Digital Rail Artist

Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD F7 5764 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD F7 5764 at Denver, Colorado, June 25, 1971. Photographer: Robert C Anderson. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist. This unit was the last F7 the Rio Grande bought, built in July, 1952, as part of an order for 14. It was retired in March, 1972, and traded in to EMD on an order of GP40-2's.

Burlington Northern EMD F7 644 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Burlington Northern EMD F7 644 at Portland, Oregon, August 5, 1978. Photographer unknown. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist.

Burlington Northern EMD F9 826 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Burlington Northern EMD F9 826 at Portland, Oregon, June, 1977. Photographer unknown. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist. This unit was built as Northern Pacific 7006D in 1954. It became Burlington Northern 826 in March, 1970, and was retired in September, 1982. It was traded in to General Electric in October on an order of B30-7A B-units.

Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD F7 5631 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD F7 5631 at Phippsburg, Colorado, March 2, 1968. Photographer: Ed Fulcomer. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist. This unit was built as D&RGW 563A in July, 1949, and was renumber 5631 in February, 1950. It was retired in May, 1969, and traded in to EMD on an order of GP40's.

Burlington Northern EMD F7 684 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Burlington Northern EMD F7 684 at Portland, Oregon, August 10, 1977. Photographer: Vic Reyna. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist. This unit was built as Great Northern 464A in January, 1953. It was retired in December, 1980, and sold to Seattle & North Coast 102. It was later sold to the Iowa Northern, then Grand Traverse Dinner Train 1951, then Columbia Start Dinner Train 1951 in June, 2011.

Northern Pacific EMD F7A 6007A by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Northern Pacific EMD F7A 6007A at Laurel, Montana, September 8, 1968. Photographer J R Quinn. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 positive owned by Digital Rail Artist. This unit was built in 1950, and retired in December, 1972, and sold for scrap to Naporano Iron & Metal.

Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SW1000 146 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SW1000 146 at Denver, Colorado, December 15, 1974. Photographer: Bruce Black. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist.

Denver & RIo Grande Western EMD SW1000 143 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SW1000 143 at North Yard at Denver, Colorado, July 4, 1969. Photographer unknown. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist.

Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SW1000 141 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SW1000 141 at Denver, Colorado, January 27, 1977. Photographer: Bruce Black. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist. This engine was built in September, 1966, as part of the Rio Grande's first order for seven units, D&RGW 140-146. A second order for three more followed in 1968. It was retired by the Union Pacific in July, 1998, and scrapped c. 1999 at Waycross, Georgia.

Burlington Northern EMD SW1500 52 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Burlington Northern EMD SW1500 52 at Springfield, Missouri, February 16, 1981. Photographer: George R Cockle. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist. This engine was built in March, 1972, as Frisco 347, the first unit of an order for six, SLSF 347-352. This was the Frisco's third of four orders, for a total of 46 units.

Burlington Northern EMD SW1000 448 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Burlington Northern EMD SW1000 448 at Tacoma, Washington, August 12, 1979. Photographer unknown. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist. This engine was part of a second order of Burlington SW1000's, CB&Q 9322-9336, but were delivered as BN 427-434 between November, 1970, and January, 1971. When EMD introduced the 645 line, there was only one switcher on the market: the 1500 hp SW1500, built around the V12. Production lasted until 1974, with 808 built. In 1968, EMD introduced a 1000 hp version built around a V8. Production lasted until 1972, with just 119 built. Southern Pacific was a true believer that a modern switcher would pay for itself in just a few years, and snapped up 240 SW1500s. Few other class ones were that sold on the economics. Sales to other class one railroads were lackluster: Penn Central, 84 Southern, 48 Kansas City Southern, 42 Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, 40 Louisville & Nashville, 30 Reading, 20 Great Northern, 10 Sales of the SW1000 were mostly to shortline and industrial operators. There were very few class sales: Burlington, 12 Denver & Rio Grande Western, 10 At the time of the BN merger, EMD had another 15 SW1000s under construction for the Burlington but those were delivered as BN power. The choice of buying several more small orders between the recessions of 1969-1970 and 1973-1975 is curious, and even more so when considering some orders skipped basic options like MU and even classification lights!

Burlington Northern EMD SW1000 388 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Burlington Northern EMD SW1000 388 at Vancouver, Washington, August 13, 1977. Photographer unknown. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist.

Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SD40T-2 5355 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SD40T-2 5355 at Council Bluffs, Iowa, August 17, 1983. Photographer: George R Cockle. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist.

Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SD40T-2 5353 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SD40T-2 5353 at Minturn, Colorado, September 5, 1982. Photographer: Ed Fulcomer. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist.

Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SD40T-2 5386 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Denver & Rio Grande Western EMD SD40T-2 5386 at Salt Lake City, Utah, August 21, 1984. Photographer: J R Quinn. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist.

Southern Pacific EMD MP15AC 2730 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Southern Pacific EMD MP15AC 2730 at Blue Island, Illinois, on the Rock Island, March, 1975, being delivered. Photographer unknown. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist. It doesn't get much more "as built" than this ... the lenses aren't even in the lights yet, waiting for the paint to dry.

Milwaukee Road EMD MP15AC 464 by Craig Garver Via Flickr: Milwaukee Road EMD MP15AC 464 at St Paul, Minnesota, April 9, 1976. Photographer: Bruce Black. Scanned from a 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 negative owned by Digital Rail Artist.