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Main Line, Subdivision 5, DsMs Division, Atlantic, Iowa, Saturday morning, February 1980. Atlantic is a train order station and station agent, Mel Allen, uses a train order hoop to pass train orders for eastbound's locomotive engineer on #56, and eventually conductor riding in caboose 17004 along with brakeman. Number 56 is led by GP38-2 4374, recently wreck rebuilt GP38-2 4314 Martin A. Russo, U25B 230, and GP18 1344. Unique to the train is leased Alaska Railroad caboose 1070 coupled ahead of Rock Island extended vision caboose. This caboose looked brand spanking new. After highball from rear, #56's locomotives accelerate out of Atlantic for DsMs. Train passes the mammoth concrete grain elevators in Earlham milepost 387.4. After uncoupling and leaving train in DsMs yard, locomotives wind their way through the yard to end the day at 2pm on the service track in preparation for another road trip. -- Mark Morisky, 2/1980 What a surprise and delight it was seeing this brightly colored, clean, and fairly new caboose, coupled to a caboose of my favorite railroad; and wondering why this piece of equipment was so far from home on the Rock’s Denver mainline! -- Mark Morisky, 4/8/2018 Photo courtesy of Mark Morisky Steve Katkus did a little sleuthing and discovered #1070 was one of six Alaska Railroad cabooses that ended up used by the MKT, four of which saw assignment on Rock Island track under OKT management. One of them was later sold and ended up in a guy's backyard in Washington state. |
Photographs courtesy of Mark Morisky |
