Trains in Vancouver, Washington in September 2002

I took these pictures at the Amtrak depot in Vancouver, Washington, on September 6, 2002.

First, Amtrak Cascades #466 is a 3,200-horsepower F59PHI that was built in September 1998 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors with final assembly by Super Steel Schenectady of Schenectady, Pennsylvania. It is leading southbound Cascades train #753 into the Vancouver depot. This train was due at Vancouver at 4:47 PM.

Bringing up the rear of Cascades train #753 is Amtrak Cascades #90251, a Non-Powered Cab Unit, or NPCU, which was rebuilt in December 1998 from Amtrak #251, a 3,000-horsepower F40PHR that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in October 1977 using parts from retired Amtrak SDP40F #575.

Leading a westbound train from Portland toward the Columbia River Gorge, Burlington Northern Santa Fe #8088 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Diesel Division of General Motors of Canada, Ltd. in August 1979 as Burlington Northern #8088. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #8088 on April 20, 2001.

Trailing is Burlington Northern Santa Fe #7165 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May 1979. 

Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #7165 on September 10, 1998.

Switching around the Vancouver depot, Burlington Northern Santa Fe #2087 is a 2,000-horsepower GP38-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May 1972. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #2087 and was repainted into Burlington Northern Santa Fe's "Heritage I" paint scheme on August 16, 2000.

A consist of six BNSF road locomotives idled in the Vancouver yard near the depot. First is Burlington Northern Santa Fe #6841, a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in July 1978 as St. Louis-San Francisco (also known as the Frisco) #951. The Frisco was merged into the Burlington Northern on November 21, 1980, and this locomotive became Burlington Northern #6841. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #6841.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #6341 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in November 1977 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #5026. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #6341 on January 10, 1998, and was repainted into Burlington Northern Santa Fe's "Heritage I" paint scheme on February 17, 1999.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #780 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in September 1997.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #639 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in February 1994.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #4551 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in September 1999.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #989 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in August 1996.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #2733 is a 2,000-horsepower GP39-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in April 1981 as Burlington Northern #2733. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #2733 and was repainted into Burlington Northern Santa Fe's "Heritage I" paint scheme on May 31, 2000.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #3623 is a 1,000-horsepower SW1000 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in January 1971 as Burlington Northern #430 and classified as an SW10. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #3623 on October 5, 1998.

Here is another view of Burlington Northern Santa Fe #989 as the consist moved around the Vancouver yard.

This additional view of Burlington Northern Santa Fe #6341 clearly shows the 123” “Snoot Nose” low short hood of this former Santa Fe unit. Santa Fe had 40 SD40-2s built with 123” low short hoods to contain radio equipment for Locotrol, a remote-control system for mid-train and rear helper locomotives. On the Santa Fe’s 40 equipped units, the even numbered units were “masters,” while the odd numbered units were “remotes.”

Amtrak #45 is a 4,250-horsepower P42DC that was built by General Electric in January 1997. It is leading the northbound Coast Starlight, train #14, into Vancouver. The Coast Starlight was due into Vancouver at 4:23 PM, before Cascades train #753, but was apparently running late.

Trailing behind Amtrak P42DC #45 was an Amtrak F59PHI painted in Pacific Surfliner colors. The Pacific Surfliner service was established in 2000 between San Luis Obispo and San Diego, California, replacing the San Diegan service. A total of 15 of these 3,200-horsepower F59PHIs numbered 450 to 465 were built for Pacific Surfliner service in 1998 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors with final assembly by Super Steel Schenectady of Schenectady, Pennsylvania. Aside from the paint scheme, they were identical to the Cascades F59PHI locomotives numbered 466 to 470. All of Amtrak’s F59PHIs were maintained in Los Angeles. When the Cascades F59PHIs needed major maintenance, they had to be transported to Los Angeles via the Coast Starlight. This Pacific Surfliner F59PHI may have been being transferred to the Pacific Northwest to fill in for a Cascades unit in need of maintenance in Los Angeles.

