Photo Highlight - EMD F7A

To this day EMD F-Units remain as some of my favorite engines of all time. The fact that they continue to show up in the modern day is a testament not only to their strength but also to their popular shape.

Today's Photo Highlight comes from Renton, once the Land Of F7s when the Spirit Of Washington Dinner Train ran in this area. Unit 82 - sister 84 - were part of Maryland Transit System before their arrival in Washington.

Great Northern SDP40 - Then and Now

©1972 Kevin Piper

A rarity even when built, EMD's SDP40 totaled only 20 units when production ceased in 1970. The main difference that set them apart was a steam generator added to each unit for passenger train use. Other than that, they were pure 60s Diesel goodness. Kevin Piper took the above photo of Burlington Northern 9855 at Cicero IL in 1972; this was one of six built for the Great Northern as #325. That same unit, now known as BNSF 6327 and seen below in a photo taken by Aaron B. Hockley, was still in service as of 2003 in Vancouver WA.

©2003 Aaron B. Hockley

In January 2008, 6327 was seen in this photo by Steve Welch pulling freight in California:

©2008 Steve Welch

That means this unit has been riding the rails for four decades. It's entirely possible that some of the crews that operate this engine are younger than that.

Talk about longevity and recycling!

Thanks to these three guys for establishing our timeline on a rare unit! Be sure to check out more railfan photos from the trio.

• Kevin's photos are HERE
  
• Aaron's photos are HERE
  
• Steve's photos are HERE

A Veteran GP30 In The 21st Century

Who would have ever thought a lowly industrial foot soldier like the EMD GP30 would survive 40+ years into the 21st Century? Consider BNSF 2745, a former GP30 on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy when it was built in 1962, now a rebuilt GP39 that still racks up the miles on the BNSF system. I had the chance to catch this engine in Seattle last year, but it has also been seen in other parts of Washington and even the rest of the US.

This shot is my favorite of the 2745!

Cascade Green Rarity?

A rarity? Probably not, at least in other parts of the nation. But around Seattle these older big SDs aren't seen much.

One thing that is interesting: 12 years after the BNSF merger, we are still seeing a lot of Cascade Green left over from the Burlington Northern days. Heck, we see a lot of Warbonnet too. I can't even fathom the magnitude of the undertaking to repaint all the locomotives this company owns. And in the end there really isn't much point if you can just paint "BNSF" on the side and get back to work!