Nostalgia & History > BB: Grande Gold & Chinese Red

A couple of historic paint schemes combine on this train, along with fine light and a cool sky ... by Bruce Black. The date was 4/9/71 @ Wheatland, WY. Tucked back in the train are the then familiar 'rust' hoppers that were commonly used for shipping ore from Wyoming mines to the (then) CF&I steel mil in Pueblo, CO.

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Yah, keep posting this stuff, you're doing a hell of a job of reinforcing the "it's all crap now" rant!

Out

Rio Grande power obviously leased for beet rush.  Good stuuf, thanks for posting. 

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Outstanding!!

Lee Hower - Sacramento

Even dirty those F's look great.

That BN/ex-CBQ GP40 was probably at least borrowed (maybe leased?).  Perhaps it's filling in on short notice for a fourth DRGW covered wagon that was bad-ordered in Denver.

Finding four-axle road switchers on the C&S in the early 70's was uncommon; the company didn't roster a single one.  I believe this is the first I've seen in a photograph from this era.

ntharalson Wrote:
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> Rio Grande power obviously leased for beet rush.
>  Good stuuf, thanks for posting. 
>

No beets in April. Not sure why they were short of power at that time of year.

Best regards,

Rob L.

ntharalson Wrote:
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> Rio Grande power obviously leased for beet rush.
>  Good stuuf, thanks for posting. 
>
> Nick Tharalson,
> Marion, IA

In some of my Rio Grande in Color books, the author comments that after the merger creating the BN, that new RR could not beg, borrow or buy enough power.  Some of Rio Grandes surplus F's were used by BN during this period - probably leased as you say, to fill power shortages.

Cheers, Jim Fitch

In one of the early BN Annual's ,there was a photo of a long train and the caption was " BN at Denver was so short of Power, all they could add was One unit "

Of course all this neat stuff on the C&S in 1971 and earlier, and our family moved to Cheyenne in 1972... === === = === JLH