This Burlington Northern Santa Fe Police Ford Explorer was stationed near the Amtrak depot. In an interesting coincidence, the officer driving this vehicle was the husband of my Spanish teacher from my Junior year of high school.

Amtrak #161 is a 4,250-horsepower P42DC that was built by General Electric in May 2001. It is leading eastbound train #8, the Portland Section of the Empire Builder, into Vancouver. It was due into Vancouver at 5:07 PM. I would board this train for Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

ArTrain in Hillsboro, Oregon in June 2002

In 2002, the ArTrain was displayed in Hillsboro, Oregon, on the tracks of the Portland & Western in SW Washington Street from June 29 until July 4. ArTrain USA was founded in 1971 by the Michigan Council for the Arts in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Initially intended to operate only in Michigan, it began operating beyond Michigan in 1973. The train made three-year tours of the continental United States to display art exhibits in towns across the country. This exhibit was called “The Artistry of Space,” a collection of 78 pieces of NASA artwork from the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington DC and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by artists such as Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell, Peter Max, and Robert Rauschenberg among others.

Since its founding in 1971, the ArTrain has used a variety of rail equipment. In 2002 the ArTrain consisted of four converted streamlined passenger cars and a caboose. The ArTrain cars were purchased from Illinois Transit Assembly. Three of the passenger cars were used as gallery cars while the fourth served as the gift shop and studio. The caboose was used as an office for the onboard staff and as an apartment for a staff member while the train was in transit.

ARTX #101 was built by the Budd Company in December 1948 as a sleeping car for the New York Central. It was originally named Missouri Valley and featured 10 roomettes and six double bedrooms. It was part of a group of cars that were originally assigned to the New England States, the Ohio State Limited, the Southwestern Limited, as well as general service. In 1950, the New York Central assigned five-digit numbers to all of its lightweight sleeping cars, although the numbers weren’t actually applied to the cars until after they had been withdrawn from Pullman service in 1958. This car was assigned #10136. It became Penn Central #4276, and then Amtrak #2836.

ARTX #102 and #103 were built by the Budd Company in July 1949 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Each car formed one part of a twin-unit dining-kitchen-dormitory car. Seven such twin-unit dining-kitchen-dormitory cars were built and assigned to the Broadway Limited, the General, and other trains. Each unit consisted of a 68-seat dining table car with a four seat waiting room, and a kitchen car with dormitory space for 19 crew members. While designed to operate as a set, the units were separate cars and not articulated. The cars were numbered 4610-4623; the dining units had even numbers and the dormitory-kitchen cars had odd numbers. ARTX #102 was originally Pennsylvania Dormitory-Kitchen Car #4621. It later became Penn Central #4621 and then Amtrak #8805. ARTX #103 was originally Pennsylvania Dining Table Car #4618, and was later Penn Central #4618.

ARTX #104 was built by the Budd Company in September 1947 for the New York Central as Baggage-Dormitory Car #8976. It was retired in 1968 and sold to Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It went to the New Orleans Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in the 1980s, then to the Seminole Gulf Railway in 1989.

ArTrain Caboose ARTX #0005 was built in 1971 as Detroit, Toledo & Ironton #141. The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton was acquired by the Grand Trunk Western in 1980, and was merged into the Grand Trunk Western in 1983. ArTrain acquired the caboose from Grand Trunk Western in 1994.

The ArTrain was pulled from Brooklyn Yard to downtown Hillsboro by 4449 on June 28. 4449 remained in Hillsboro until the end of the ArTrain’s exposition on July 4.

