A friend photographed this out of the Baldwin Magazine and touched it up for contrast. The camouflaged Whitcombs in Africa during WW II. Steve
I wonder just jow many pilots were fooled by sheeting an engine to appear as a box car? Seems like either position in a train, or a side view would negate that effort.
The Rochelle Newspapers, Popular Science, Trains and Baldwin Magazine all covered this story and all reported that it was very successful. Steve
Thanks for posting, the engine disguised as box car was nifty trick that worked . I have seen many straffing videos and nearly all show the AC ( ours and theirs ) attacking from the rear focusing on the head end ... with the absence of steam I bet the axis pilots were confused as to which end to shoot at when stationary ...
Makes sense, the pilot doesn't have to worry about leading the target if flying behind or in front. From those angles the locomotive/box car would be near impossible to detect, the pilot could only see the roof. This is the only photograph that I have been able to find of the camouflaged Whitcombs. I would love to find the original and any others if they exist, but at least this photo does exist. I was afraid that like Pearl Harbor, photography would be prohibited due to security concerns. Steve
The bound volume of Baldwin Magazine came from University of Illinois Library and made scanning impossible - couldn't lay flat with the book being so thick. Had to photograph it. Steve
Some more Whitcomb adds from WW II Baldwin Magazines. I've been gone for a while. I had a mini stroke (1-2mm) on November 13th at work and have been doing a bit of testing. I'm fine and feel better than ever. Doctor said I was lucky and I'm following their orders. Steve
Steve, Glad to hear your stroke was minor ... still , enough to make things slow down . I take blood thinners etc . sure make the mouth dry ... Thanks for posting the fotos of the book, the steam shovel loading is way cool with the steamer shoving !! ( must be a Baldwin eh ? )
Sorry to read of the stroke. Glad to know all will be well! Any news updates on preservation efforts for that one engine?
Due to your question I called the gentleman and he says that the engine is still available to us. I have talked to our city manager and he seems interested. I now have to light a fire under him to get a study started on the cost of moving this Whitcomb back home and submit a proposal to the company that owns it. By the way, that same company has another diesel locomotive retired that is up for adoption. It appears to be an EMD SW1 in Thorton, Illinois. Steve
Sounds like really good news to me. Hope they're willing to allow you the time, to get an effort rolling. An SW1? Might not seem to be an exciting engine for some folks, but their numbers have been slowly shrinking. If nobody steps up for it, that will be a very sad ending.
The engine has sat for 3 years and the gentleman is hoping to save it from destruction. He says no big rush - wait until after the holidays to get serious. The IRM owns an SW1 and it is the only locomotive cab that I have ever riden in. I have a video of it on Facebook but don't know if it would link here. At the Illinois Railway Museum 5-4-2013 Me after riding in the EMD SW1 My brother-in-law (left with the Sox shirt) in the cab. He drove it that day. Steve
SW1 are cool little workers. I had a deal to buy one, a little over twenty five years ago. But could not locate any place to keep it. So, it ended up being scrapped.
49-0158 General Motors Locomotive Model # SW1 Serial # 1017 Engine Model # 6-567 Engine Serial # 887 Thornton, Illinois Running condition If interested I can get you the phone number. Steve
I've seen these in far worse condition. Decent batteries? Is this the original owner? Oh for my younger days, and those better finances I had back then.
I posted this SW-1 in Railway Preservation News and in 2 days it has over 1,000 views and 5 offers from museums and one individual who want the locomotive. Power of the internet. And the guy who is in charge of this unit just asked me if I knew anyone who might want it. I'd say so. Steve
