#butlerwi

Before Mid-Century Design—First Generation Diesel Locomotives

These images were taken northwest of Milwaukee—at the Butler Yard diesel house, in Butler, Wisconsin.

Number 1684 is an Alco RSD5, built in 1954, while number 1589 is an EMD GP7 built in 1952. I’m surmising that both locomotive companies designed these, or pre-cursors thereto, back in the latter 1940s. The sharper edges of EMD’s GP30 would come along in 1961, while Alco’s Century line would be introduced in 1963.

I won’t lie: I think the asymmetrical trucks of the Alco are awesome.