Ask Trains: Why do railroads create heritage locomotives?

GeorgeBush

Union Pacific SD70ACe No. 4141 letter for former President George H. W. Bush led Bush’s funeral train from Houston to College Station, Texas, in Dec. 2018. 18345-3 Bradley Bates Q: Painting locomotives is expensive. I’m curious to know why railroads would spend this kind of money painting heritage units? — David Berg, Minneapolis, Minn. A: […]

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Pacific Locomotive Association debuts restored Southern Pacific KM NEWSWIRE

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Southern Pacific KM No. 9010 debuted July 20 at Niles Canyon Railway. Gordon Lloyd SUNOL, Calif. — The Pacific Locomotive Association through Howard Wise and other volunteers have pulled off a miracle with the restoration of Southern Pacific German-built Krauss-Maffei Diesel-Hydraulic model ML-4000CC No. 9010. The locomotive debuted on the association’s Niles Canyon Railway Saturday. […]

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SD9 hauls again in Indiana NEWSWIRE

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With six cars on the drawbar for Nease Chemical in Fernald, Ohio, Indiana Eastern SD9 No. 206 cruises through the farmland of eastern Indiana on former Chesapeake & Ohio rails near the tiny community of Peoria, Ind., on July 18. David Rohdenburg COTTAGE GROVE, Ind. — Midwest shortline Indiana Eastern Railroad, which operates 43 miles […]

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Something borrowed

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With H12-44 No. 100 in the shop for repairs, Sandersville Railroad borrowed a Southern Railway F3, No. 6804, to run with SW1200 No. 200. The duo is at Tennille, Ga., on Dec. 24, 1965. The railroad is known for hauling kaolin clay, which is used in porcelain and paper coatings. Jack Parker photo […]

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Two Medicine Valley

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Great Northern’s eastbound Empire Builder crosses Two Medicine Valley near Montana’s Glacier National Park. EMD supplied the railroad with eight SDP45 locomotives, Nos. 326-333, in 1967, two of which power this train. Great Northern photo […]

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Sand Patch

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Baltimore & Ohio F7s tackle the twisting approach to the Sand Patch summit in southern Pennsylvania with an eastbound coal train in February 1953. The B&O had almost 300 F7 A and B units, in addition to FT, F3, and FP7 models. S.K. Bolton Jr. photo […]

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Sandersville switch

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Fairbanks-Morse H12-44 No. 100 replaced a former Central of Georgia 2-8-0 to dieselize Georgia short line Sandersville Railroad in 1953. The unit was the only FM on the railroad, which later switched to EMD. Little Studio photo […]

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Flood duty

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On a 1979 fantrip, Beech Mountain Railroad Alco S2 No. 9452 wades through high water at a unique culvert designed for just such a situation. At the time, the railroad operated from a connection with the Baltimore & Ohio at Alexander, W.Va. Donald McFall photo […]

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Meadville moment

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The Erie’s Pacific Express calls at Meadville, Pa., in 1951 with new E8s in charge. Lead unit No. 833 survives on the New York & Greenwood Lake south of Buffalo after spending time in Conrail’s executive locomotive fleet. J. William Vigrass photo […]

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