12-12-2011, 02:30 PM
Actually, "Santa Fe in South LA" isn't a geographically precise location, though I understand you're freelancing. But this also affects your prototype choices. "South LA" to a person who lives in the area generally would mean the area roughly south of Santa Barbara Avenue (1950s) or Martin Luther King Bl (now). The Santa Fe's route through the area was part of its Harbor District, which went from Slauson Junction west to the South Bay beach cities and then back east through Torrance to Wilmington. Road freights operated on this line. Common locos in the 1950s would have been GP7s, Baldwin centercabs, and even FM H16-44s. The more modern Baldwin and Alco S series switchers could also be found. The area you're talking about that used the HHs was farther north and closer to downtown Los Angeles. Up through the 1970s, the Santa Fe served auto plants and aerospace companies on the Harbor line, which could make for some potentially interesting industries. (Actually, a very interesting location on this line was at Wise, near Manhattan Beach, where the Santa Fe Harbor District crossed the Pacific Electric El Segundo line. By the 1950s this would have been freight only, but it gives you some potentially interesting equipment comparisons nevertheless.)