From January 1978 at Knoxville TN, L&N C-630 1432 leads southbound. Sister C-630 1426 at Knoxville, September 1978.
July 1976 on the Black River & Western at Lambertville, NJ with RS-3 1554, former CNJ. Track is former PRR.
Roberval & Saguenay 20, MLW RS-2, the first road switcher built in Canada: And it still runs! Love that 244 sound... There's something in this photo that say it could also be posted in the Trains In The Rain thread... I just can't put a finger on it...
Not looking well was Alco S-2 123 at Republic Locomotive Works in Greenville, SC in February 1987. She's former SCL/ACL.
At the museum in Rosenberg. We donated our S2 and the helium car as well as two passenger cars for their collection.
Not looking well, even not looking quite herself... that one was repowered with an EMD engine (probably from an E-unit), along with an EMD switcher hood! Built by Alco, rebuilt with EMD, entrails wide open at Republic... no wonder she looks out of sorts!
October 1978 in a sea of Kudzu at Knoxville, TN. L&N C-420 1334 is former Monon 517. You can tell former Monon units by the nose-mounted bell. Trivia: The Monon also had two high-hood C-420s housing steam generators; both went to the L&N.
Indeed, the 251 engine was much more reliable than its predecessors. A lot of locos with 251s are still running today. But reliability and durability was not motivating enough. Almost at the end of the classic end-cab switcher era. Sales were just not like the multitude of switchers of the early 1940s to early 1950s that saturated the market. Those tough yard goats outlasted a lot of road power, but became obsolete after a while. Many were repowered. Or turned into slugs. Also hump yards, needing few engines, started replacing the flat-switching yards where many switch engines buzzed about like bees. And later, many railroads started rebuilding and modifying their first-generation road switchers into more powerful yard and hump power. End cab switchers were on their way out. And look at yards today - SD40-2s are now serving where the yard goats used to roam. The whine of turbochargers make yards sound more like airports! Basically, economics.
I used to listen to the Milwaukee Road turbo charged S-12s here when I was a kid in the sixties. Only one ay a time, however and it was more of a whistling sound. Doug
At the Austin Steam Train Association in October of 2002. They had two Alligators for a while but sold one to the Arkansas & Missouri.
Conway Scenic S-4 1055 at North Conway NH, June 1988. Former Portland Terminal, since sold to the Downeast Scenic RR in Maine.
