Would you happen to know where this loco was based or from where the switching job in Anderson would have originated? The Fallen Flags photo site has another photo of the 9097 taken the previous year about 200 miles east in Zanesville, OH. http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/prr/prr9097s.jpg Would the switching (or way freight) jobs in Anderson and Zanesville run out of the same location? If not, what might account for this switcher appearing significantly further west a year later?
I'm a Santa Fe man, and they had a whole host of basically interchangeable 1000 horse switchers. The impression I have is when they finished shopping one, they'd permanently assign it to a yard which had a switcher which needed service. Then when they finished that one, its next assignment would be whichever yard needed theirs serviced, and so on. Within some territorial constraints, of course--the Topeka shop was unlikely to send one to Stockton or the San Bernardino shop to Houston. Though some Santa Fe engines did work both extreme ends of the system in their time.
Thanks. Most likely I did not see any in Northern Michigan in my early years. If I did I don't recall. Gary
Here's a photo of a C&NW H10-44 taken in 1959 at Ironwood, MI. http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/cnw/cnw1049adm.jpg
The few NYC units worked in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area, while the PRR units were mostly assigned to St. Louis, Cincinnati and Columbus.