Guest
After the 50 Year Anniversary of the L.A. Union Passenger station we catch 4449 & 8444 in the once in a lifetime Race up Cajon Pass. The awesome Aerial video was all shot from a helicopter. I have no history of who the photographer was as I came across a copy of it at a railroad swap meet and the only info was in black marker about the engine numbers and LA Union station. In researching the run up Cajon Pass I learned that it really wasn't a race, according to crew members both engine crews were in communication and adjusted speed so they could run up the pass together. The reason for the excessive smoke from 4449 was because Taylor yard didn’t have heavy crude oil and substituted diesel fuel instead. The problem with diesel fuel is it has a lower BTU value and to get the heat out of the fuel they had to over fire the engine, also diesel soots a lot more and coats the flues resulting in reduced efficiency. To keep the flues clean they had to constantly add sand in the firebox to try and
