Nostalgia & History > BN in Omaha about 40 years ago

From the Martha Street bridge, my favorite Omaha spot.  Picture 1 is Just Another Unit Train With SD40-2s and U-boats from 1983.  Looks good to me now!  Not so exciting then.  Pictures two and three are from 1978 and 1979.  Second-generation geeps were standard power on mixed freight trains along with U-something-B locomotives.  Just two or three years earlier U25Bs were in the mix too, but by the late 70s they were gone from Omaha and probably gone from the whole syestem too.

John



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/19 04:38 by Korigaoka1811.

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I'm going to have to check my research.  5783 I believe is either a U30B or a B30-7.  I'll know tomorrow.

Good catches on the ex-Q Gp30 and GP20.  Those GP30's went out west at the merger and getting one in the Midwest was a catch.

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Nick,

Not entirely true. Some former CB&Q GP30's did go west at merger time, units BN 2217 thru BN 2232. However many ex-Q GP30's remained assigned to Lincoln for most if not all of their careers, like BN 2233 thru BN 2254. There are always exceptions, but the above was generally the rule for the ex-Q GP30's. Great photos by OP and thanks for sharing.

Tim Dickinson
La Verne, CA

Thanks for the info.  I've seen a lot more photos of ex-Q GP30's in the PNW than in the Midwest.  

I checked my BN Annuals, and as usual, forgot to write the information down, but the 5785 (??) would have been a U30B.  I'll try for a more accuarte update tomorrow.

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

I've checked my sources and if the date is correct, 5783 is an ex-Q U30B.  This would be near the end for this unit as they apparently
were retired prior to the Frisco merger.  That gave the BN another set of U30B's that would include this number.  Anyway, along with
the GP30, a rare catch.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Thanks for all the input on these pictures.  

As for loco assignnemts, I can say that during the summer in the mid to late 70s around Omaha, I saw many GP30s, and U25/28/30Bs and a some GP20s, but not so manty GP35s .  Coal trains and intetmodals generally had C-C engines and local work was done by GP7s and GP9s and lots of SD9s.  Switchers?  Mostly SW1000s.

And I sure wish that I's been able to get up to the PNW at the time.  On that matter, I just looked at my old copy of the BN 74-75 Annual and I see that the following units were assigned to Vancouver and Interbay on 12-18-74:
GP30: 2200-2203, 2211, 2217-2229, 2231
GP35: 2530-2537, 2539-2545

Lincoln had assigned:
GP30: 2233-2254
GP35: 2520-2529

John