Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway
View allAll Photos Tagged SW1500
one I never did post is this night photo of FTRL SW1500's # 257 ( ex MRS ) and # 1515 ( ex ALS ) in front of the former MRS engine house at St Louis, MO 11/24/2012 with lighting provided by Chris Guss
On New Year’s Eve in 1983, the original Toledo, Peoria & Western only had a few more hours to survive before becoming part of the Santa Fe. At the East Peoria Yard locomotive facility, GP38-2 No. 2006 is flanked by SW1500s Nos. 303 and 306 on December 31, 1983.
Reading and Northern SD38 2000 leads freight LEPI with a consist that includes two U23Bs, a B23-7 and an SW1500. This photo was taken at Penobscot, Pennsylvania on the former CNJ in November 1999, before the R&N rebuilt the yard area.
Union SW1500 #2, and MP15s 27 & 11 are just clearing MO Interlocking with southbound slab loads on the evening of May 10, 2022.
December has taken away much of the foliage in Reinholds, Pennsylvania, revealing the vine-covered stone water tank base. Conrail train WHRE-10 does not need to stop as many of its steam-powered predecessors did.
ETR's Sunday job heads back east out of Ojibway. The centrebeam is for a customer near their shops, while the rest of their train will be interchanged to CN at Van De Water. 105 was painted in their 1950s livery last year, and 104 is wearing its fresh 1970s heritage livery.
Train: ETR Sunday extra with ETL 105 (SW1500) and ETL 104 (SW14).
ETR Sub
Windsor, ON
A Cement dust laden CBFX Switcher, an EMD SW1500 doing its job at the Giant Cement Co at Harleyville, SC.
A Cleveland Works Railroad crew shoves a train of empty gons and loaded coil cars towards the yard used for interchange with NS at the Cleveland Cliffs Cleveland Works steel mill in Cleveland, Ohio. This pair of former CN SW1500's arrived recently from LTEX and are being used in addition to the CWRO's fleet of switchers.
====Info====
Cleveland Cliffs Cleveland Works
Cleveland, OH
Unknown Symbol (Steel; Cleveland, OH)
LTEX 1559 SW1500 Ex. WC 1559, SOU 68, KIT 68 Blt. 1966
LTEX 1562 SW1500 Ex. WC 1562, NS 72, SOU 72, KIT 72 Blt. 1971
On our way to the Arkansas & Missouri RR we stopped in St Louis to see the Manufacturers RR had to offer. We had a little luck as seen here with four SW1500 working around the Anheuser Bush yard on 3/26/1998.
A Cleveland Works Railway SW1500 pulls a loaded bottle train as it rolls past the yard on the west side of the Cuyahoga River at the Cleveland Cliffs Cleveland Works Steel Mill in Cleveland, Ohio.
====Info====
Cleveland Cliffs Cleveland Works
Cleveland, OH
Unknown Symbol (Bottle Train; Cleveland, OH)
CWRO 1554 SW1500 Ex. WC 1554, SP 2594 Blt. 1970
Southern Pacific's RVKCM twists and turns through the Price River valley between Colton and Kyune, Utah the morning of Sept. 29, 1996. The all EMD consist includes a pair of SW1500 switch engines and 66 cars.
Allegheny Valley RR GP11 no. 2007 & SW1500 no. 1501 lead westbound train AVR-1, crossing the Monongahela River on the W&P Subdivision at West Homestead, PA on May 10, 2022.
A CSX SW1500 leads J744 through the “jungle” of the former Kankakee & Seneca railroad trackage in Seneca off of the New Rock mainline.
CSXT 1102 w/ the job out of Seneca headed across the Illinois River in Seneca, Illinois to go serve DuPont Chemical. This is old Kankakee & Seneca Railroad trackage. Getting an end cab out here was cool, especially on this trackage, and across the drawbridge!
ETR's "Sunday Extra" job heads light power up the bush spur towards Ojibway Yard after spotting cars at ADM. ETL 104, an ex IC SW14 was recently reintroduced to the roster after undergoing a full rebuild at Lambton Diesel in Sarnia. Part of the rebuild was painting the unit in a heritage scheme of one of ETR's former liveries in the 70s-80s. The heavy wet snowfall on this particular Sunday made for a nice contrast to showcase 104's new stripes.
