The Diesel Shop at Year--30 |
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August 1995: Mid-summer of 1995, BNSF rolled-out
SD70MAC #9647 wearing an one-of-a-kind paint scheme; the six-axle EMD generated lots of attention
and comment from within-in the railfan community -- Most of it negative. As might be expected,
any effort to replace ATSF's traditional red and silver "war bonnet" was going to be met with
little enthusiasm. "Barf-bonnet" and "vomit-bonnet" seemed to be the most popular descriptions.
Photo was taken at Irving, Texas on August 27th. (Ron Thur photograph / David Hawkins collection)
Atlantic & Canada Adventure of 1961
Art Peterson once again cranks up his time machine to carry us back more than six decades
to recount a trip that Bill Vigrass and his friend Bill Garrison took to northeast Canada.
During their photographic adventure, they encountered a nice mix of passenger and freight trains
led by EMD, Fairbanks and GE four-axle power. Enjoy!
Timken's Diesels:
The Timken Company purchased its first diesel locomotive during the summer of 1940. Prior to
that time, the roller bearing manufacturer had relied on an aging fleet of ten 0-6-0 steamers,
many of which was cast-offs from the Pennsylvania Railroad. In the years that followed, the
Timken roster included motive power from the erection shops of Alco, EMD, Porter and Whitcomb.
Use the Timken link to learn more.
Some olders fans might recall that during the Bicentennial years (1974-1977) more than 250 locomotives sported some type of patriotic paint scheme; Seaboard Coast Line U36B #1776 was the first to mark the very special occasion, the year was 1970. For the 2026 celebration Wheeling & Lake Erie #1776 appears to alreday hold that distinction. Trackside observers are wondering to what degree will today's railroads and industry participate -- only time will tell. Nonetheless with your assistance, we will attempt to document each new Semiquincentennial locomotive as it is introduced.
In the Queue:
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