WRIX GP9 #3186 at Kalama, Washington, on April 22, 2006

On April 22, 2006, I photographed this former Southern Pacific GP9 at the Kalama Export Company grain elevator at the north end of Kalama, Washington.

This 1,750-horsepower GP9 was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors as Southern Pacific #5603 and was placed in service on June 27, 1954.

It was the last of a group of four GP9s numbered #5600-5603 that were built for secondary passenger service and featured steam generators, dual-station cab controls, plow pilots, large signal lights at each end, dynamic brakes, and fuel and water capacity of 800 gallons each. Originally equipped with 61:16 gearing, it was regeared to 60:17 between June 1960 and July 1961, and at some point the dynamic brakes were disconnected.

It was renumbered to #3003 as part of Southern Pacific’s systemwide renumbering of 1965. As Southern Pacific’s secondary passenger trains were discontinued, it was reassigned to San Francisco-San Jose commute service.

On February 26, 1975, it was upgraded at Southern Pacific’s Sacramento Shops to GP9E #3186, the first of Southern Pacific’s passenger GP9s to be upgraded. As part of the upgrading, the dual-station cab controls and dynamic braking were removed.

It remained in San Francisco-San Jose commute duties until Caltrain’s F40PH-2 locomotives were delivered in 1985, and then joined Southern Pacific’s many more common GP9s in freight service. It was retired on September 18, 1995, and sold to Progress Rail in Exeter, California, on January 31, 1996. It wound up as Nevada Industrial Switching Services #3186 at Apex, Nevada. In January 2000 it was sold to Joseph Transportation, Inc.

It ended up as Western Rail Incorporated (WRIX) #3186 and came to the Kalama Export Company in 2006. Still looking largely as it did in its final days with the Southern Pacific a decade earlier, it would soon be rebuilt with a chopped short hood and repainted.

Trains in Lebanon, Oregon, on March 3, 2006

 

I took these pictures on the Albany & Eastern Railroad near the depot in Lebanon, Oregon, on March 3, 2006.

Albany & Eastern #2001 was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1970 as Illinois Central #9502, one of an order of 20 2,000-horsepower GP38AC locomotives.

In 1972, the Illinois Central merged with the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio to become the Illinois Central Gulf, and the locomotive became Illinois Central Gulf #9502.

After their original 15-year lease expired, this was one of 18 of the 20 to be leased to the Missouri-Kansas-Texas in 1985, and it became MKT #327.

The Missouri-Kansas-Texas was acquired by the Union Pacific, and the locomotive became Union Pacific #1984 on February 6, 1991.

After the MKT lease expired, Union Pacific purchased it on October 23, 1996.

It was renumbered to Union Pacific #1785 on August 27, 1997.

It was assigned Union Pacific #285 in December 1999, but was retired by Union Pacific on May 25, 2001, before being renumbered. In 2002 it came to the Albany & Eastern as GP38-3 #2001.

Southern Pacific #4716 is a C-50-9 Bay-Window Caboose that was built by PACCAR in 1980 as part of an order of 75 that would be Southern Pacific’s last new cabooses.

The Southern Pacific was merged into the Union Pacific in 1996.

This caboose was no longer on Union Pacific’s roster in January 2002.

This caboose still had its round radio antenna and rooftop red light.

Though still lettered for Southern Pacific, I believe this caboose was owned by the Albany & Eastern at this point.

Southern Pacific #263 looks like a boxcar but is actually an Air Repeater Car.

It is one of seven Air Repeater Cars numbered 260 to 266 that Southern Pacific placed in service between November 1975 and March 1977, all converted from existing 70-ton boxcars.

Southern Pacific Air Repeater Car #263 was converted from B-70-6 Class Boxcar #673652, originally built by Pacific Car & Foundry in March 1961.

It was built as a 50’-1” long insulated box car with 9’-0” Youngstown plug doors, a Hydra-Cushion underframe, a Car Pac loader, and a capacity of 4,644 cubic feet.

It was converted to an Air Repeater Car at Southern Pacific’s Sacramento Shops in December 1976.

