Nostalgia & History > 3 Santa Fe Shots from Chicago's Roosevelt Road Viaduct

1. ATSF 34C with Train 2, The San Francisco Chief, on December 26, 1967. If this photo looks familiar, Roger Puta was standing next to me that afternoon and I posted his photo. 34C was a F3A/F5A built Jan. 1949 and became CF7 2631 and eventually went to Zacky Farms 2631. The F5A designation indicates a F-unit built during the transition between F3s and F7s. Part F3 and part F7, so at least railfans take an avaerage, i.e., F5.

2. ATSF 543 backing ATSF F7A 310C and Amtrak's Super Chief [edit] into Chicago Union Station on October 14, 1972. During this post Amtrak period the train was still serviced and stored in the Santa Fe coach yard.

3. A younger ATSF 543 at Dearborn Station, Chicago, IL on May 13, 1964. This is a scan from a quite deteriorated Wards film slide. I am totally surprised I could get it to be half presentable.

ATSF 543 is, not was, a H12-44TS built May 1956, retired May 1974. The "TS" (Terminal Switcher) means she has a steam generator in her short hood to heat the passenger cars she was switching. She now resides at the Illinois Railway Museum and photos show her out in the open in poor shape. She is not on the Museum's web site roster. Only three H12-44TSs were built, all for Dearborn Station.

Enjoy,
Marty Bernard



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/17 11:37 by MartyBernard.

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MartyBernard Wrote:

> ATSF 543 is, not was, a H12-44TS built May 1956,
> retired May 1974. The "TS" (Train Steam I think)

Cinthia Priest made that assertion in The Santa Fe Diesel v.1, while Extra 2200 South claimed it stood for "Terminal Switcher." Those are the only two references I know that have weighed in on the subject of those initials. Santa Fe's locomotive folio sheets didn't show a model designation for them as late as 1970. By 1964, the model designation H12-44TS was already showing up in Trains Magazine and E.D. Worley's Iron Horses of the Santa Fe Trail, but neither of those references disclosed just which words gave rise to the TS initials.

It looks like you caught two of the ex-SCL sleeper domes together in the 2nd shot.

Beautiful photos.
Bob

Photo 2, especially, is gorgeous. The sparkling F units, the terminal switcher, and all of that "heritage" equipment in 12th St Coach Yard. The "rainbow" trains of Amtrak's early days. Thanks for taking and posting these.

Look at all the freight business in slide 1. Anyone know what business was received those cars?

Great post, Marty, but I believe that the 1972 photo the train was still the Super Chief, not losing it's right to use that name until about 1975 or so, when it became the Southwest Limited.

Lee Hower - Sacramento

knotch8 Wrote:
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> Photo 2, especially, is gorgeous. The sparkling F
> units, the terminal switcher, and all of that
> "heritage" equipment in 12th St Coach Yard. The
> "rainbow" trains of Amtrak's early days. Thanks
> for taking and posting these.

I would also add the humongous Pennsylvania Railroad freight house in the background.