A member of the fourth type of Southern Pacific's "General Service" or "Golden State" 4-8-4 locomotives (the GS-4 Class), it was built in 1941 for glamorous service pulling Southern Pacific's premier Daylight streamlined passenger trains in Southern California, it too found itself replaced by diesels and was retired on October 2, 1957 and donated to the City of Portland, Oregon on April 24, 1958 and placed on display at Oaks Park with SP&S #700 and Union Pacific #3203. It would be the only Daylight steam locomotive to survive (though similar Southern Pacific non-streamlined GS-6 Class 4-8-4 #4460 also survives and is on display at the National Museum of Transport in Kirkwood, Missouri, it never wore Daylight colors). While in the park, a railroad employee named Jack Holst voluntarily kept the moving parts of the three locomotives oiled until his death in 1972. This would set the stage for #4449's resurrection.

In the early 1970s, as America's Bicentennial approached, Ross Rowland, Jr., with help from actor John Wayne, began planning a steam-powered museum train of American artifacts called the American Freedom Train that would travel the United States in celebration of the Bicentennial in 1976. By 1973, the project was underway, but a locomotive still had to be chosen. A number of locomotives were considered, including Union Pacific #8444, but in the end, Southern Pacific #4449 was selected to be the American Freedom Train's primary locomotive. On December 14, 1974, #4449 was removed from Oaks Park and moved to Burlington Northern's Hoyt Street Roundhouse near Union Station for restoration.

Though #4449 would actually be one of three steam locomotives that pulled the Freedom Train, it would become the most famous, at it pulled the train throughout the American Midwest and West. Former Reading Railroad #2101 (as AFT #1) was used in the east and former Texas & Pacific #610 was used in Texas. The Freedom Train opened in Wilmington, Delaware on April 1, 1975. As it was in the east, it began its tour with the AFT #1. Meanwhile, newly restored #4449's boiler is put to steam on April 18 for the first time since 1957. She moves under her own power on April 21, and was christened on May 16. She left Portland on June 20 to take over the Freedom Train in Chicago on August 4, after display stops in Sacramento and Ogden (and an unfortunate encounter with a dump truck in Nebraska). #4449 will pull the Freedom Train for the rest of its tour until it ends in Miami on December 31, 1976, except for a brief period in the fall of 1975 when the Freedom Train was pulled by diesels while #4449 was undergoing repairs, about a month in February-March 1976 when Texas & Pacific #610 pulls the Freedom Train in Texas, and four months in the summer when it is pulled on the East Coast again by AFT #1. After the Freedom Train tour, #4449 returned to Portland by pulling a series of Amtrak excursions across the South and West in April, 1977, still in its Freedom Train paint but with the "Amtrak" name added to the tender. This was known as the "Amtrak Transcontinental Steam Excursion." #4449 arrived in Portland on May 1, having visited at least 30 states (many more than once) during its Freedom Train and Amtrak Excursion travels, and was placed in storage, although this time it would be stored indoors, protected from the elements.

For more information about the American Freedom Train, visit The Museum of America's Freedom Trains.

In 1981, #4449 emerged, restored to the post-WWII version of its Daylight paint (with "SOUTHERN PACIFIC " in large lettering in the orange band) to travel to Railfair at the newly-opened California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. It would retain this paint scheme for nearly 20 years (far longer than it had worn it while in regular service & even longer than the locomotive had even been IN regular service), as its travels included a trip to New Orleans to promote the 1984 World's Fair, a trip to Hollywood to be featured in the 1986 motion picture Tough Guys, a trip to Los Angeles to be a guest at the 50th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal in 1989, additional trips to Sacramento for the 1991 and 1999 Railfairs, and numerous excursions in the Pacific Northwest.

In 2000, #4449 had the opportunity to pull Burlington Northern Santa Fe's Employee Appreciation Special. As BNSF didn't want to have a locomotive painted for one of the predecessors of its competition, #4449 had to be painted black with white pinstripes and BNSF heralds for the trip. After the BNSF trip, the black scheme was modified to recall the all-black paint applied during World War II as a cost saving measure and to make locomotives less visible in the event of an aerial attack by the enemy.

