Nostalgia & History > How things have changed here in 40 years.

Hard to believe that I took this shot nearly 40 years ago on a January 1976 morning.  I remember the morning well.  It was cold enough to freeze the balls off a pawn shop (surely everybody knows about the pawn shop balls, right?).

The location is from the US 66 overpass just west of Suwanee, NM on the Santa Fe main line.  Suwanee was MP 47.2 on the Gallup Sub.  The view is looking west with Mt. Taylor in the distance and a 1976 version of one of today's eastbound Z-trains.  Gone are the pin-stripe SD45s and SD40, the pole line, and signal bridges. Also gone are those old trailers and the caboose.  They still run left-handed here normally, even though it is now 2 MT-CTC.  The same shot today has the same scenery, but not the same railroad.

looks like another intermodal waaaaay back there ... i liked the pin stripe scheme the best ... nice shot ...

Another classic, John!  Thanks for posting this photo.

It must have been odd to find three matched pinstripe SDs leading an intermodal train in 1976.  Their silver trucks certainly tells us it isn't 1972.  

It must be 50 miles to Mount Taylor, hard to believe it when looking at your photo.  I'm also enjoying the drop frame pig trailers behind the motive power.  I just ordered a few of these in HO scale, recently announced byTrainworks.

Sincerely,
Tim Costello

No, whati s the pawn shop balls story?  upkpfan

Great shot.

~Ryan

Gone is also US 66.  It is no longer an officialy federal highway.

A lovely shot and a look back at the dark days of intermodal.

Back in the day long before double stack and domestic containers and when most imports came from Japan rather than China, those big fish-belly trailers on the point were full of trans-loaded Japanese imports. The K Line marine containers were mounted on chassis because there weren't enough chassis inland to be sure a dray to destination could be made. Add up the weight of the flat cars and the chassis and the light weights of the trailers and containers, and compare that to the weight of the freight.

The paltry amount of freight of this train would be shocking to today's managers. A lot of dead iron on this train and not much freight. Today's managers would shake their heads and wonder how the railroad possibly could have made any money at all in those days.

And actually, the railroad was in a downward spiral that was sure to result in bankruptcy had deregulation not come along.

Best regards,

Rob L.

upkpfan Wrote:
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> No, whati s the pawn shop balls story?  upkpfan

Rick Harrison explains the significance of the pawn shop balls sign on one of the Pawn Stars episodes.

Nice shot!

Randy Lundgren
Elgin, TX

I shot a video there in '90—if it's the same bridge. At that time it was a road off NM 6, didn't realize it was old 66. Nice piece of history.
—Mac