An Air Repeater Car was placed at or near the middle of a long freight train to improve the response of the air brakes during cold weather, using an on-board diesel-powered air compressor to receive pneumatic signals from the brake pipe from the front of the train and relay those signals to produce a corresponding action brake pipe at the rear of the train.

The Air Repeater Car features a diesel fuel filler and fuel level light glass for the diesel-powered air compressor.

The cars could be operated in either direction, with two air connections at each end.

The green pipe connected to the front of the train and the yellow pipe connected to the rear of the train.

Air repeater cars were used at Eugene, OR, Sparks, NV, and Roseville, CA.

Later, they were used as stationary air compressors wherever they were needed.

The last date on the COTS (Clean, Oil, Test & Stencil) Stencil under IDT (In-Date Test) is February 19, 1981, suggesting it was not used much after that date, however it did remain on the property long enough to become Union Pacific Building 7910.

Despite all indications that this car was still Union Pacific property, I believe at this point it was owned by the Albany & Eastern.

Little Giant Trakrane Model 32. John Lewis Grundon of Des Moines, Iowa, founded the Des Moines Dragline Company in 1946 and incorporated it as the Little Giant Crane & Shovel Inc. in 1960. The company was sold to Avis Industrial Corporation of Upland, Indiana, in October 1995. The Little Giant factory in Des Moines was closed in January 2001, and production was moved to the Badger Equipment Company of Winona, Minnesota, founded in 1945 and purchased by Avis Industrial in 1978. Badger and Little Giant were sold to Manitex International in 2009.

The Trakrane featured this herald for the Albany & Eastern Railroad Company.

Later in the day, I saw this train at the Tangent Street railroad crossing, pulled by Albany & Eastern #2002, sister engine to #2001.

Albany & Eastern #2002 was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1970 as Illinois Central #9511, one of an order of 20 2,000-horsepower GP38AC locomotives. In 1972, the Illinois Central merged with the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio to become the Illinois Central Gulf, and the locomotive became Illinois Central Gulf #9511. After their original 15-year lease expired, this was one of 18 of the 20 to be leased to the Missouri-Kansas-Texas in 1985, and it became MKT #335. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas was acquired by the Union Pacific, and the locomotive became Union Pacific #1992 on March 6, 1991. After the MKT lease expired, Union Pacific purchased it on October 23, 1996. It was renumbered to Union Pacific #1792 on July 25, 1998. It was assigned Union Pacific #292 in December 1999, but was retired by Union Pacific on May 25, 2001, before being renumbered. In 2002 it came to the Albany & Eastern as GP38-3 #2002.

Trains in Lebanon, Oregon, on January 19, 2006

I took these pictures on January 19, 2006, near the Santiam Travel Station in Lebanon, Oregon, on the Albany and Eastern Railroad.

Albany & Eastern #5129 is a 50-foot 5347 cubic foot boxcar, one of 300 built by the FMC Corporation for the Green Bay & Western in December 1979 and January 1980 in the 16000-16299 series. Cars 16100-16149 went to the Northwestern Oklahoma Railroad (NOKL) around 1993, and later became AERC 5100-5147. This car still wears its original yellow paint, with the “Green Bay Route” logo changed to read “Santiam River Route.”

Southern Pacific #4716 is a C-50-9 Class Bay-Window Caboose that was built by PACCAR in 1980 as part of an order of 75 that would be Southern Pacific’s last new cabooses.

The Southern Pacific was merged into the Union Pacific in 1996.

This caboose was no longer on Union Pacific’s roster in January 2002.

TTX Boxcar TBOX #666396 is a 60-foot boxcar built in 2004 by National Steel Car of Hamilton, Ontario.

This boxcar was on jacks while work was being done on its trucks, which were disassembled nearby.

Albany & Eastern #3859 was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1959 as 1,750-horsepower GP9 #456 for the Texas & New Orleans, a subsidiary of Southern Pacific.

After the 1965 system renumbering, it became Southern Pacific #3660.

