10 years on, BNSF 3164 has undergone quite a makeover, with a more contemporary paint scheme and new equipment on the cab roof: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4916994
CP 7023, the Air Force Commemorative Unit, leading train B39(Savanna, IL-Mason City, IA) into Dubuque, IA May 3, 2020 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Red Letter Locomotives? It seems that in the early 90s, some SP locomotives shed their white (lettering gray?) paint that had been applied over the scarlet base coat. The gray paint around the letters stayed giving them a different look.
Something I never noticed before, the "dampners" from the trucks to the frame on these. Smoother ride at higher speeds?
Fast forward three years to May 2020 and NS activity on the Loops east of Asheville has become even more bleak. No. 135, the last through freight on the line just made its last run, leaving only local turn P87 which is often seen with just one car westbound. NS also closed the hump at Linwood this week. Linwood was until recently a major terminal. Having railfanned Saluda, the Loops and the Hendersonville/Brevard branch on and off for over 35 years, it's all very saddening to see these links to my past falling away. I now know how others here feel about the loss of rail lines held with fondness in their lives. I guess we're blessed to have our memories and perhaps a few snapshots.
"Getting the Shot" My son bags the passing of a pair of veteran SD40-2 units leading a continuous welded rail train west, just past Foxholm, ND.
My least favorite design choice is the fact that the locomotive has vertical sides, while the passenger cars have the tumblehome/angled sides like the Acela, so the profiles do not match up. Unlike the Acela, the passenger cars are articulated, instead of being drawbar connected. The styling seems to be on-par with what is popular with other modern trains. The nose has that hipped look, where it flatter initially and then is more vertical toward the windshield. I would draw comparisons between the Talgo 8, AnsaldoBreda ETR 700, and Alstom New Pendolino. Both the Pendolino and Avelia Liberty are built by Alstom, so it make sense that at least they would be similar. The trend seems to be toward automotive styling and trying to evoke the hood of a car with the nose of a train. I wish the paint scheme was a bit more refined. It needs more neutral tones because it just seems too childish right now.
Looking through various slides taken at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, SC, I found this 1995 shot of a track lining demonstration as done the old skool way by the Buckingham Lining Gang. The Foreman would call out rhythmic chants in song and the cadence of his voice would set all of the men moving their lining bars in unison, combining their strength to move the track in one motion. It's a pretty cool thing to see. I recall one of his songs included the lines If I would have known the Captain was blind, I wouldn't have showed up till half past nine.
Here's a short segment of the Gandy Dancer scene in "The Color Purple". Trackwork/Gandy Dancers have always been a favorite, wonderful aspect of railroading for me, especially since my maternal Grandfather, whom I never knew because he died twelve years before I was born, was a section gang man and eventually became a foreman. Doug
From April 1998, CSX B36-7 5897 crosses over the mainline to Columbia, SC in front of the Hamlet, NC station. Hamlet was a major crossroads for the SAL and was also the location of a large hump yard until CSX closed it a few years ago. The lovely station survives and some years after these photos were taken, it was lifted and moved across the tracks! It hosts a museum and continues to serve Amtrak's Silver Star.
A closer view of Hamlet's "witches hat" turreted roof. The station was built in 1900 and also housed Division offices.
