Tucked away in the shops at Southern Pacific's Taylor Yard is RS-11 2923, freshly repainted but still resting on shop trucks. This engine rolled out of Alco's Schenectedy plant in May 1959 as SP ... (more)

An assortment of Western Pacific GPs idles at Keddie, California, in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. GP20 2001 is coupled to GP35 3013 and GP20 2006. In the background is the famous Keddie... (more)

The iconic locomotive for the Santa Fe! F7A 300C is seen resting between Amtrak runs at the enginehouse in Barstow, California. These Fs were retained by Santa Fe following the formation of Amtr... (more)

Nearly-new Amtrak SDP40F 504 gets watered at Los Angeles Union Station after bringing in train #3, the westbound Southwest Limited, on June 26th, 1973. For a short time, as the Amtrak 500s... (more)

Founded in 1903 as a way to give the powerhouse Southern Pacific railroad competition into northern California, the Western Pacific was built to connect the Rio Grande railroad in Utah with the Sa... (more)

Run-through Burlington Northern power is serviced at Western Pacific's Oroville yard in northern California. The BN power, combined with a WP engine, shows how colorful the first few years of the... (more)

Burlington Northern SD45 6463, caught on August 29, 1973 in Denver, Colorado, is the former Chicago Burlington & Quincy 522. The Q's SD45s were delivered in their green scheme that presaged the B... (more)

Southern Pacific 4302, seen here leading a westbound around the famed Tehachapi Loop, is an SD9E, upgraded from SD9 3908 (originally 5430) - although, as noted by author Joe Strapac, the official ... (more)

Southern Pacific used to paint engines in the open-air on the turntable whisker tracks at Los Angeles' Taylor Yard until the mid 70s. U25B 6709 is in chromate primer on July 22, 1973.

Heading west on the famed Keddie Wye is a Western Pacific freight train pulled by a solid set of Burlington Northern diesels: BN U33C 5719 (ex-Northern Pacific 3304) and three BN C425s (4258 [ex-... (more)

Of the twenty SDP40s constructed, six belonged to the Great Northern. Burlington Northern SDP40 9850's heritage is obvious, as it has yet to be repainted into BN Cascade Green. The attractive Bi... (more)

Month-old Santa Fe SD26 4659 rounds the Tehachapi Loop as it descends the crossing of the Tehachapi Mountains in southern California on June 23rd, 1973. Originally built as Santa Fe 959 in May 19... (more)

Soaking up the warm California sun at Western Pacific's engine facility in Stockton is a trio of EMD F7As, with 915-D in the foreground. Built by EMD in January 1950, the 915-D would eventually b... (more)

Four Rio Grande GPs and their train arrive at the Pueblo, Colorado, yard on August 28, 1973. GP40-2 3097 was delivered from EMD in 1972.

Four E-units of varying heritage lay-over in Denver, Colorado, after cutting off Amtrak's San Francisco Zephyr on August 29, 1973. Included in this consist are BN E8As 9964 and 9942 (both ... (more)