This is a great one David, has a little bit of everything.
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Neat photo and a good explanation of the action. I like the lead SR GP-30
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Appreciate the kind words. Really miss those days and 'how it was'. Always grumped because never had time or $ to go to B'ham or Atlanta, but now realize I had it pretty good within 10 miles of home.
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Forgot to mention that at the time of the photo, Southern kept two geeps - always geeps back then - in Opelika to power Roanoke branch turn and locals serving Uniroyal and other local customers.
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And you can see one of the geeps in the background...
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Outstanding photo David!! Definitely shows his things once were in Opelika, I really wish they were still like that.
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Note the outstretched hands on the man in the blue jacket. It looks like he's stepping down from the station platform onto the ballast. He may be ready to get on board the locomotive, which is not easy to do! Also note the AAR Type B trucks (from an Alco unit?) on the third engine.
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| Posted by SES on January 15, 2020 | |
Jonathan, in the 1960's, when some of the railroads were retiring their early Alco, FM or Baldwin locomotives, or trading them in to EMD, EMD would in turn mount the used AAR trucks from these retirees or trade-ins onto the new locomotives being purchased. The Milwaukee Road, for instance, purchased a few GP30's in which AAR trucks from retired Alco units were mounted on them. Some GP35's also received this treatment as seen in the image above. This practice of mounting AAR trucks from retired/traded in locomotives seemed only to last for a short while as to my knowledge, I don't believe any later EMD units had such a treatment - they all had EMD trucks on them.
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