Just one of those Photos
This is just one of those photos that kind of pulls me in to it. The major subject here is that brand new Cotton Belt SD45T-2, just released from EMD and waiting to be taken west by a Rock Island freight. It's June, 1975, and the 9398 has company in the form of the Rock's E6 630, and a low nose GP9, the 1275. I got to thinking about these three, and some things that I learned when I did a little research. Of course, the 630 has been restored and is a proud piece of a museum, so it's alive and well today - well, at least it's in one piece and looks good. The 9398 has some fame of its own. It was chosen as one of the units that Athearn used to number their model of the tunnel motors. It's off the roster today and probably doesn't exist. Which leaves us with that old Rock Island 1275. It started life as a normal high hood GP9 for the Rock in the early 60s. Then, it was involved in a switching accident in Marseilles, IL which killed the head brakeman and heavily damaged the nose and cab of the 1275. The Rock put on the cab of a GP20, so its looks are deceiving. The 1275 then went to the Iowa Interstate and became IAIS 400, where it was involved in another wreck. It got rebuilt again, so it must be part cat. It wound up on the Northern Lines Railroad in St Cloud, MN, still as the 400. As of September of this year, it was still alive and working, So, I guess the last shall be first. In this case, the newest loco here, the 9398, was the first to die, while the oldest, the 630, still lives, and the 1275, though renamed, renumbered, and repainted, is probably still in one piece, too. So, as I stood there in the Rock's finest oil, mud, and goo, taking this picture, did I wonder what the future was? No, I was probably thinking I need another pair of shoes. That, and damn, I'm gonna have to clean the Charger's floors mats again.
Just one of those Photos
This is just one of those photos that kind of pulls me in to it. The major subject here is that brand new Cotton Belt SD45T-2, just released from EMD and waiting to be taken west by a Rock Island freight. It's June, 1975, and the 9398 has company in the form of the Rock's E6 630, and a low nose GP9, the 1275. I got to thinking about these three, and some things that I learned when I did a little research. Of course, the 630 has been restored and is a proud piece of a museum, so it's alive and well today - well, at least it's in one piece and looks good. The 9398 has some fame of its own. It was chosen as one of the units that Athearn used to number their model of the tunnel motors. It's off the roster today and probably doesn't exist. Which leaves us with that old Rock Island 1275. It started life as a normal high hood GP9 for the Rock in the early 60s. Then, it was involved in a switching accident in Marseilles, IL which killed the head brakeman and heavily damaged the nose and cab of the 1275. The Rock put on the cab of a GP20, so its looks are deceiving. The 1275 then went to the Iowa Interstate and became IAIS 400, where it was involved in another wreck. It got rebuilt again, so it must be part cat. It wound up on the Northern Lines Railroad in St Cloud, MN, still as the 400. As of September of this year, it was still alive and working, So, I guess the last shall be first. In this case, the newest loco here, the 9398, was the first to die, while the oldest, the 630, still lives, and the 1275, though renamed, renumbered, and repainted, is probably still in one piece, too. So, as I stood there in the Rock's finest oil, mud, and goo, taking this picture, did I wonder what the future was? No, I was probably thinking I need another pair of shoes. That, and damn, I'm gonna have to clean the Charger's floors mats again.