Nostalgia & History > SOO's "Dolly" sisters

Since I am leaving for a week trip to the Twin Cities first thing in the morning, I thought I'd post this shot [this is a scan of a 35mm photo] taken on my, and fellow TO'er ATSF100WEST, first trip to the Twin Cities in August '70. A stop at SOO's Shoreham yard, produced this one of a kind duo as SOO's only two ALCO DL640's [?], were sitting in the service tracks.
JB

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Great photo! I also have a photo of these units, but they are in Chicago DIT behind two Conrail GP7's or 9's!! They were on their way east (Naporano??) to be scrapped....

Thanks for posting...

Modelers will be interested to note that some firm will be producing these in HO scale next year.

Dave

Life-Like/Walthers, announced earlier this year:

http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=Locomotive&scale=H&manu=&item=&keywords=RS-27&instock=Q&split=300&Submit=Search

PE

RuleG Wrote:
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> Thanks for posting...
>
> Modelers will be interested to note that some firm
> will be producing these in HO scale next year.
>
> Dave

I forgot why those two units were called "Dolly Sisters"
Anybody wanna fill me in?

Castle_Romeo Wrote:

> I forgot why those two units were called "Dolly
> Sisters"

I don't know how exactly the moniker got hung on the locomotives, but the Dolly Sisters were twin sisters from Hungary who became a popular dance act in Vaudeville in the early 1900's. There was a pseudobiographical movie musical about them called, oddly enough, "The Dolly Sisters," that came out in 1945 starring Betty Grable and June Haver. I don't quite see the resemblence between an RS-27 and Betty Grable, but...

The story I heard was that the RS27's were always together just like the Hungarians.

It was mu understanding the name comes from the ALCo spec number, DL 640. When these
arrived many of us fans talked about them as much by that reference as RS 27's. I think
these were the first units in the red and white.

Keith A