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WESTBOUND TO PALMDALE
Above: The Saugus Local trades loads for empties at Thatcher
Glass Mfg. Co., in Saugus. Below: The Westbound LAPTT snakes
along canyon trackage between Lang and Russ; a UP unit follows
the lead locomotive. Bottom: A westbound boxcar/piggyback
consist rolls over the 3,213-foot Vincent Summit. These views
were taken in August/September 1983. - BRUCE KELLY

The eastbound PLATT follows the Santa Clara River between
Tunnels 18 and 19 in Soledad Canyon in September 1983. The
flood of March 2, 1938, made a shambles of this area.
- BRUCE KELLY

usefulness into the 1980s as a corridor for oceangoing
containers and fast freight gliding along California's
industrial and agricultural spine .
•
The new Colton route came to the rescue of the Old
Road in the aftermath of February 197l's Sylmar earth-
quake. A 100-foot-high concrete overpass, still in con-
struction stages as part of an interchange from the I-5
"Ridge Route" to the Antelope Valley Freeway col-
lapsed directly onto the Saugus Line below the San
Fernando Tunnel (Tunnel 25 in SP's timetable); simi-
lar bridge failures blocked locations elsewhere on the
line. Tonnage continued to roll from Bakersfield to
L.A. by way of Cajon, but Soledad remained closed for
four more days of clean-up and repair work.

PACIFIC NEWS • 13