Looks like they probably just had the hogs watered back at Dry Lake...and are on their way to Vernon, Ca for Farmer John. It was more than likely the NPLAZ
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I hired out on UP in June of 1993 in LA, though I lived in Vegas. I was able to exercise my seniority home in October of that year, just before this photo was taken. Mike is correct, the hogs would have just been watered at Dry Lake, the next siding east of Garnet. Nasty job; you didn't want to get any of that water on you. When the NPLAZ got to LA, a yard job would immediately tie-on and take them to Farmer John's, where the hogs were off-loaded and allowed to bask in the SoCal sun before being butchered the next day. Something about them needing a break after their long journey from points east... Inevitably, some of the hogs would die enroute, and the laborers at Farmer John would simply toos them out of the car. After having traveled a long way, the dead hogs would become bloated and full of nasty things. When they hit the ground they would literally explode; leaving a rather nasty mess... I remember one day we had a derailment at the Vegas yard involving one of these cars and it was listing at a 45 degree angle. The ones at the bottom got smushed. The rest got loose and there were oinkers everywhere!
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