locomotives duplicate those of Texas and Louisiana lines locomotives - a particularly confusing factor since these units are now pooled with the rest of the system power fleet. The Cotton Belt and T&L units are also numbered according to a three digit system instead of the four digit system used on the Pacific Lines.
The new system will be simple and logical. All locomotives will be given four digit numbers. Units in switcher service will be numbered from 1100 to 2999, those in passenger service from 3000 to 3399, and those in freight service from 3400 up. Within each category, numbers will be assigned according to type of locomotive and in order of ascending horsepower.
Numbers appear in five places on each locomotive - on each side in 15-inch letters, on each end in 5-inch letters, in the cab in 1-inch letters. All of these must be changed during the re-numbering process, which will take place as locomotives are shopped for normal maintenance.
In addition, each locomotive has a classification number which appears in the cab. Under the new system, these numbers will be coded to indicate builder, type, number of axles, horsepower, and ownership and will show whether the locomotive is a road switcher type, an "A" unit or booster unit.
Here's an example of one of the new classification numbers:
EF415AC-1. Decoded, this is the information it conveys:
E - Electro Motive Division, General Motors, the builder.
F - freight unit
4 - number of axles
15 - horsepower in hundreds (i.e., 1500)
A - cab type unit
C - indicates Cotton Belt ownership
1 - shows it is one of first group of units in its classification to have been purchased.
To avoid confusion during the changeover to the new numbering system, special pains have been taken to avoid assigning new numbers which duplicate the old numbers. Special 80-page "dictionaries" will be issued to all who need them, listing the old numbers with the new numbers beside them, and vice-versa.
Switcher units with less than 800 horsepower and any other locomotives due for retirement by 1970 will not be renumbered.

December, Page 28
Recent RETIREES
OTHERS
Marguerite D. Martensen, utility clerk, San Diego & Arizona Eastern.

December, Page 30
DEATHS
OTHERS
JOSE S. Brenez, Agustin Gonzalez, both section laborers, San Diego & Arizona Eastern.

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This page last updated 12/07/2000