Rio Grande 5571 and an (almost) matched set of F’s climb through Arvada west of Denver with the PFM, Pacific Fast Mail, for Salt Lake City and points west. Even with a pair of pushers lending their muscle, speed will soon drop as the train tackles the Big Ten curve and the 40-mile climb to the Moffat Tunnel. That lead unit is more than it seems. Part of six F7 ABBA sets delivered to the Grande in February, 1949, and sometimes designated a “transitional” F5 model, the 557A was soon renumbered 5571 and received a steam generator for passenger service. Wrecked in a 1957 derailment, the unit was shipped to EMD at LaGrange for rebuilding. It emerged with the carbody and specs of an F9A, and wearing Grande’s new gold and silver 4-stripe paint scheme. It will remain one of the road’s last active F-units, and be sold in 1970 to the Alaska Railroad.
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.
