Nostalgia & History > Read 'em and weep, pal!

I got me 4 aces, here! Whut choo got??

1. AT&SF 1111 poses for numbers-loving Bill Gibson in October of 1945, in Dallas , TX. Bill absolutely loved odd-ball numbers! Be it sequential, or all the same number(s) or especially his personal favorite number ‘2811’, Bill took great delight in discovering & shooting a new specimen. In fact, he may well have passed up shooting this engine because he couldn’t get the standard ¾ wedgie on it. But no way he would pass up shooting “4 Aces”... ;^)
BW 8x10 print by the late William A. -Bill- Gibson (WAG) Sr.
From the James T. Wilson collection

Raise... I’m going all-in!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
Jim Wilson (jtwlunch)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/22 06:22 by santafe199.

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Lance, did he get this one?  The 1010 is on my Death Valley Scotty train.

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santafedan Wrote: > ... did he get this one?  The 1010 ...

I don't find the 1010 anywhere in the Gibson Collection. But our good man Evan posted a dandy thread a few years back that will catch your eye:
( Santa Fe 1010's post-revenue career (trainorders.com) ).

Lance

Thanks, Lance.  I missed those when he posted them.

santafedan Wrote: > ... Thanks, Lance ...

:^)

Why is 2811 so special?    How about 2873?

I don't specifically remember why 2811 was special to Bill. Probably some special car or engine he shot way back when. He passed away in 1983 and his son Art passed this past June, so the trail ends there. Why do you think 2873 instead should be special to Bill after reading that 2811 was special to him???

Neat shot, Lance!

RC Lundgren

The bell from 1111 is sitting out in my garage. I bought it from a guy in Las Vegas, NM. It had been presented to a clinic or Dr that happened by a head on passenger train wreck near Springer in 1956 and he helped with the dead and dying. The bell was part of his estate, he took it home when the clinic closed.

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LocoPilot750 Wrote: > ...  The bell from 1111 is sitting out in my garage ...

Wow... small world indeed!

:^)

santafe199 Wrote:
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> I don't specifically remember why 2811 was special
> to Bill.

Day he was born? 2/8/1911 ?

BCHellman Wrote: > ... Day he was born? 2/8/1911 ?

Good reasoning, but off by a couple of years. Bill passed @ 73 in March of 1983, and I believe he had not yet celebrated his birthday for the year. Meaning he was born in 1909. Bill (WAG Sr) got started shooting in 1927, at the age of 18. Little Art (WAG Jr) came along in 1936, and at age 5 was photographed on UP 216 in Topeka, ironically on December 7, 1941. This is why Art (R.I.P.) chose "wag216" as his TO screen name. Art was 100% sure that Bill would have been "wag 2811" had he lived long enough to experience this great website. I'm pretty sure the 2811 thing was because of some engine or car Bill shot early in his shooting career. While scanning & archiving the Gibson Collection I scanned Bill's slides of SFe passenger car 2811 & SFe GP-7 #2811. He posed while son Art shot him in front of "ART" reefer # 28111". It happened to be spotted near the Mop depot in Topeka. There were probably more examples within Bill's B/W negatives, which I didn't get the chance to start scanning...

Lance/199