NEB&W Presents Soph Marty's Photo Album - Locomotives

Last Update: 2007-10-20

Soph Marty's Photo Album Table of Contents
  1. New York Central Locos have their own section.

  2. SD Marty photo of ATSF no. 2600.

  3. SD Marty photo of D&RGW narrow gauge loco no. 463 at the coal dock. Soph said: "My favorite type of locomotive is a K-27. There were 15 of them and they were distinct, having been repeatedly rebuilt since 1903. If you know them well enough, you can tell them apart by just glancing at them, and not seeing the numbers.
    "My favorite K-27 was 453. She went through more changes than any of the others. Alas, 453 went to the Great Narrow Gauge Roundhouse In the Sky on 30 July 1954.
    "Of the 15 K-27's, two survive, 463 in Colorado, and 464 in Michigan. My dream, if I were to win the lottery, would be to purchase 464 and return her to Colorado, where she can double head with 463. As I would like to see the pair together before I die, I suspect that I will live a long time.
    "However, when the time comes and I eventually go, if you wish to visit me, come to the Great Narrow Gauge Roundhouse in the Sky. I will be quite busy giving TLC to 13 K-27's and the lone K-36 to die, No. 485. If you do not immediately see me, look for 453; probably I will be polishing her bell.
    "This photograph is of C&TS (D&RGW) 463, eastbound, leaving Chama, N, in pouring rain, on the morning of 14 September 14, 1996.
    "Last night, when my 12 year old grandson arrived, he asked, 'Grandpa, do you have any photos of 'DD's And he said yeah. I told him 'Yes.' He asked if I had many, and I responded, 'About 500-600.' He said, 'Cool! Can we look at them?'
    "I think the boy has potential..."

  4. SD Marty photo of the same D&RGW loco, no. 463, out on the line. Soph said: "We return to the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RR for another shot of K-27 no. 463. This photo is at Coxo Crossing, CO on September 14, 1996.
    "It is still pouring raining. I just pulled up the hood of my U.P. jacket, and let the rain fall. I used a large lens hood to keep the lens dry. The rest of the Nikon just got soaked, but I learned long ago that Nikons do not melt...
    "Note that the C&TS has relettered the tender back to D&RGW. I took the cheap $125 fan trip. In the next few photos I will tell you about the exclusive one!
    "Even on a cloudy, rainy day, a K-27 can be gorgeous."

  5. SD Marty photo of no. 463 again.

  6. SD Marty photo of no. 463 again.

  7. SD Marty photo of no. 463 again. Soph said: "This is the fan trip Glenn and I did not take. This photo of C&TS K-27 no. 463 was taken on the morning of September 15, 1996. The train has just left Antonito. The chaps in the open gondola paid $500 each to ride there. I do not know if the caboose was extra. They did get photo runbys at inaccessible locations, but $500 worth? Oh my!
    "This day, September 15th, was the only day of the week Glenn Joesten and I spent in the Chama-Durango area when it didn't rain. Those chaps rode the open gondola in pouring rain on September 14th. However, it is possible to get adequate photos in pouring rain, as I showed with the previous K-27 photos. Even though we had the protection of Glenn's four-wheel drive truck, we still froze on September 14th. September 15th may have been dry, but it remained bitterly cold. I wonder what the wind-chill was on that gondola..."

  8. SD Marty photo of no. 463 again. Soph said: "C&TS 463, K-27, is just leaving Osier with the special, high-priced fan trip train. When you look at the photo, note the weathered water tank, still in use, the tender lettered for D&RGW, the locomotive unchanged from the 1950's, the weathered 3000-series box car following, it is easy to forget that this was photographed on September 15, 1996. The engine is basically unchanged, without a phony diamond stack and circus paint. If you like narrow gauge, it is easy to love the C&TS."

  9. SD Marty photo of (D&RGW) Durango & Silverton K-28 No. 478, running between Cascade and Needleton, CO on September 17, 1996.
    Soph said: "And, yes, it is still raining... Alas, the Ridgeway stack is not authentic. Sigh..." - S&SS (Soaked & Squishing Soph).

  10. SD Marty photo of (D&RGW) Durango & Silverton K-28 2-8-2 No. 478, photographed on the High Line, near Rockwood, CO, in the rain, on September 17. 1996.
    Soph said that for those of you who can appreciate narrow gauge, especially K-27's, he has been enjoying the new Sundance Vol. IX, of The R.G.S. Story. There are several excellent photos of K-27 459 (also 463) and he can assure you the super-dooper PFM-Kodama model of 1976, brought in as 463, isn't 463; it is 459. He said: "Each of the 15 K-27's is distinctive. How could they goof up in labeling so blatantly? And they are supposed to be the experts..."

  11. SD Marty photo of Durango & Silverton K-36 2-8-2 no. 480 northbound at Needleton, CO on September 17, 1996. Soph said he thinks the downpour had stopped...

  12. SD Marty photo of D&RGW no. 482. Lots of dramatic smoke! Soph said:
    "Durango & Silverton K-36 no. 482 was photographed at Elk Park, CO on September 17, 1996. It is again raining. You may remember that Glenn Joesten and I had one-half day in the Chama-Antonito area without rain. As soon as we moved on to Durango, the rain returned. I didn't dry out until I left Colorado... Sigh..."

