In the early days locomotives would appear lettered, and in this case painted, in PAL colors, only to last a short time. This nice looking ex-TASD unit had friction bearings, anachronistic even i... (more)

A Westbound Central of Georgia Railway freight train no. 29 passes West Opelika signal in March of 1954. Photo by J. Parker Lamb.

Bandits
After a bankruptcy and long wait for a savior through merger, Milwaukee Road’s physical plant was not the best. This included the weathered paint on its locomotives. New owner ... (more)

Back in early PAL days paint didn't matter much so some interesting but dirty consists materialized. I've always wondered if those GE motors on Alco trucks pulled better. I like the look.

Labor Day weekend and the yard is chock full of motive power and totally empty of human beings. We were like kids in a candy store. This unit seemed rather out of place but I'm not really famili... (more)

Superfleet scheme ATSF 553 hurries a stack train eastward toward Chicago just north of Ancona, IL on their double track speedway across Illinois, passing under a classic ATSF cantilever signal wit... (more)

BN 3024, former CB&Q 624, sits at the former GN Harrison St. roundhouse in Minneapolis, MN. The unit has had its Mars light removed which was becoming pretty common for former Burlington power by ... (more)

ATSF 3706 receives some TLC at Needles California in 1933. The 4-8-2 has an eight car Chief in tow. Otto Perry photo, from my collection.

GUTHRIE OK Sept 4 1978 — Santa Fe GP7 2795 is tied down at the station awaiting switching work. EMD built the unit (s/n 17450) in October 1952 and delivered it in silver/aluminum/white zebra str... (more)

Southern Indiana is flat, more or less, not what the boy from Appalachia thinks of as coal country but nevertheless they produce millions of tons from pit mining and three railroads converged at ... (more)

AT&SF train number 20, The Chief, is seen at Needles California in 1933. Otto Perry photo, from my collection.

The pay was low and erratic but being in the equipment business had its fringe benefits like the guided tours such as one that got us a trip through this great operation. This unit was originally... (more)

In VMV's heyday, they'd get a unit, slap VMV or PAL on the slide and assign it to PAL until the unit was sold, rebuilt or failed. The only trick was finding a PAL train running in the daytime. Th... (more)

In 1989, the AT&SF sold its former TP&W line to a new TP&W corporation, including 19 GP20 locomotives in the deal. A TP&W train in the 1990's typically included a consist of well-worn GP20s, some... (more)

AMARILLO TX Sept 11 1983 — Santa Fe GP7us 2208 and 2179 await an assignment at the engine facility. EMD built the unit as GP7 2740 (s/n 16384) in August 1952 and delivered it in zebra stripe pai... (more)