In 2002, rather than retuning to Daylight paint, #4449 returned to its American Freedom Train paint in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

During the ArTrain’s exposition, #4449 made at least one short excursion run along the Portland & Western rail line south down SW Adams Street to at least the wye junction with the line between Beaverton and Forest Grove.

The ArTrain was displayed near the end of the Westside Line of TriMet’s MAX light rail system. The line to Hillsboro opened on September 12, 1998. In conjunction with the opening of the Westside Line, MAX also introduced its new Type 2 light rail cars numbered 201 to 252. These Siemens SD-660 light rail vehicles began operation on August 31, 1997, and were the first low-floor light rail vehicles in North America. Pictured here is TriMet MAX Type 2 Siemens SD-660 #237 turning across the westbound lane of SW Washington Street toward the Hillsboro station.

The end of the Westside Line is the Hatfield Government Center station, adjacent to the Washington County Courthouse, the Hillsboro Civic Center, and the Hillsboro Post Office. TriMet MAX Siemens SD-660 light rail vehicles #245 and #228 are pictured here at the Hatfield Government Center station.

Having turned at the Hillsboro wye, #4449 returned with its train. This train consisted of the Yes, Dear, the Clackamas River, and the Plum Creek. DLMX #5811, Yes, Dear, was originally Union Pacific RPO/Postal Storage Car #5811. It was one of three built by American Car & Foundry in 1949. Union Pacific transferred it to maintenance of way service as #903672 in 1973. It was sold to Doyle McCormack for use as #4449’s tool car in 1985. DLMX #9201, the Clackamas River, was built in 1941 for the Southern Pacific, Union Pacific and Chicago & North Western's City of San Francisco as 10 roomette-5 bedroom sleeper Rincon Hill. It was transferred to SP in 1947 as #9201 & was retired in 1966. The Friends of SP 4449 acquired it in 1990 from a private individual in North Dakota for use as #4449’s crew sleeper. Though an SP car, the Daylight paint isn't correct as it was only used on day trains, not sleeping cars.

DLMX #1210, Plum Creek, was built in 1950 by American Car & Foundry for the Great Northern Railroad. It was originally a 60-seat, short-distance coach. 1210 is the car's original number. Unlike many passenger cars, this coach was not sold to Amtrak and remained with the Great Northern's successor, Burlington Northern, who removed the coach seats in 1977 to use the car as a mobile classroom, though the car's original overhead luggage racks and lighting remain. In 1981, the car was sold and was kept in Minnesota, where it was named Plum Creek, until 1999, when it was purchased by the Friends of SP #4449 for use as a parlor/lounge car. Though it wears its original number of 1210, the car's official number, which can be found in small lettering on the side of the car, is PPCX #800235. It is maintained in its original Omaha Orange and Pullman Green of the Great Northern Railroad.

Also nearby, but not part of the train, was DLMX #5659, Gordon N. Zimmerman, aka PPCX #800634, in service as a concession car. It was built by American Car & Foundry in April, 1954 as Union Pacific Baggage Car #5659. It was renumbered to UP #24427 in April 1969 and to UP Maintenance of Way #904227 in 1975. It was purchased from Union Pacific by the Friends of SP #4449 in July, 1997. It initially operated in light gray paint with a black roof and wore the name Better Idea. It was later painted in Daylight colors and renamed Gordon N. Zimmerman, after a crew member who has been an active volunteer co-coordinating and selling souvenirs on every SP #4449 trip since 1981 and helping to restore 1937 Daylight car SP #3300, former UP mail car #5811, now #4449's tool car and #9201 Clackamas River, #4449's crew sleeper. The Gordon N. Zimmerman was making its debut with #4449 at the ArTrain display. 

Trains in Vancouver, Washington, and Rainier, Oregon, in June 2002

I took these pictures at the Amtrak depot in Vancouver, Washington, in June 2002.

First, leading a light motive power move to Portland is Burlington Northern Santa Fe #5370 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in December 2000.