  13. SD Marty photo of D&RGW narrow gauge loco, no. 487, doubled headed, on the point of the train. Soph said: "This is for Bill Davis who asked for narrow gauge...
    "Many of you know that I am in the process of filing slides shot since 1976 away. Previous ones had been filed. I hope to be done before spring...or is it summer? A few days ago, I began to sort the slides in a 1996 box. There are 750 slides in there. I was quite surprised to find that the first two rows of compartments, holding 250 slides, were the usual modern diesel stuff. But the remaining four rows of compartments held 500 narrow gauge slides. The attached slide is from this group. Glenn Joesten and I had a narrow gauge orgy in Colorado and New Mexico in September 1996.
    "This photo shows C&TS K-36 no. 487 and K-37 no. 497, just coming around Windy Point into Cumbres Pass. This is one of my favorite photographs. It illustrates several things...
    "We seek ideal weather conditions, but you do not need them. You just need luck. There is an old section house at Cumbres with a sagging porch. It was pouring rain. I was standing on the porch, just out of the rain, when the train approached. Strange that the rain drops do not show...
    "It was cold. I was wearing a heavy fur lined jacket, and over it my large U.P. parka, the warmest coat I have ever found. My fingers froze, but I cannot handle the camera with gloves. It was worth it!
    "Second, you do not need old photographs to see beautiful steam. Just go to Chama. They are there every day...463, 484, 487, 488, 489, 497.
    "For those of you who do not know, there is a 4% unrelenting grade from Chama to Cumbres, paralleled by an excellent road. The locomotives take the train to Cumbres. No. 487 is uncoupled, turned on the "Y", and returns light to Chama. Not 497 takes the train down the 2% grade to Antonito. The road follows the tracks to Los Pinos, so there are many places to photograph them. For the more adventurous, dirt roads can be found to reach the inaccessible sections of the railroad. It had rained for days, they had turned to slippery mud, and it took all of Glenn's four wheel drive truck to get us in and out. At times it looked pretty grim...
    "When I die, I plan to go to Chama..."

  14. SD Marty photo of D&RGW double heading nos. 497 and 488, comin' round the mountain. Soph said: "From previous photographs you should have been able to deduce that the K-27 is my favorite locomotive type, yet I feel that the K-36's are the most handsome of all narrow gauge engines. K-37's are lovely locomotives, but have very ugly tenders, which ruins their appearance. In my opinion, the tender is very important in the beauty of a steam locomotive. Compare the ugly (to me), slab-sided tenders of Pennsy Mountains and Decapods against the neat UP Northerns or the NYC Niagaras or Hudsons. In the future I will demonstrate what I mean with lots more NYC steam and lots of Pennsy steam.
    "On the other hand, I felt that the Pennsy and UP cabooses are handsome, with their tall cupolas, while the NYC ones are horrid. Personal taste...
    "Nevertheless, here we have C&TS K-37 497 (in the lead) and K-36 No. 488 climbing the 4% grade from Chama to Cumbres Pass. The site of the photograph is Windy Point, and Cumbres is just around the corner to the right. It is September 16, 1996...and it is pouring rain again...which is why the photo is not clearer. Sorry about that..."

  15. SD Marty photo of EBT No. 14, a narrow gauge line in PA.

  16. SD Marty photo of a lash-up of Frisco diesels.

  17. SD Marty photo of Grand River steeple cab electric loco no. 224.

  18. SD Marty photo of HABCO no. 6871, undergoing repairs.

  19. SD Marty photo of IMRL modern Geep no. 382.

  20. SD Marty photo of Iowa Traction no. 50, an electric loco. Soph said: "In one of the fall issues of Trains Magazine, the obituary of the Mason City & Clear Lake-Iowa Terminal Railroad had been printed. I hurried out to the south side of Mason City where Dave Johnson's newly painted Iowa Traction No. 50 was alive and well. I even have a photo in the IATR shop of Dave Johnson hand lettering the locomotive. The photo was taken on December 10, 1988, and mailed to Trains. It was published in the March 1979 issue.
    "Unless my memory is failing, this locomotive came from the Kansas City, Kaw Valley (& Western?) in 1963, with the number 507. Originally, she was numbered ITR 53, but soon changed to ITR 50. These number changes make it confusing when you are trying to file slides, and keep all of a certain locomotive together. IATR 50 was built in 1920 and she is still going strong...thanks to the skill and determination of Dave Johnson. Also, not to take anything away from Dave, these B-W steeple cabs are almost indestructible. It is amazing what TLC will do..."

  21. SD Marty photo of ITR no. 50 working its way down some street trackage. Soph said: "Last night, while sorting slides of the MC&CL-ITR-IATR, I found this slide of a gentler, quieter time.
    "Iowa Terminal RR No. 51 (ex-KCKV 505) was found on Main Avenue of Clear Lake, IA, eastbound with one box car, heading towards Mason City. The date, with beautiful fall colors, is October 25, 1962. Note the "golden glow" headlight.
    "In those days, ITR went all the way down to downtown Clear Lake. And it is all gone. The street has been repaved and the tracks and wire are gone. Sigh...
    "But despair not, the ITR 51 is alive and healthy as IATR 51...and her trolley pole is still up! If you wish to thank anyone, bless Dave Johnson who is keeping these B-W locomotives alive..."

