Nostalgia & History > Fresh AMTK SDP40F from The Perch (1974)

New SDP40F's showed up in Cheyenne and were easy to shoot there ... here's a pair of them passing the spot where Tower A used to stand when yellow passenger trains, led by yellow E units, passed by. Took this shot in Oct. 1974. No idea what train this was ... if BB would have been with me he would have let me know!!

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If the baggage car(s) are on the other end wouldn't this be #6 on the dog-leg between Cheyenne & Denver? That's just speculation... I never saw the train in person in Cheyenne...

Lance

I was standing right next to you and I told you it was "a train."  

Sven

SvenMolson Wrote:
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> I was standing right next to you and I told you it
> was "a train."  
>
> Sven

you see .... that's why I needed BB, why did I bring you along anyway

Like he said, the lack of a visible baggage car
suggests it's #6 headed backwardsly to Denver,
As does the fact that it's crossing over from
tracks 1 and 2 to the line to Speer (#5 would
usually run via Sherman).

The 'Smiley Face' chain is not across the door on the nose of the SDP40F. Would that be because they had to run around the train in Cheyene then run around it again in Denver? I did not know they had to do that.

valmont Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SvenMolson Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I was standing right next to you and I told you
> it
> > was "a train."  
> >
> > Sven
>
> you see .... that's why I needed BB, why did I
> bring you along anyway

That's funny!

Jim

No, 6

That scheme on those locos was pure eye candy.

May have looked nice, but rode horrible.  I worked Amtrak when these were in use and I can remember being able to see daylight under other crew members butts when flying down the track at 90 mph and this was on good track.   Plus the number boards had a large door that opened right into the cab for maintenance and leaked cold air like crazy in the winter to where you had to wear your coat in the cab.   And, if you were unlucky enough to have a large bird hit the number board he could come right into the cab with you....it did happen.



 

Otherwise called the San Francisco Zephyr. I road it twice: westbound from Osceola IA to Sacramento CA 1975, and eastbound from Sacramento to Denver 1976.

Posted from Android

atsfer Wrote:
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> May have looked nice, but rode horrible.  I
> worked Amtrak when these were in use and I can
> remember being able to see daylight under other
> crew members butts when flying down the track at
> 90 mph and this was on good track.   Plus the
> number boards had a large door that opened right
> into the cab for maintenance and leaked cold air
> like crazy in the winter to where you had to wear
> your coat in the cab.   And, if you were unlucky
> enough to have a large bird hit the number board
> he could come right into the cab with you....it
> did happen.

The F40's didn't ride much better, even with the four axle trucks...

atsfer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> May have looked nice, but rode horrible.  I
> worked Amtrak when these were in use and I can
> remember being able to see daylight under other
> crew members butts when flying down the track at
> 90 mph and this was on good track.   Plus the
> number boards had a large door that opened right
> into the cab for maintenance and leaked cold air
> like crazy in the winter to where you had to wear
> your coat in the cab.   And, if you were unlucky
> enough to have a large bird hit the number board
> he could come right into the cab with you....it
> did happen.

On which railroad/railroads? They seem to ride pretty nice at 90 to 100 on the Santa Fe, as well as the FP45 units on the Santa Fe.

Thanks for the photo.  It is good to see the Zephyr still in Cheyenne.  In 1979 it bypassed Cheyenne with the stop being West Cheyenne which was actually Borie.  A cold place in the winter! 

in 1974 the summer time schedule

for #5 was Cheyenne from 1210--1235 pm

  and # 6 from  115-140 pm 

if both were on time they would have crossed somewhere west of Borie jctn

That is  a nice shot of some good looking locomotives!  I've heard they ran smooth on the Santa Fe.

Randy Lundgen
Elgin, TX