#gp30

Another Early Effort

Here’s another sequence from my early days of photographing trains: this is a southbound manifest on the Illinois Central through my hometown of Bloomington, Indiana.

The IC had merged with the Gulf Mobile & Ohio just three years earlier (and did not paint over locomotives quickly in any case) and so we have two of those units here—along with a black IC geep. The locos in order then, all EMD: GP30, GP38, GP9.

The first two shots were made at the yard office while the latter two from the Rogers Street timber bridge just to the west (railroad south). The final pictures shows an Illinois Central track-side structure there for motor cars.

Milwaukee Road GP30 1010, Bensenville, IL

“Some Green Street magic from back in the day. GP30 1010 sits in nice winter sunlight, coupled to the 1015, and another EMD behind it. If you didn't take any pictures at Green Street, it was only because you didn't have your camera with you.”

December 21, 1978 

Shiller Park

On my way back to Indiana, from Milwaukee, I grabbed a couple of shots of Soo Line power in the Chicago area. I was told by some on FB that this place is called Shiller Park.

As for the locomotives on hand—we see a big U30C 803 (with aerodynamic fins, which I dig), built in 1968, and GP30 717 (sporting Alco trucks, not really visible here), built in 1963. Both of these units were constructed for the Soo Line, delivered with these numbers. There was an F-unit and a GP9 loitering about as well.