Jump to content

Welcome to NikonForums.com
Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!
Photo

Museum of the American Railroad, Frisco, TX


  • Please log in to reply
No replies to this topic

#1
bluzman

bluzman

    Forum Veteran

  • Forum Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 665 posts
  • Country Flag
  • LocationNorth Texas

I visited this museum (http://www.museumoft...anrailroad.org/) recently so I thought I'd share some images of some of what I saw.

 

(1) Santa Fe "Doodlebug" M.160
Build Date: 1931
Current Status: Restored and Operational
Road: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway

Originally built by the Brill Motorcar Company as a gas-electric, the M.160 had major rebuilds in 1948 and 1952, when it was fitted with a diesel engine and components from Santa Fe's first E-1 passenger locomotive. M.160 spent much of its life on Santa Fe's vast network of rural branch lines, initially operating between Amarillo, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico, and later used on the Wichita, Kansas - San Angelo, Texas route. Its last service was between Carlsbad and Clovis, New Mexico on trains 25 and 26, "The Cavern," painted in the red and silver "warbonnet" paint scheme used for passenger locomotives and pulling round end chair observation number 3197. M.160 was retired in December 1966 and stored at Clovis until donation of both M.160 and 3197 in January, 1969.

yw09mnih.jpg
NIKON COOLPIX B700, 1/500 seconds, F/3.30, ISO 100, Focal Length 4.30 mm, Focal Length 35mm Equivalent 24 mm

(2) Santa Fe Waycar 999113
Build Date: 1949, Rebuilt: 1968
Builder: Topeka Shops, AT&SF
Road: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Configuration: CE-1

The caboose was a common sight on the rear of freight trains for about a century but has been relegated almost exclusively to museums and a handful of private owners. Cabooses were very spartan homes away from home for their crews, which consisted of the conductor and rear brakeman. From his seat in the cupola, the brakeman could watch the moving train and the conductor could do paperwork on the cars being picked up and set out as the train did its work. The rear brakeman would also throw switches and flag the rear of the train.  Modern equipment such as automatic block signals to control train movements and trackside detectors to report dragging equipment, shifted loads and hot wheel bearings greatly reduced the railroads' need for cabooses. Number 113 was retired in 1988.

IiIboD9h.jpg
NIKON COOLPIX B700, 1/320 seconds, F/4.20, ISO 100, Focal Length 10.70 mm, Focal Length 35mm Equivalent 60 mm

(3) Santa Fe 49 (originally Canadian National 9167)
Build Date: 1952
Builder: General Motors Electro-Motive Division
Current Status: Static
Road: Canadian National
Configuration: EMD F7

Built new for Canadian National, it was donated to the Museum of the American Railroad and repainted into Santa Fe Warbonnet scheme. The EMD F7 is a 1,500 horsepower (1,100 kW) Diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1949 and December 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) and General Motors Diesel (GMD). Although originally promoted by EMD as a freight-hauling unit, the F7 was also used in passenger service hauling such trains as the Santa Fe Railway's Super Chief and El
Capitan.
lmdTd53h.jpg
NIKON COOLPIX B700, 1/800 seconds, F/3.80, ISO 100, Focal Length 7.20 mm, Focal Length 35mm Equivalent 40 mm

(4) Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 4903
Build Date: 1943
Builder: Pennsylvania Railroad
Current Status: Static
Road: Pennsylvania Railroad
Configuration: GG1

The GG1 was designed and built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to pull 12-14 car passenger trains such as the famed Broadway Limited on its high speed electrified Northeast Corridor between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New York City, and Washington, DC. Its unique center cab design was intended to provide safety and visibility for the crews, but industrial designer Raymond Loewy refined the design with an all welded carbody and distinctive paint scheme with 5 gold stripes. The locomotive drew power from the 11,000 volt AC current transmitted in overhead electrical lines and developed 4620 horsepower, easily allowing speeds of 100 mph. After more than 50 years of operations, the last of the 139 GG1s built were retired in 1983, with 16 remaining in museums today. The example displayed is notable as one of the locomotives (then numbered Penn Central 4903) which pulled the funeral train of Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy from New York to Washington on June 8, 1968 when thousands gathered trackside to pay their last respects. Amtrak later renumbered 4903 to 4906. The locomotive was obtained in a trade with the New York Central Museum in Elkhart, Indiana.

XsIINxPh.jpg
NIKON COOLPIX B700, 1/400 seconds, F/3.30, ISO 100, Focal Length 4.30 mm, Focal Length 35mm Equivalent 24 mm

(5) Union Pacific "Centennial" 6913
Build Date: October, 1969
Builder: General Motors Electro-Motive Division
Current Status: Static
Road: Union Pacific Railroad
Configuration EMD DDA40X

Union Pacific's innovations with locomotives progressed beyond the steam era and the desire for a high horsepower diesel locomotive led to construction of the 6600 hp DDA40X. This locomotive had the equivalent of two 3300 hp locomotives on a single frame and was the world's largest and most powerful diesel-electric. The first of Union Pacific's new units were delivered in time for the 100th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad and numbered in the 6900s to commemorate the event. A total of 47 of these locomotives were delivered through 1971, serving in fast freight service until high maintenance costs forced their retirement in the mid 1980s. Centennial number 6913 was retired and donated by Union Pacific in 1986 and is one of 13 remaining examples.