Train: ETR Sunday Extra with ETL 105 (SW1500) and ETL 104 (SW14).
Bush Spur
Windsor, ON
When we arrived in Vinemont, Pennsylvania to photograph Conrail local WHRE-10, we were greeted by a Collie who wanted to be petted. When the train approached, the friendly pooch decided to pose for us as it enjoyed the nice December afternoon.
The Burlington Junction must have a wide array of locomotives lying around. Here, a Sublettered "GN" ex-BN SW1500 switches their lumber transload on the outskirts of West Burlington, Iowa.
Headed East out of Sunbury, this special passenger train is enroute to Snydertown along the Shamokin Creek.
This right of way was built by the Shamokin, Sunbury & Lewisburg Railroad (SS&L) chartered in 1882. The SS&L was completed the following year from Shamokin to West Milton and acquired by the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, popularly known simply as "The Reading Railroad."
The train operated with an EMD SW1500 at each end. This end's loco is No. 1942. Built in 1972, this is one of six such 1500 horsepower locos rostered by the North Shore Railroad.
The baggage car was once part of the Conrail OCS roster as No. 23.
Switchers and Semaphores on Sunday. SW1500 52 and crew heading back to the yard after switching the refinery, passing the distant signal to the CTC switches at West Laurel.
The Prairie Line GP30 # 2007 poses beneath SW1200 # 1206 and SW1500 # 1002. at AB brewery in St Louis, MO. Nov 3rd 2020. Thanks to the owners of the RR for the set up.
This is a train I don't remember shooting and didn't give much thought to back 23 years ago, most likely because I really didn't like shooting the cab end of the switchers that CP/Soo and BNSF used around the Twin Cities during the 90s.
This CP switch job here is taking headroom on the East Main to spot cars at the elevator and a warehouse at Shoreham. Power is two ex-Milwaukee MP15s, an ex-MN&S SW1500, and an original Soo GP9, all in same paint. Not many of the MP15s got Soo paint, so looking back I'm glad I shot this. Soo 1555, 1539, 1400, and 402 on the East End Humboldt Switch in Minneapolis, MN back in July 1997. I'm wondering what that blue boxcar is but I didn't take a shot of it.
66A descends Bull Run Grade behind a pair of Union endcabs and a loaded coke train for the E.T. Works.
Two Sandersville RR SW1500's work across Kaolin Rd. in Sandersville, GA on March 29, 2022 as they work the huge Thiele kaolin plant. Kaolin, a naturally occuring clay, has been used for decades in food, cosmetics and to coat paper to make it slick.
We are in the middle Conrail's former Reading anthracite country at West Cressona, PA on May 13, 1988. A MP15 and a SW1500 set in front of the station awaiting their next call to duty, which would happen shortly. The crew then headed off on one of the branches radiating out of the yard. If I recall correctly, four units were assigned to West Cressona, one to Tamaqua, and five to St. Nicholas. In a fascinating move, all ten were gathered up on Saturday and operated light to Enola for servicing. Once rested, the crew returned on Sunday and delivered them to their respective locations.
With a friendly and touchy crew aboard, the 1501 straddles the Black River bridge with a hand full of cars for the CN at tunnel yard. This crew runs just a couple times a week as needed and its always nice to catch them out doing their thing.
Friend Brian Plant and I recently took a trip down south to shoot several shortlines, one of which was the Sandersville Railroad. Two SW1500's make quick work of exchanging empties for loads at Thiele Kaolin in Sandersville on March 29, 2022.
A Short Line SW1500 is seen parked outside the CSL shops and offices at 98th and N on a rainy day in early May.
SW1500 #11 is headed for Statesville where they will interchange with the NS in addition to switching its several customers in the area and on-line. Since my visit in 2021 they have installed 136lb rail, replaced several ties and the line has seen tamped and lined
Conrail train WHRE-10 approaches the Creamery Road crossing in Reinholds, Pennsylvania. Google Maps indicated that the house to the right is now a pile of rubble.
Led by nose-to-nose SW1500’s, Conrail local WHRE-99 crosses the rain-swollen Schuylkill River in the shadow of Metropolitan Edison’s Titus Generating Plant. WHRE-99 originated in Reading, and went east to Pottstown, where it served industries on the Pottstown Industrial Track. Between Reading and Pottstown, its two biggest customers were the Vulcan Materials and Pottstown Trap Rock stone quarries in Dyers and Stowe, respectively. As a result, ballast hoppers were frequently seen trailing the power.
