Two of the more interesting members of Union Railroad’s fleet of EMD switchers stand with stacks capped outside of the shops at Hall, Pennsylvania. The Union purchased two TR5 “cow and calf” sets from EMD in 1951. The TR5 was essentially a pair of SW9’s, but one did not have a cab, resulting an n A-B set of switchers. Later in 1951, the Union took delivery of two more TR5B units. The four TR5B’s were numbered 701C – 704C. The unit in the foreground is identified as 701C, but clearly has a cab. The only explanation that I can come up with is that the original calf unit failed or was damaged in a wreck, and was replaced with a conventional SW9. Note that the cab was sealed off, making it a true B-unit.
In the background in a freshly-painted recent roster addition, NW2 540. It’s surprising that the shop forces didn’t add the signature roof walk to this unit before painting. The Union shop crews used these walks for easier access to the extended sand fillers on its switchers. In my first few years of photography, I made quite a few futile visits to local shortline Northampton and Bath. Until I researched this caption, I had no idea that I did get one of N&B’s two NW2’s. After the 1979 N&B shutdown, N&B 1002 ended up briefly on sister US Steel roads Bessemer & Lake Erie and Youngstown & Northern before becoming Union 540.
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.
