The crews aren't fond of it, as track speed is tough to make when they have a headwind. What? The wind blows in ND? Never......... "CP 7045" An eastbound CP train 292 near Baden, ND has fresh SD70ACU 7045 trailing, but the crew left the sun shades up, so you can't really tell. Winning.....
Some 'S' road freight cars here, with a Soo boxcar [Unknown location in WI - 04/1987], an SCL 2-Bay hopper [Montgomery, AL - 08/1989] and an SBD covered hopper [Montgomery, AL - 08/1990]
Two SAL and one SCL, with a captivating round-roof double-door SAL boxcar at Waycross, GA [08/1983], an SCL boxcar with a plug door and sliding door at Montgomery, AL [03/1988] and an SAL woodrack at Prattville, AL [09/1988].
Was there a disadvantage to having a rounded roof? I know there were examples of these from many companies, yet they were nowhere near as numerous as the edged styles. I really doubt it was costs, as the roof sheets can all be formed in one pressing. And no matter what type, they still required welding. Just wondering as someone who was involved with building many thousands of box cars.
I found it on one of the many shop tracks at the huge Waycross, GA hump yard facility and it was probably not in use. I'm guessing that it was perhaps destined for MofW service. Two years later in June of '85 I found two ancient SAL boxcars at Greenville, SC in MofW use with roofwalks and all, one beckoning us to ride the Orange Blossom Special and the other inviting enjoyment aboard the Silver Meteor.
I never found untouched Rock Island cars, but did come across a few after being sold. The C&NW must have picked up some of their cars, as with the first two at Des Plaines, IL [08/1981] and Calera, AL [10/1988]. The covered hopper was at Athens, GA on 08/1994.
I finally got away and went down to Hill City, SD and rode the 1880 train! What a relaxing and exciting ride! It runs about 10 mph for a quick trip to and from Keystone through some great canyons. The stack talk and other sounds that come from this beautiful little loco are sweet! This first pic is the original loco that is now a display piece, This is the backup loco, And the 108, which has some wonderful sounds! The folk along the route are welcoming as well! Of course I got video's, but am stuck waiting on youtube to fix whatever issue is
That #108 looks awesome, and I bet she sounds terrific too!! Looks like an old logging lokie, maybe Weyerhaeuser?