In the middle of the consists is Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe #809, a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40CW that was built by General Electric in June 1992.

Bringing up the rear is Oakway, Inc. #9046, a 3,800-horsepower SD60 built in November 1986. It is one of 100 such locomotives built in late 1986 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, and leased to Oakway, Inc., a subsidiary of Cornell Rice & Sugar. These locomotives were assigned to the Burlington Northern under a “power-by-the-hour” arrangement in which the railroad purchased only the kilowatt-hours of electricity produced by the locomotives while in use.

Arriving with the eastbound Empire Builder, Amtrak #42 is a 4,250-horsepower P42DC built by General Electric in December 1996. It has been repainted in an updated version of Amtrak’s Acela-inspired Phase V paint scheme, with only a single large Amtrak locomotive and a lower-positioned red sill stripe, with the lower blue band removed.

Leading a westbound freight train from the Columbia River Gorge, Burlington Northern Santa Fe #6331 is a 3,000-horsepower SD40-2 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1972 as Burlington Northern #6331, part of Burlington Northern’s first order of SD40-2s. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #6331 on August 11, 2001.

Trailing is Burlington Northern Santa Fe #4416, a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in April 1999.

Leading a southbound freight train, Union Pacific #7574 is a 6,000-horsepower AC6000CW that was built by General Electric in December 2000. Called a C60AC by Union Pacific, it was among the first units to wear Union Pacific’s new paint scheme with the wings on the nose and the lightning stripe on the sides between the yellow and gray.

The AC6000CW was one product of a mid-1990s horsepower war between General Electric and the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, spurred on by railroads’ desire for 6,000-horsepower locomotives to replace existing 3,000-horsepower locomotives nearing retirement on a two-to-one basis. Powered by a 16-cylinder 7HDL diesel engine developed in a joint venture with Deutz Motoren Werke Mannheim AC (MWM) of Mannheim, Germany, the AC6000CW was introduced in 1995. Ultimately, neither GE nor EMD found success with their 6,000-horsepower models, and the railroads ended up standardizing on locomotives with 4,300-4,400 horsepower. AC6000CW production ended in 2001, with Union Pacific and CSX the only domestic purchasers.

The second unit is Union Pacific #9351, a 4,000-horsepower Dash 8-40C that was built by General Electric in December 1988.

Bringing up the rear is Union Pacific #9547, a 4,135-horsepower Dash 8-41CW that was built by General Electric in November 1993.

Finally, running down the middle of A Street in Rainier, Oregon with an eastbound local freight train on another day, Willamette & Pacific #1802 is a 1,750-horsepower GP9 that was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in July 1956 as Denver & Rio Grande Western #5944. In June 1984 it was retired and sold to Mid-America Car Leasing. It was leased to the Kyle Railroad as their #5944 from July 1984 to December 1986. It was used on the Austin & Northwestern Railroad as #44 from April 1987 to November 1995, where it received the paint scheme shown here. It went to the Central Oregon & Pacific in December 1995, and was sold to the Willamette & Pacific in June 1998. The Portland & Western overtook the Willamette & Pacific in December 2000 but this locomotive retained its Willamette & Pacific lettering and reporting marks. This locomotive would be damaged in a derailment south of Albany, Oregon, in August 2004, and would be scrapped in January 2005. This was the Willamette & Pacific’s second GP9 #1802; the first, a former Southern Pacific GP9E, had been retired in 1995 and scrapped.

BNSF GP39V #2972 in Havre, Montana on May 18, 2002

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #2972 was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in March 1964 as Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #601, a 2,500-horsepower GP35. On August 10, 1972, the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad merged with the Illinois Central Railroad to form the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, and this locomotive was assigned Illinois Central Gulf #2500, but this number was never applied before it was sold in the spin-off of the new Paducah & Louisville Railway on August 27, 1986, remaining as #601. It was later sold to VMV Enterprises of Paducah, Kentucky, where it was rebuilt into 2,300-horsepower GP39V Burlington Northern #2972 in October 1990. Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #2972 and was repainted in Burlington Northern Santa Fe's "Heritage I" paint scheme on October 24, 1999. I photographed it from Amtrak’s westbound Empire Builder at Havre, Montana, on May 18, 2002.

