This one was suggest to me sometime ago by Keith. (now hopefully, he doesn't answer it...) Last of it's type in regular passenger service. What locomotive type? What road numbers? What paint scheme? What's special about it?
I thought 2860 was more on the order of a tourist/excursion type operation, rather than rregular passenger.
up into 1999, the 2860 was ran daily on the BCR mainline from Vancouver to Squamish, yes, it was a tourist run, but it still was the LAST Hudson in a regular passenger service.
I'll take a whack at it: CB&Q E-5. #9911, Silver Pilot is the last operating example. Only 11A's were built, and all for CB&Q-family roads. 9911 resides at Illinois Railway Museum. Paint scheme? None. Solid, gleaming 18-10 stainless steel! What's special? The fluted stainless side panels matched the Budd Zephyr lightweight cars it hauled. Wikipedia info: [TABLE="class: wikitable"] [TR] [TH]Railroad[/TH] [TH]Cab-equipped A units[/TH] [TH]Cabless booster B units[/TH] [TH]Road numbers A units[/TH] [TH]Road numbers B units[/TH] [TH]Notes[/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad[/TD] [TD]9[/TD] [TD]3[/TD] [TD]9910A–9912A, 9909, 9913, 9914A,B, 9915A,B[/TD] [TD]9910B–9912B[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Colorado and Southern Railway[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]9950A[/TD] [TD]9950B[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Fort Worth and Denver Railway[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]1[/TD] [TD]9980A[/TD] [TD]9980B[/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TH]Total[/TH] [TH]11[/TH] [TH]5[/TH] [TH][/TH] [TH][/TH] [/TR] [/TABLE]
I should say in the past tense, not present, so was in use, not still is in use. So, this loco was the last of it's type in use in regular passenger service. 9911 is not the correct answer.
The word "locomotive" to me indicates steam. So paint scheme would have probably been mostly black. Perhaps a graphite painted smoke box. I believe the last such in the USA was GTW 4-8-4 #6323, on September 20, 1961. But this probably is not the answer.
I really think thast this is too vague, I could mention SP DH-643 9151, one of 3 ALCO Hydrolics and the only one to pull a passenger train, or the SP commute pool, that pulled passenger trains until 1980, or even the D&RGW Rio Grande Zypher that used F9's like 5771 in Aspen Gold until 1983.....
GG1 4879 was the last GG1 to pull a passenger train in NJT black in October 1983, but again, not a diesel, this quiz is sooooooooooooooooooo vague that I can throw out a ton of correct answers and still be wrong....D&H PA1 #16 in a blue "warbonnet" was the last PA to run a passenger train in the US on 10/31/78....
2-5-75...Southern Pacific 3031was the last Fairbanks Morse loco to pull a passenger train in regular service...
lol, well, a little help might be needed...the F9 was saved by the CRM and was the last non-commute intercity class 1 non-AMTRAK passenger train