Electro-Motive 103 was built in March 1939 as part of a 4-unit set connected by drawbars (103, two B units and 103a). The A-B-B-A set provided 5400 horsepower, and was the "diesel that did it" to convince railroads that steam power was not as economical as diesel. After touring the country to demonstrate its abilities, FT-A #103 was sold to Southern Railway and became unit number 6100. After retirement, #6100 (103) went to the Museum of Transportation in St Louis, Missouri, as a historical reminder of the transition years from steam to diesel. In honor of its 50th anniversary, it was reunited with a B unit (owned by the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke) and both were repainted by EMD into the 1939 demonstrator scheme. After the anniversary tour, the A unit returned to St Louis, and the B unit returned to Roanoke. Fast forward to May 2014: Prior to pairing the team up again, the B unit was repainted at Norfolk Southern's paint shop in Chattanooga, Tennessee, then sent to the "Streamliners at Spencer" event at the North Carolina Transportation Museum where the duo was reunited for their 75th anniversary. After that event, they were both sent back to Chattanooga, where the A unit also received a paint restoration. Ironically, DeButts Yard in Chattanooga was the maintenance base for the FT's while they were in regular service with the Southern, so it was fitting that the duo was sent there for sprucing up. This photo depicts the set posing near the NS diesel shop in Chattanooga prior to their departure for St Louis, where they will be displayed back at the A-unit's "home", at the Museum of Transportation. Photo by Casey Thomason. For more information about Norfolk Southern, visit www.nscorp.com
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
