Nostalgia & History > few summer '99 . . .

.    .    .    few from summer '99 trip:
?top: BNSF's down one day back the next Centralia to Paducah local was heading south out of Centralia, IL.
?middle: One of CRANDIC's many jobs around Cedar Rapids was hauling coal to a loca power plant.
?bottom: An IC train was heading south out of Decatur, IL.
JB



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/16 06:33 by 3rdswitch.

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Good stuff, Joe, thanks for posting.  

As additional information, the Crandic job appears to be just east of the I380 overhead,
which is in the background.  This would be arriving coal for the still operational Prairie
Creek station, which has its own switcher.  Coal for Iowa Electric, now Alliant Energy,
would be hauled to Prairie Creek and unloaded.  Coal for the downtown station, I think
4th Street now razed, would be reloaded onto IESX cars, no per diem, and taken 
downtown in 50 car cuts.  The city got after Crandic for doing this during the day,
invariably during the afternoon "rush" hour, so Crandic started running the job at
two in the morning when I was working.  

The Geeps pictured were ex-SP GP35's rebuilt to GP38-2 standards.  They usually
worked the Iowa City job and were not well suited to the industrial switching Crandic
mainly does.  When Crandic farmed out the Iowa City job to Iowa Interstate, they
were sold, I don't know where, and Crandic went to SW/MP1500-slug sets.  These
are wearing out, so Crandic contracted with Relco in Albia, IA, for new power.  However,
there have been many issues with this "new" power, and apparently, I've not hear for sure,
the new engines with the"bloody nose" paint scheme, have been sent back to Albia.

You were in the right place at the right time to get this shot.  Even though I've lived in
the Cedar Rapids area for 30 years, I don't have it.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Nice shots JB,
Is the third motor in shot number two the "13"

Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.

retcsxcfm Wrote:
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> Nice shots JB,
> Is the third motor in shot number two the "13"
>
> Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.
No. You can clearly see "112" on the 3rd motor.

The last shot is great.  I used to live down the road from there.  Looks like it was shot from Franklin St. in Decatur.  That train was heading south down to Mattoon IL.

Joe

Every one of the shots are a favorite----from the years when power was fun to see.
Brian Stevens

wigwag Wrote:
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> retcsxcfm Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Nice shots JB,
> > Is the third motor in shot number two the "13"
> >
> > Uncle Joe,Seffner,Fl.
> No. You can clearly see "112" on the 3rd motor.

Well,I can't count.How about the FORTH unit?

UJ