Looks like the handrailing could use some straightening!
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Assuming this is the real 1280, the railings would have been a grain elevator add on, and should have been removed in restoring the unit to a more original appearance.
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I think it's beauty could be enhanced by just removing the handrails. That mangled mess left on it really detracts from it's good looks. I have always been a fan of that CNW paint scheme.
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This is not the real CNW 1280 FYI.
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| Posted by on November 26, 2019 | |
I'm a member of the C&NW Historical Society and was at the CNW Railfan meet in October. I actually got to run this locomotive for a bit. We were told by the W-GN folks that it was in fact the original CNW 1280, one of the two SW-600s CNW owned. BTW it was VERY freshly painted, some of the handrail paint came off on my hands!
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Its not the real 1280 as I stated above. The info you got is wrong. Great stand in for sure.
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| Posted by on January 6, 2020 | |
Strictly speaking, I have information and you have an opinion. The fact that 1280 was changed after being sold by CNW doesn't make it stop being what it is. If you have some facts showing this engine was not built as CNW 1280, please provide links to them.
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This EMD was built new for American Can and worked at Rothschild, Wisconsin (Domtar) for the entirety of its life. It was recently acquired from ILSX by WGNS and repainted as C&NW 1280 as part of a C&NWHS mini-meet.
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I discovered that the CNW 1280 and !281 were rare SW600s way back about 1970-71 as a favor for X2200 South's editor, Don Dover. I went to Altoona and looked under the hood with a CNW mechanic and the engine was the same basic 6 cylinder type used by SW1s. Easy verification would be to ask WGN for a look under the hood. My understanding is that CNW sold both to grain companies and the railings would have been applied by them. A look under the hood might solve the mystery.
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