Orange County Signal History

Back in “the day”, Southern Pacific’s branches were veritable goldmines of Union Switch & Signal equipment.
The above picture sums up Southern Pacific’s quintessential operation in Orange County–the ring of Teardrop Bells, the incandescent flash of HC81s, and the signals split by ‘yard goats’ donning the classic scarlet-and-grey paint of the “Friendly Old Espee”.

Original caption on Steve Delano’s Site: “SP SW8 1125 crosses Collins Avenue in northeast Orange headed toward Villa Park in 1968.”

Also of note: the northernmost crossing on Batavia Avenue in Orange still sports a teardrop bell, along with two installed on the Nutwood Avenue crossing in Anaheim and one on a crossing of Fairview Road. However, these crossings are–at present–located in rather blighted areas, and thus may present a risk to document.