On January 9, 1978, it was upgraded by Southern Pacific’s Sacramento Shops as GP9R #3859.

It was retired on February 20, 1991, and was sold on February 5, 1992 to the Willamette Valley Railway.

It was later leased to the Albany & Eastern, which purchased it in 1999.

Trains in Vancouver and Portland in October 2001

Photo by Cliff West

This group of pictures was taken by my dad, Cliff West, in October of 2001 at the Amtrak depot in Vancouver, Washington, and at Union Pacific’s Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon. We begin in Vancouver with Burlington Northern #7807, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in June 1977 as Colorado & Southern #937. Colorado & Southern was a subsidiary of Burlington Northern, and its locomotives were painted in Burlington Northern colors, but they had their own numbering system. These locomotives began to be renumbered in the Burlington Northern’s main numbering system in December 1978, and this locomotive became Colorado & Southern #7807. The Colorado & Southern was formally merged into the Burlington Northern on December 31, 1981, and this locomotive became Burlington Northern #7807. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #7807.

Photo by Cliff West

These four Chicago & North Western 100-Ton 5,250-Cubic-Foot 4-Bay Covered Hoppers at the Great Western Malting Company at the Port of Vancouver are part of a group of 100 numbered #490000 to #490999 that were built by Thrall between September 1993 and April 1994. These were some of the last freight cars built for the Chicago & North Western, and they became much more common in the Pacific Northwest after the Chicago & North Western was merged into the Union Pacific on April 24, 1995.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #7336 was originally built by General Motors Diesel, Ltd. in London, Ontario, in December 1968 as Canadian National #5075, a 3,000-horsepower SD40. It was retired in 1999 and was rebuilt by Alstom to an SD40-2 on October 5, 1999, and became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #7336, one of a group of 40 former Canadian National and Grand Trunk Western SD40s that became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #7300 to #7339.

Photo by Cliff West

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #853 is a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40CW that was built by General Electric in October 1992.

Photo by Cliff West

It was still somewhat rare at this point to see older locomotives that had been repainted in Burlington Northern Santa Fe's "Heritage I" paint scheme, so here are some more pictures of Burlington Northern Santa Fe SD40-2 #7336.

Photo by Cliff West

The motive power consist for this freight train represented the 1995 merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, with a BNSF-painted locomotive leading a locomotive in Burlington Northern's Cascade Green and a locomotive in Santa Fe's Blue & Yellow "Warbonnet."

Photo by Cliff West

It is interesting that despite being recently rebuilt for BNSF service in 1999, this unit did not have its headlight moved from the cab to the short hood following the Santa Fe's practice that BNSF continued.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern #7052 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in April 1978. Though this locomotive's BN paint scheme has not been modified yet, it has had its headlight moved from the cab to the short hood .

Photo by Cliff West

Moving on to Albina Yard in Portland, we see Union Pacific #5762, a 4,400-horsepower AC4400CW that was built by General Electric in March 2001. Union Pacific refers to this locomotive as a C44ACCTE, to make the model designation correspond to the form introduced by General Electric with the “Dash 7” line of 1977, and to indicate that this locomotive is equipped with General Electric’s “Controlled Tractive Effort” software, which limits maximum tractive effort when the locomotive is used as a distributed power unit in the middle or at the rear of a train.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific #4011 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, and was delivered on July 31, 2000.

Photo by Cliff West

Southern Pacific #67342 is a O-100-7 Class 23,500-Gallon Tank Car built by American Car & Foundry at Milton, Pennsylvania, in early 1974, part of a group of 50 numbered #67300 to #67349.

Photo by Cliff West

Union Pacific #8725 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40T-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in December 1978 as Southern Pacific #8525. After the Southern Pacific was merged into the Union Pacific on September 11, 1996, this locomotive became Union Pacific #4455 on November 23, 1997. It was renumbered to Union Pacific #8725 on May 6, 2001.

Photo by Cliff West

Finally, Union Pacific #4203 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was assembled by Bombardier Inc. in Sahagun, Mexico, for the General Motors Locomotive Group in August 2000.