Oklahoma City, 28APR'73
Llanuza made me do it! I already "imported" a few Santa Fe shots into Lightroom and this was one of them, what a coincidence to compliment his shot of GM&O "wagons." This is a Santa Fe westbound - geographically southbound - grain train as it approaches NW50th St. behind an A-B-B-B-A set of F7's (245....) That last unit is a "yellowbonnet", the result of some experimentation on some passenger F-units that, after Amtrak took over, suddenly had a career change. A yellow nose replaced the red on the otherwise stainless steel carbody. This photo spot was attained by taking the entrance ramp from NW50th Street to southbound on the "Broadway Extension" Expressway. Instead of getting on the expressway, one just pulled the car off the ramp where it came alongside the Santa Fe and here's what you got. Nowadays, of course, the Broadway Extension is Interstate 235 and the whole scene is radically different. The "wagons" are approaching a bridge over the expressway; that has been now replaced by a massive (and impressive) through truss bridge. I just took a Google trip over once familiar streets in this area, and although much remains, this great neighborhood of '20s and '30s architecture has been dissected severely. This was still an F-unit paradise, by the way, and while Santa Fe ran their extensive collection, the Rock Island was running theirs about 30 miles west of here through El Reno. That is where I'd begin my second summer of employment with them in about five weeks from the time I took this picture.
Oklahoma City, 28APR'73
Llanuza made me do it! I already "imported" a few Santa Fe shots into Lightroom and this was one of them, what a coincidence to compliment his shot of GM&O "wagons." This is a Santa Fe westbound - geographically southbound - grain train as it approaches NW50th St. behind an A-B-B-B-A set of F7's (245....) That last unit is a "yellowbonnet", the result of some experimentation on some passenger F-units that, after Amtrak took over, suddenly had a career change. A yellow nose replaced the red on the otherwise stainless steel carbody. This photo spot was attained by taking the entrance ramp from NW50th Street to southbound on the "Broadway Extension" Expressway. Instead of getting on the expressway, one just pulled the car off the ramp where it came alongside the Santa Fe and here's what you got. Nowadays, of course, the Broadway Extension is Interstate 235 and the whole scene is radically different. The "wagons" are approaching a bridge over the expressway; that has been now replaced by a massive (and impressive) through truss bridge. I just took a Google trip over once familiar streets in this area, and although much remains, this great neighborhood of '20s and '30s architecture has been dissected severely. This was still an F-unit paradise, by the way, and while Santa Fe ran their extensive collection, the Rock Island was running theirs about 30 miles west of here through El Reno. That is where I'd begin my second summer of employment with them in about five weeks from the time I took this picture.