Nostalgia & History > AT&SF RS1 @ Chicago

Santa FE RS1 ... undated pic, no photographer ....  Carson Pirie Scott & Co. was long time department store operator, HQ in Chicago (more info, or correction?)
Was #2388 assigned to switch station?

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The building was Carson, Pirie and Scott's warehouse south of 18th Street and between the Chicago River and Lumber Street. It still there but has been converted to office loft spaces.

Likely was a station switcher, I see a steam generator stack. No zebra stripes, pic probably taken before or just after WWII.

Santa Fe's RS-1's were brought and equipped to be passenger station switchers.
They had steam generators in the short hood.

That's a very rare photo.  I can't recall ever seeing another in-service photo of a Santa Fe RS-1 wearing a 2385-series road number.  The first four Santa Fe RS-1's were built as 2385-2388 in mid-1947 and were renumbered 2396-2399 in May 1949 to make room for Santa Fe's last order of S-2's (which ended at 2391), so that sets the timeframe.  The other two Santa Fe RS-1's, 2394 and 2395, were delivered with those numbers in 1949-50. 

Also worthy of note is the early application of a radio antenna (early for Santa Fe, anyway). 

Santa Fe's RS-1's were indeed bought for use as boiler-equipped terminal switchers.  All but one spent their lives in Chicago working Dearborn Station and the Santa Fe coachyard.  The 2394 was sent to Southern California early-on and did coachyard and station duties in LA and San Diego.

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
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> That's a very rare photo.  I can't recall ever
> seeing another in-service photo of a Santa Fe RS-1
> wearing a 2385-series road number.  The first
> four Santa Fe RS-1's were built as 2385-2388 in
> mid-1947 and were renumbered 2396-2399 in May 1949
> to make room for Santa Fe's last order of S-2's
> (which ended at 2391), so that sets the
> timeframe.  The other two Santa Fe RS-1's, 2394
> and 2395, were delivered with those numbers in
> 1949-50. 
>
> Also worthy of note is the early application of a
> radio antenna (early for Santa Fe, anyway). 
>
> Santa Fe's RS-1's were indeed bought for use as
> boiler-equipped terminal switchers.  All but one
> spent their lives in Chicago working Dearborn
> Station and the Santa Fe coachyard.  The 2394 was
> sent to Southern California early-on and did
> coachyard and station duties in LA and San Diego.

2394 also worked the San Bernardino yards for a while after Amtrak took over.