Trains in Portland & Vancouver in March 2002

My dad, Cliff West, took these pictures around March of 2002.

Photo by Cliff West

First, at Union Pacific’s Albina Yard in Portland, Oregon, Union Pacific SD70M #4867 is a 4,000-horsepower SD70M that was assembled by Bombardier Inc. in Sahagun, Mexico, for the General Motors Locomotive Group in January 2002.

Photo by Cliff West

Moving to the Amtrak depot in Vancouver, Washington, Chicago & North Western #8603 is a 4,380-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in November 1993. The Chicago & North Western was merged into the Union Pacific on April 24, 1995.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #3547 was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in April 1957 as Great Northern 1,200-horsepower SW1200 #31. After the Great Northern was merged into the Burlington Northern on March 2, 1970, it became Burlington Northern #163 and was classified as an SW12. 

Photo by Cliff West

Following the merger of the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe on September 22, 1995, this locomotive became Burlington Northern Santa Fe #3547 in July 1998.

Photo by Cliff West

This is a Harsco Track Technologies RGH10C Rail Grinder. It uses independently adjustable grinder heads to restore the profile of the rail and remove irregularities to extend rail life, reduce wear on equipment, and reduce fuel use. Harsco is a company based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with a history that dates back to 1853, when it was founded as the Harrisburg Car Manufacturing Company. It became Harrisburg Steel Corporation in 1935, and in 1956 it became Harsco Corporation with three divisions: Metals & Minerals, Rail, and Industrial. In 1979, Harsco Corporation merged with Fairmont Railway Motors, Inc., founded in 1905 by Frank E. Wade as Fairmont Machine Company, a small machine shop in Fairmont, Minnesota. Fairmont began producing small single cylinder engines in 1907, and was incorporated in 1909 and began to manufacture handcar-like rail vehicles powered by the two-cycle engines. Fairmont Railway Motors became Fairmont Gas Engine and Railway Motor Car Company in 1915, and then became Fairmont Railway Motors, Inc. in 1923. Fairmont acquired Mudge & Company of Chicago, another railway motor car business, in 1928. In 1940, Fairmont developed HY-RAIL® attachments to allow automobile and trucks to be used on rails as well as roads, and in 1955, Fairmont acquired the railcar interests of Fairbanks-Morse. In 1992, Harsco Corporation acquired Tamper Corporation, which was founded in Canada in 1934, creating Fairmont Tamper. In 1999, the Pandrol Jackson Company was merged with Fairmont Tamper to form Harsco Track Technologies. Pandrol Jackson had been formed in 1990, when Pandrol International, which in 1980 had formed a North American rail grinding joint venture with Speno Rail Services, acquired a 75% interest in ultrasonic rail flaw detection company Dapco Industries, as well as a controlling interest in Jackson-Jordan, Inc., which was created when Jackson Vibrators of Ludington, Michigan purchased the O.F. Jordan Company. Corwill Jackson founded the Electric Tamper & Equipment Company in Ludington, Michigan, in 1923, and created the electric vibrating hand tamper. Electric Tamper & Equipment Company was incorporated as Jackson Vibrators in 1937. In 1960, the O.F. Jordan Company was purchased by Jackson Vibrators of Ludington, Michigan, forming the Jackson-Jordan Company. The O.F. Jordan Company was founded by Oswald Falcus Jordan in 1898 to produce Jordan spreaders based on his 1891 patent with Robert Potts in Chicago, Illinois.

Photo by Cliff West

Burlington Northern Santa Fe #1040 is a 4,400-horsepower Dash 9-44CW that was built by General Electric in October 1996.