The Memphis Chapter of the NRHS chartered a passenger excursion over the Grenada Railway between Batesville and Grenada, MS, using two E8 locomotives and ten passenger cars from Iowa Pacific, all in matching Illinois Central brown and orange paint. Lead unit SLRG 515 temporarily wore ‘IC 4035’ lettering on the nose for the occasion. Both locomotives, SLRG 515 and 518, are of C&NW heritage. The Grenada Railway operates over the former IC Grenada District. This was originally the mainline of the IC through northern Mississippi, but the route was spun off as a shortline after most traffic was diverted to the roughly parallel and straighter, flatter Yazoo District to the west. Iowa Pacific assumed operations of the Grenada Railway in the autumn of 2015.
Classic diesels such as EMD F-units and E-units embody the halcyon days of railroading in the United States, and they just plain look and sound awesome. Here are some personal favorites of the 'covered wagons' I've encountered.
