CN 2027 South at Ram, Grayslake, Ill.
When I began watching trains 16 years ago, some of the first regular movements I recall seeing were Wisconsin Central's "Rock Job" trains, which carried crushed limestone from Cedar Lake Sand & Gravel near Hartford, Wis., and Lannon Stone near Sussex, Wis., to Vulcan Materials in Grayslake, Ill., and Prairie Materials in Vernon Hills (near Leithton), Ill. Twice daily during the spring/summer/early fall construction season, cuts of 30-some Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Co.-lettered (SSAM) 35-foot open hoppers dutifully followed behind a single WC SD45, always dressed in a sharp coat of maroon and gold.
Since those early days of my photography, Wisconsin Central submitted to its Class I suitor, Canadian National, and the roar of 20-cylinder 645s is but a memory, as are most all examples of WC's locomotives wearing an attractive livery.
But the Rock Job lives on, still hustling the short and distinctive open hoppers between Wisconsin quarries and Illinois material yards. And preceding the rust brown railcars, a single six-axle locomotive wearing bold colors that command the attention of every boy near the tracks.
CN 2027 South at Ram, Grayslake, Ill.
When I began watching trains 16 years ago, some of the first regular movements I recall seeing were Wisconsin Central's "Rock Job" trains, which carried crushed limestone from Cedar Lake Sand & Gravel near Hartford, Wis., and Lannon Stone near Sussex, Wis., to Vulcan Materials in Grayslake, Ill., and Prairie Materials in Vernon Hills (near Leithton), Ill. Twice daily during the spring/summer/early fall construction season, cuts of 30-some Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Co.-lettered (SSAM) 35-foot open hoppers dutifully followed behind a single WC SD45, always dressed in a sharp coat of maroon and gold.
Since those early days of my photography, Wisconsin Central submitted to its Class I suitor, Canadian National, and the roar of 20-cylinder 645s is but a memory, as are most all examples of WC's locomotives wearing an attractive livery.
But the Rock Job lives on, still hustling the short and distinctive open hoppers between Wisconsin quarries and Illinois material yards. And preceding the rust brown railcars, a single six-axle locomotive wearing bold colors that command the attention of every boy near the tracks.