Nostalgia & History > few from summer '72 . . .

.  .  .  taken in Louisville, KY summer '72. First one on IC line into town just short of a crossing and entrance into IC yard (posted before) second and third views are at KIT facility in Louisville.
JB

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JB, your first image rang a very loud bell for me. So I did some digging, and sure enough here's the 1100 obviously in peril. Sorry 'bout the scan quality. It was done a few years ago with my old HP...

1. IC 1100 in sad state of affairs just 5 years after Joe's shot above. In a deadline in Jackson, TN on May 12, 1977.

Lance/199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/15 08:25 by santafe199.

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Wow, what a trio! Absolutley rare catch getting three IC Alco's together! Also that caboose line-up, Amazing!

I never did meet anyone who actually ran (or claimed to have run) the Alcos.  I did, however, talk to one engineer who had less that kind words about the GEs bought around the same time.

This is a direct quote:
"Goddamn old junkers.  Boy they were a pain in the ass!"

Another train man who worked as a brakeman described the air starter on some of the GEs as being so loud the would scare the pants off you.

The top photo was taken at Woodcrest on May 30, 1970, while the bottom photo was near Kinmundy, Illinois, in September, 1974.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/15 13:53 by MaryMcPherson.

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Three IC ALCO Centuries together...RARE!!! Great catch.
Bob

The  "...trainman who worked as a brakeman..." doesn't know the difference between a C630 Alco and a GE!
The GEs had a start winding on the front of the alternator, and started very quietly. The Alco 3000 horsepower and higher units had the air starters!

I believe the four-axle GEs were the ones he was refering to, and I recall reading somewhere they had them.  Then again I never worked on or saw any of them in person.  If I got bad info in, I'm putting bad info out.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

MaryMcPherson Wrote:
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> I never did meet anyone who actually ran (or
> claimed to have run) the Alcos. 

When ICHS had Steve Lee as their guest speaker for an annual meeting held in Paducah in the late '80's or early 90's, Steve made mention of the "fish out of water Alco's" on basically an EMD railroad while discussing the IC Kentucky Division part of his career during the banquet.  Don't remember if he had claimed to have run them,  but he gave some insight as to why the 1100's spent alot of their time close to the Paducah shops just to keep them running.  They needed a lot of attention.

Good shots of the 1100's.  Thanks for posting.

IC1038west.

You certainly have a classic in that first shot.  I have never seen three C-636's together on a freight.  I'm drooling all over the keyboard just looking at it!  That shot is as awesome as it is rare.  Fantastic catch!!
 

The presence of BN power and cabooses were the result of Chicago run throughs via Centralia IL the SOU had arranged to counteract the L&N takeover of MON.  Louisville was as far as the BN power and cabooses operated.  SOU operated into Chicago.
It wasn't until 1973 after a bitter court fight that MILW was able to exercise Bedford - Louisville trackage rights granted by the ICC as part of the MON takeover by L&N.
ALLEN   

A main alternator in anybody's engine won't turn with battery voltage applied to it, so all three of the makers had to come up with another way of starting their alternator equipped engines, which is essentially anything 3000 HP or over at the time.  Now the 2000 hp locomotives are equipped with alternators, and this isn't about which new units have or don't have alternators!

EMD, owning the Delco line of truck starters, equipped their alternator units with two Delco 32V automotive type starters, and has for over 40 years.  Yes, the SD90MACs have air starters.

GE, being an electrical company, put a DC start winding in their alternators.  Their engines did and still do start quietly, just as they always did.

Alco, being a subsidiary of Worthington, used their partner's air starters, hence the noise.
G
 

Thanks for sharing images from my old backyard. Fortunately that GP30 2601 still survives at Spencer N.C.

Great thread.  I love the first photo with the three Alcos.

Mary McPherson: Thanks for contributing the photos of the General Electrics.  I never knew the Illinois Central owned 6-axle GEs.

Great stuff thanks for posting it!

IC1038west Wrote:

> When ICHS had Steve Lee as their guest speaker for
> an annual meeting held in Paducah in the late
> '80's or early 90's, Steve made mention of the
> "fish out of water Alco's" on basically an EMD
> railroad while discussing the IC Kentucky Division
> part of his career during the banquet.  Don't
> remember if he had claimed to have run them,

Lee had an article all about his experiences on ICG's "enigmatic" C636's in the September 2001 Trains, p.78-81.

While I also drooled over the three Centuries together, I did a quick double take on the caboose
shot.  The former GN car, now BN 10088, immediately caught my eye.  This car, in some four
years, would end up on the Deadwood Branch.  The crew, all ex-Q veterans, loved it; warm in
the winter with a cushioned underframe.  I got a shot of it published on one of Hol Wagner's "BN
Annuals",  76-77 off the top of my head, and it has remained one of my favorite cars, even if it
is in BS blue.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/15 08:33 by ntharalson.

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
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> Lee had an article all about his experiences on
> ICG's "enigmatic" C636's in the September 2001
> Trains, p.78-81.

Thank you Evan for the location of Lee's article.  I went back to reread it; forgot about a few things Steve mentioned in his writing.  The IC Vice President that came from the Reading surely would have been J. C. Humbert, which explains how IC ended up with non-EMD products (Alco C636 1100-1105, GE U30B 5000-5005, GE U33C 5050-5059) during that time.  Also forgot about the Alcos going for trade for the ex-SOU SD24's.  Just glad I got to see the SD24's run untouched on the IC before Paducah was commissioned to morph them into SD20's.  Thanks again for the info, Evan.

IC1038west.