So, I didn't really notice at the time I took this picture on January 21. 2024 in Saginaw TX but this rack has the new CPKC logo on it. That's my first piece of rolling stock in the new name.
Houston Belt & Terminal Alco S-2 number 19, the Milby Street shops in Houston, Texas, September 8, 1965. Joe McMillan photo. Its stable mate at the Gulf Coast Chapter NRHS museum in Houston. Mar 21, 2012.
I wouldn't mind spending some time alone with either of them... or, for that matter, the AT&SF PA poking her nose into the photo next to #19...
On the right of the #19 is a Missouri Pacific GP7, #310. The H&BT Milby Street shops provided maintenance for all the member railroads at that time. Santa Fe, MoPac, Burlington and Rock Island as well as their own motive power. It was always fun to drive by and see the collection of engines there. Somehow I have lost all my photos that I took there back in the 1970s when I was attending classes not far from there at the University of Houston.
I did get to see my shadow on February 1st as a westbound UP train full of new military equipment gets shipped. Bertram, Iowa Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Looks like the JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) which is replacing the HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, as referred to as a Hummer or Humvee). I believe Oshkosh got the contract, but it could be IH. Been a few years since I’ve been in units with this type of equipment. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Looks like it has both Jeep and Hummer genes. What improvements are there which make it better than predecessors? Durability? Survivability? Maintenance?
So I don’t have any personal experience with these- since I’m at a point in my career where my assignments are no longer in tactical organizations-but my limited understanding is that the hull shape and increases survivability and it may also have a little more maneuverability. They began fielding them a few years ago, but I was in armor units then, and those units usually weren’t the first priority to receive these and replace our HMMWVs. I’ve seen some 3D prints of them on that auction website if you want to have these on your layout and the Oshkosh Defense web page has some more photos and info if you’d like to know more. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oskosh got the contract. They're better armored than the Humvees and more survivable, especially in IED attacks. They're a lot heavier - 22,000 lbs for the JLTV versus 5000 to 6000 lbs for the Humvee. And bigger. Nice machines. I love those B&W photos. And on the subject of asymmetrical... SW1200 leading an SD38? The yard goat and the ox!
The J crew would get approval from the tower to enter the C&NW interchange track and roll down closer to the restaurant they liked. Here they are, returning after lunch.
I can see it just barely, it's almost blending in with the 4th handrail stanchion back from the cab. Easy to miss in B&W!
The Swift road railer runs east, as it passes the parked SNTC. A Cadillac is dwarfed by its newer EMD brothers. Mojave Yard, Mojave CA.
I wonder if those are the ones our son's armor unit was testing. Whatever they were , they didn't like that you couldn't lay a stretcher across the back seats like you could with their Hummers. Doors too narrow, and the truck was too narrow as well, I think.
Their specs show they're longer, wider and higher than the Humvee. The military did say that the JLTV isn't supposed to replace all of the Humvees in all duties. Maybe ambulance duties will keep some of the latter in service for some time, while the former will go into where the action is while keeping their crews safer from enemy fire and IEDs. Nothing but the best for those who defend our freedom!
Our son Jonah confirms that the vehicle he showed us was the JLTV. As I recall, while the body of the vehicle is wide, the passenger compartment, unlike the Humvee, is narrower. In order to fit a stretcher, you have to drive with the doors open, and again, unlike the Humvee, the doors are not easily removed (which makes sense since Humvee doors are largely decorative anyway). He did say that there a a lot of variants of the JLTV and that his unit had ordered a highback canvas for their two-seater version so that they could use it for stretcher evacuations.