  22. SD Marty photo of ITR no. 60, out plowing snow.

  23. SD Marty photo of Iowa Terminal steeple cab electric loco no. 62.

  24. SD Marty photo of Iowa Terminal steeple cab electric loco no. 70, in Grand River lettering.

  25. SD Marty photo of Iowa Terminal steeple cab electric loco no. 70. Thorin Marty said: "ITR 70 saw little use on the former Charles City Western. The rotary converter in Charles City could run it and little else - so they were kind of a one-horse town when she ran. She weighed 70 tons. She was so heavy the roadbed could not hold her up very well. The little action she did see was in the dead of winter, when the roadbed was frozen!
    "The same was true for 80 and 81.
    "The book I am reading (Interurban Electric Locomotives) lists 70 as a 30-tonner. It also lists Grand River Railway 224 as becoming 62, and not 70. (A photo of GRRy 224 is above.)
    "The former Mason City and Clear Lake (currently Iowa Traction) is 600 volts DC. The former Charles City Western (CCW) was 1,200 volts DC. All of the Grand River Railway locomotives were 1,200 volts so those that made it to Iowa either ended up on the Charles City division or were scrapped at Emery. (A 1,200 volt locomotive is made by insulating 600 volt motors for 1,200 volts and putting two motors permanently in series. Volia! a 1,200 volt pair of motors.) So the parts could readily be reused in the 600 volt locomotives.
    "Most of the switching in Charles City was done by the Texas Electric (50 tons). I remember Ed Allen telling me his shock when he brought the dual voltage TE loco over to Emery. He went to the cabinet, flipped the switch from 1,200 to 600 volts and raised the pole. NOTHING HAPPENED. Someone in Charles City had ripped out the 600 volt wiring. Ed had to rewire it. (I expect she was rewired for 600 volts ONLY. So if the switch still exists and it is thrown to 1,200 volts with 1,200 volt trolley, they will be as disappointed as Ed was over 30 years ago.)
    "I visited the location of this photo, the shops area of the CCW, in the summer of 2001. All of the tracks are gone. (The overhead was removed in 1969 after they dieselized - sad, sad days.) The old, brick office is still there but the RR yards and such are just empty fields."
    To which Soph commented:
    "To further confuse matters, several "reliable" sources list ITR 70 as having been No. 222, yet my photo clearly shows that the number is 224. Look at the two pictures I sent; it is clear that GRR 224 = ITR 70. This is a big 70 ton electric. In the photo here, to the right of 70, "62" is visible. No. 62 is a smaller steeple cab of 60 tons. When I am next in the RR room, I will try to find what I have on 62; perhaps I have a photo of her when she arrived. I did not expect this much controversy when I scanned two photos of 224/70. Until I looked her up, I didn't know that my electric locomotive "bibles" were wrong.
    "Obviously, my idols have clay feet..."
    However, Vic Watson said: 'GRR number 224 was a smaller locomotive than GRR number 222. Number 224 was a 133,400 lbs. Steeple cab with four 125 hp. 750 volt type 562-D5 traction motors wired for and operated at 1,500 volts. Number 222 was a 144,800 lbs steeple cab also with four 125 hp. 750 volt traction motors wired for and operated at 1,500 volts. If you look at the photo of ITR 70, and compare it to GRR 224, you can see that the "hoods" of ITR 70 come straight out from the cab (the same as GRR 222) where the hood of GRR 224 has a downward taper (the same shape hood as ITR 62). These differences as well as other minor things show that ITR 70 = GRR 222 and ITR 62 = GRR 224."
    (Electric locos are waaaayyyyy out of area of interest. I am only passing on comments from our visitors.)

  26. A photo from the Soph Marty collection of Mason City & Clear Lake no. 3 in a snowdrift.

  27. SD Marty photo of a five unit of M&StL red and white diesels, mostly F-units. Nos. 404, 402, 408, 605, and 412 at 15th Street SE, Mason City, IA on February 4, 1961.

  28. SD Marty photo of a Milwaukee train, headed by engine no. 585. Soph said those two Milwaukee units were not Geeps. They were the lovely pocket-size (cute enough to hug) SDL-39's.

  29. New York Central Locos have their own section.

  30. Soph Marty photo of Nickel Plate 2-8-4 Berkshire no. 700 on a turntable, unknown location.

  31. Soph Marty photo of NKP Berkshire no. 712.

  32. SophvMarty photo of NKP Berkshire no. 742.

  33. SD Marty photo of SP diesel no. 7342 and another photo of no. 7342. Glenn Joesten said: "Fantastic - both sides! These were the only SD-40's the SP had - all the dash-2's were tunnel motors." (And Soph remarked: "Who would have ever thought diesels could be this interesting..."