We are at the end of the Conrail Good Spring Branch at Good Spring, PA on May 12, 1988 and train WHWC-21 has just arrived from West Cressona. SW1500 No. 9527 and MP15 No. 9627 slowly negotiate the crumbing track structure, worn out rail setting on rotten ties in cinder ballast. The glory days were long gone in the anthracite region. There was a sizable truck loadout around the curve. Ten to fifteen loads would be pulled, and the same number of empties spotted. Amazingly, if I rercall correctly, Good Spring was still served several times a week. Much has changed over the years. The track has been greatly improved by Reading and Northern and coal is still loaded out, although at a newer facility.
Former FTVM (Ferrocarril y Terminal del Valle de México) SW1504 1521 and ex-UP MP15DC 1550 cross Brush Creek in the morning sun as the Central Midland Railway departs Union, MO for Maryland Heights on their biweekly eastbound run.
The Chicago Short Line pulls into Commercial Avenue Yard to interchange with the BRC passing over the yard's namesake, Commercial Avenue. The B&O had a passenger depot on the west side of Commercial, formerly located on the left. It was an intermediate stop for the original Capitol Limited until the startup of Amtrak in 1971.
Conrail train, WHRE10, the Reading & Columbia local, moves timetable west between Vinemont and Reinholds, Pennsylvania. I drove past this spot yesterday, and those little trees in the foreground are now quite large.
The Short Line runs light power back to its engine house a few blocks away after delivering cars to the Illinois International Port.
Indiana Harbor Belt SW1500 1509 was pounding across the former B&O main line at Calumet tower in 2013. The 1509 was built in 1966 and was still going strong in 2013.
The tower was soon closed and demolished and the 1509 is still working for its original owner.
The CMR Lackland Ave to Union Switcher pulls up to Baxter Avenue in Chesterfield Valley to do some switching amidst a November snow. After, switching, the crew will resume their slow journey to Union, Missouri, where they'll tie down for the day.
A steady rain did not dampen my spirits when chasing one of North Shores Erie Lackawanna inspired painted switchers on the old Delaware, Lackawanna and Western's Bloomsburg Branch. SW1500 #1946 has 15 cars on this early spring day in 2021 as she rolls east of Danville, PA
Southern Pacific's RVKCM rolls through Price Canyon with 66 cars the morning of Sept. 29, 1996. Speed-lettered SD40T-2 locomotives bracket a pair of SW1500 switch engines, 18 days after the SP became part of the Union Pacific Railroad.
A pair of Cleveland Works Railroad SW1500's pull a train of empty gons across the Cuyahoga River lift bridge as they move around the Cleveland Cliffs Cleveland Works steel mill in Cleveland, Ohio.
====Info====
Cleveland Cliffs Cleveland Works
Cleveland, OH
Unknown Symbol (Empty Gons; Cleveland, OH)
CWRO 1555 SW1500 Ex. WC 1555, SP 2640 Blt. 1972
CWRO 1551 SW1500 Ex. WC 1551, SP 2505 Blt. 1968
Of all the many years I’ve been shooting the Indiana Harbor Belt from Point A to Point B, gathering every unit on the roster and almost covering every location on the railroad, this photo in particular might be my all time favorite.
The sun has just risen in Northwest Indiana, as a BA2 crew takes a stolen hump set back to their home of Blue Island Yard light power on the IHB Kankakee Line. A pair of rather clean looking Tennessee Orange SW1500s (IHB 1511/1524) and *now retired* (IHB 477) hump trailer/power booster/slug whatever you may wanna call it, cross the calm waters of the Grand Calumet River northbound along Kennedy Avenue in East Chicago, IN. Taken: 8-8-20
Three years later, these two pups are still in orange paint, as over the course of 4 years a select few switchers got branded with AC, PTC, and a hand full of other modern upgrades, as well as their the companies refurbished “retro paint.” As for the 477, it was almost always paired up with the 1524, as they used to humped cars daily at Blue Island Yard, now scraped.
Conrail local WHRE-10, in the charge of a former Penn Central SW1500, passes a phone box on Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania. The local, which served the remnants of the Reading & Columbia Branch, has just left the Lebanon Valley Branch. Today, this line is operated by East Penn Railway.