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.
