And back to late posting This is some of the Local power out of Roseville. I believe this set runs into the City to switch Sacramento businesses vs. heading out to the Exurbs which generally rates 6 axles in 2021. It's an interesting pair. I don't think I've seen a true GP39-2 in years and years. I don't know how it made it's way out here, but I'm glad it did. In the modelling world, the would be a phase 3, The Exhaust Silencer, extended range dynamics and at least 1 Q fan (though they've clearly been replaced) make that clear. More interesting to me is that both this unit and the GP40-2 it's connected are on Blomberg-B, not Blomberg-M Trucks. And on closer inspection. At least the 39-2 has Dofasco trucks. To my knowledge only GE and some Alcos run on Dofascos. Usually Blombergs have Stylized EMD logos. Interesting, to me at least As for it's mate, the plated over nose headlight makes clear that this is a former Rio Grande unit.
Photo taken from an upstairs window of the old Santa Fe depot in Temple, Texas in 1994. This one is from a few days ago when passing through Monroe, Louisiana. Some KCS action.
A pair of GE products lead NS 21M West at Wyomissing JCT. 21M is crossing over from Track 1 to 2 in front of a SD70ACe holding Track 1 with its train. 21M has trailers on the head end and containers trailing.
CN 6400, class U-4-a Northern, built by MLW in 1936: CN proper had five of them, and GTW had six near-copies built by Lima.
One day in the fall of 1996, shortly after moving from Yale to Marlette, I got in my truck and took a ride up to Bad Axe to get a case of motor oil and do some christmas shopping for my wife. Back then, Bad Axe was the heart and soul of the Huron and Eastern Railway, so I stuck my camera bag in the truck because, well, you never know. At that time, the Bad Axe enginehouse was home base for HESR's four ex-P&LE GP38-2's. No mistake, what I saw there definitely was not one of those. When I cruised around the block to see if there was anything going on behind the enginehouse, things got even wierder. Shortly, I met the general manager coming out of the depot. He was very forthcoming about rather odd (to say the least) situation. The GP9 was one of two that GTW had donated to the Saginaw Railway museum. It had a shot traction motor, but GTW had included a good one with the donation. Since Huron and Eastern was dealing with a power shortage, the museum had offered them a deal- fix it and you can use it- which the railroad quickly accepted and had the old geep running again in short order. The F unit was a different situation. Apparently, HESR's parent company RailAmerica had just taken over the former Gettysburg railroad and wanted nothing to do with another boiler explosion. They had decided to avoid the need to recruit a qualified steam crew by operating a vintage diesel. The unit had been sent to Bad Axe to be painted. (Note that the windshields are still masked) I went on to finish my shopping and got to see the GP9 leave town on a freight that afternoon. The museum eventually sold it. It's now owned by Great Lakes Locomotive and so far as I am aware is leased to the Steam Railroading Institute. Not sure, but I'm going to guess it's used to pull some of the excursions that would not pay the coal and water bills for 1225.
I just found a photo from this year http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=5492521 and other than the GLLX added on the cab, it's still in Burdakin Blue paint (though with somewhat less paint and more rust than your photo...), the GT symbol hasn't been patched out, and still wearing the same road number. Cool!
Yesterday morning this westbound oil can was waiting for a crew. I was a quarter mile away, so the zoom really amplifies the imperfections of the rails even on the 45mph mainline. The tail of the train is in the background going over the 'hump' on the east end of town. It is a good little climb! Later in the day on the same mainline, this set was sitting most of the day after that oil can left. The third unit is a Progress Rail 1610 in tow with a capped stack. More pics here, https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/bnsf-glendive-mt.85243/page-45#post-1176449
Nice catch on that CN and Soo lashup! I was in N&W's namesake town for a week, so got some Chesapeake and Norfolk area action. Amtrak train 95, approaching the Norfolk station stop, and crossing the Elizabeth River at Bridge 5, a bascule lift bridge. Elsewhere in Chesapeake, a triple bridge crossing of a local road, NS' 2MT mainline to Lambert's Point Yard and I-464. On the bridge was some nicely-preserved history.
That F unit has me curious. 81A is a Milwaukee Road number. Also published in a Trains Magazine article "Mr. Clean's Machine". I saw that unit many times, but is really the old gal far from her home?
