After looking at this picture, one can understand why the Southern Railroad wanted to run their locomotives long hood forward at all times. Seems it was a good idea in safety for the crew.
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This looks very much like one of the Southern Railway units involved in an accident several days or possibly a week or more prior to this photos date. I believe this to be one of the trailing units of a southbound "Little Clipper" that entered the Southern's Lexington Yard through an open switch. The accident happened at night. A Southern switch crew was working the north end of the yard with a GP-7 or 9, coupled to two covered sand hoppers and a propane tanker. The switch was open, but the brakeman on the lead loco called the signal green. As the lead engine continued around the left hand curve the engineer also called green. The Little Clipper went into emergency when the engineer saw the switch was open to the yard. The freight piled into the Geep driving it half way through the first covered sand hopper. There were at least three SD's on the southbound freight. Ironically the only fatality was not train crew ! The engineer of the switcher had driven from northern Kentucky to Lexington, to work the night shift and had brought a teen age boy along to keep him awake on his drive home. The boy was in the Geep and died of shock on the way to the hospital. Cause signal malfunction.
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Please see photo ID: 219026, For a second engine involved in the Lexington, KY. wreck that damaged this one.
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