ldQJ4JBh.jpg
NIKON COOLPIX B700, 1/640 seconds, F/4.00, ISO 100, Focal Length 9.90 mm, Focal Length 35mm Equivalent 55 mm

(6) Santa Fe 97
Build Date: 1967
Builder: General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD)
Current Status: Static
Road: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Configuration: EMD FP45

The Santa Fe remained committed to first class passenger trains even while other railroads were decreasing or completely abandoning passenger service. Nine 3600 hp EMD FP45 locomotives numbered 100-108 were delivered for service on the El Capitan and Super Chief in 1967, painted in the classic red and silver "warbonnet" colors which had graced Santa Fe's diesel passenger locomotives since 1937. Santa Fe ended passenger service with the coming of Amtrak in 1971 and the FP45s were assigned to freight service for the remainder of their careers, other than occasional use pulling business and special trains. In 1989 it was decided that all new locomotives would be delivered in the red and silver warbonnet paint, called the "Super Fleet." The FP45s were repainted into a version of the paint scheme in which they were delivered. These locomotives were renumbered several times with number 97 as the last of its kind in active service on the railroad before being donated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway in December of 1999.

V8hTEWph.jpg
NIKON COOLPIX B700, 1/1600 seconds, F/4.00, ISO 100, Focal Length 5.90 mm, Focal Length 35mm Equivalent 33 mm

(7) St. Louis - San Francisco Railway Company ("Frisco") 4501
Build Date: 1942
Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works
Current Status: Static
Road: St. Louis - San Francisco Railway Company ("Frisco")
Configuration: 4-8-4

The 4501 was among the last group of steam locomotives built for the Frisco. Because of World War II, the War Production Board limited  production of most new diesel locomotives other than switching locomotives used in rail yards, and severely limited steam locomotive development by requiring the use of existing designs. Frisco's 4500 class was constructed based upon the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy's O-5b class. Numbers 4500-4502 were built for passenger service on the "Meteor," an overnight train between St. Louis, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The new locomotives were delivered in a paint scheme of zephyr blue, white and gray, with "Meteor" spelled out on the side of the tender in bold, red letters. While the passenger locomotives were built to be fired with cleaner burning oil, locomotives 4503-4524 were built as coal burners for freight service but were also used in passenger service.

New diesel locomotives arrived in 1947 to power the streamlined "Meteor" and "Texas Special," demoting the 4500s to trains such as the "Will Rogers" and "General Wood." Still wearing it's colorful Meteor scheme, 4501 powered a portion of President Harry S. Truman's July, 1948 whistle stop campaign through Missouri. Several of the 4500-class engines were rebuilt and stored near the end of steam in 1952, but remained behind St. Louis' Lindenwood roundhouse until scrapping or donation. The 4501 was donated by the Frisco in September 1964.

HEourdXh.jpg
NIKON COOLPIX B700, 1/1000 seconds, F/3.50, ISO 100, Focal Length 5.40 mm, Focal Length 35mm Equivalent 30 mm

(8) Union Pacific Steam Locomotive "Big Boy" 4018
Build Date: December, 1941
Builder: ALCO, Schenectady, NY
Current Status: Static
Road: Union Pacific
Configuration: 4-8-8-4

Union Pacific's route across the high plains of Wyoming, including Sherman Hill, and the Wasatch Range of Utah (part of the original transcontinental railroad),  provided significant challenges to moving heavy freight. As steam locomotive technology progressed, Union Pacific ordered larger, faster and more powerful locomotives: 2-8-8-0s in 1918, the three-cylinder 4-12-2s in 1926, then 4-6-6-4s in 1937, and ultimately a locomotive which could move freight over steep Sherman Hill unassisted and maintain a fast schedule. In 1941, Union Pacific received the first out of an eventual 25 locomotives in the 4000 class dubbed "Big Boys," the last five of which were delivered in 1944. At the time, these were the longest and among the heaviest, most powerful steam locomotives in the world.

Big Boy 4018 was in service and assigned to Wyoming's Cheyenne-Green River territory in September of 1957, having received its final repairs at the Cheyenne shops in April of 1957. By October of 1957 engine 4018 was stored serviceable at Green River. 1958 saw several 4000s in service on the Cheyenne-Laramie segment only. As a result some 4000s were stored at Laramie at the end of 1958, and the last six 4000s located at Cheyenne were placed into service for just 15 days in 1959. Union Pacific 4018 was officially retired in 1962 and donated in 1964, traveling from Wyoming to Kansas City, then south via the Santa Fe into Dallas.

Big Boy 4014 has been completely refurbished and will be in Ogden, UT for the 150th anniversary celebration of the Golden Spike, marking the completion of the transcontinental railway.
5K9UZxAh.jpg
NIKON COOLPIX B700, 1/1000 seconds, F/3.60, ISO 100, Focal Length 5.90 mm, Focal Length 35mm Equivalent 33 mm


  • mikew , Malice , Fletch and 3 others like this