Abilene Deathstar
A black, Paducah-built GP11 working a spur down the line from an elevator? Is this a far-flung, long forgotten branch of the IC? Nope. This is alongside UP's old KP (Salina Sub) in Abilene, KS, but the unit looked right at home here. I'm looking north along Cedar St. towards the 1931 vintage Hotel Sunflower, which has ties to President Eisenhower.
The TLSX 8738 is being leased to Flint Hills Grain, which is conveniently located between the BNSF and UP mains in town, with access to both. The engine was built in 1957 as the IC 9231, before being rebuilt in the 70's.
I grew up right down the street from the Chicago Central main line, so I saw plenty of these units when I was a kid, although GP8's & 10's were more common. The mid-day sun wasn't ideal, but after a great lunch at Snuffy's up the street, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to burn some electrons on this one when I found it out running.
Everything that you could ever want to know about the hotel can be found here: www.kshs.org/resource/national_register/nominationsNRDB/D...
Abilene Deathstar
A black, Paducah-built GP11 working a spur down the line from an elevator? Is this a far-flung, long forgotten branch of the IC? Nope. This is alongside UP's old KP (Salina Sub) in Abilene, KS, but the unit looked right at home here. I'm looking north along Cedar St. towards the 1931 vintage Hotel Sunflower, which has ties to President Eisenhower.
The TLSX 8738 is being leased to Flint Hills Grain, which is conveniently located between the BNSF and UP mains in town, with access to both. The engine was built in 1957 as the IC 9231, before being rebuilt in the 70's.
I grew up right down the street from the Chicago Central main line, so I saw plenty of these units when I was a kid, although GP8's & 10's were more common. The mid-day sun wasn't ideal, but after a great lunch at Snuffy's up the street, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to burn some electrons on this one when I found it out running.
Everything that you could ever want to know about the hotel can be found here: www.kshs.org/resource/national_register/nominationsNRDB/D...