In the distant past, doing this was a definite no-no. Are today's traction motors immune to being soaked? Cringing....
I'm thinking it's still a big no, no!! Someone will be really upset when they have to swap out 12 traction motors, and one is for another railroad's loco. Spendy bill right there!
I was thinking the same thing, but then figured that someone made the decision with the knowledge that neither unit was theirs.
In the 1950's the New York Times published an article about Mississippi River flooding in the Iowa/Nebraska area. The article included a photo of a CB&Q steamer that had been recalled from the dead line awaiting scrapping to pull a freight through the flood. The article said many steamers had been recalled because the diesels couldn't run in the high water. This may have been that photo or one similar.
It was a different era, but regard to safety seems to be lacking, especially in @Hytec 's scene with the Q steamer in water so high that the engine crew mightn't see flood debris settled on the track. Perhaps a slow run was made with a light engine prior to movements taking place.
Not sure where to drop these photos, but here's some I took this past weekend in Liberty, NC while there for a birthday party. It's an old town without a single fast food joint, none. Plenty of pizza places, all small restaurants. Quiet enough to hear a pin drop at night on a ride through town.
Indeed. That's one of the ex-SAL/SCL observation cars which Amtrak was running on some of their Empire Service trains just about a half-century ago.
An old soldier stands guard at the end of a train in Gulfport, MS on 5/2/2023. Likely originally an IC caboose, the MidSouth paint and number have now survived two additional owners, as this is in the employ of the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad.
...so that's the Silver Meteor, hmm. I just bought a 40' boxcar "route of the Silver Comet". I've seen the Silver Meteor boxcar and also the Silver Star.
Without a doubt. The thing is just beautiful and the photo is incredible, too. Immortal class, can't be matched by anything modern because it's from a better time and the mold has been broken. Just my opinion.
That opinion is shared! It used to be that taking the train was something special. Railroads had an aura of mystique about them. How the train looked was just as important, if not more so, than any ad campaign. And the interiors! Plush, luxurious, comfortable. Even the locomotives inspired awe. Names like 20th Century Limited, Hiawatha, Zephyr and Super Chief inspired admiration. No more... Today, people are being unceremoniously crammed into trains like livestock into cattle cars. No romantic aura. No mystique. Not even a streamlined trailing car! Even the locomotives are reduced to unglamourous boxes with a pointy end. Taking the train went from a romantic and mystical voyage to just a necessary way to get from point A to point B.
