Nostalgia & History > Then & Now @ Buckeye Avenue

From Santa Fe to BNSF. From a 4-axle 1500 HP F-unit to 6-axle rolling, computerized high horsepower. From a single headlight to a triangular headlight/ditch lights affair. From lineside poles to full microwave communication technology. From 126 Instamatic to smart card digital. From before the photographer ever had any notion about embarking on a career in train service to his being retired from that career.

Dam-Sam!!! Ya go away fer a little while ‘n they go an’ change EVERYTHING…

1. AT&SF 261 L leads local train 1343, bound for Superior, NE about to cross Buckeye Avenue (main drag aka KS hwy 15) in Abilene, KS in April(?) of 1976.

2. BNSF 6990 is stopped short of Buckeye Ave, waiting on the next move in their station work in Abilene. This train will eventually re-trace the same route up to Superior that Santa Fe’s 261 L on train 1343 did 45 years earlier.
Photo date: February 20, 2021.

Thanks for looking back & forth!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/21 21:19 by santafe199.

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It would appear the first photo was taken from some sort of MOW car.

smf2mry Wrote: > ... first photo ... some sort of MOW car ...

In the late 1960s & 1970s into the early 1980s it was very common for Santa Fe to park bunk/outfit cars and other types of M.O.W. equipment on the 2 tracks next to the Abilene depot. Those 2 tracks were once used for Psgr Motorcars and before that actual passenger trains. But that era was long gone by the time my early 1960s grade school eyes started zeroing in on RR subjects. I do remember seeing SFe combines & drover waycars on what would have been mixed locals. But I don't  recall ever seeing any real-live passengers getting on or off at the depot...

Lance/199