Vintage GEs Still Ply The Rails in Michigan’s UP

There still quite a few people who crave seeing early diesel locomotives in action, whether they be Alcos, GEs or EMDs.

If you are willing to do some traveling for that, then set a course for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The Lake Superior & Ishpeming maintains a small fleet of older General Electric diesels that it uses to haul iron ore.

Most LS&I trains are assigned four two-unit sets of leased CEFX AC4400CEs, but four older ex-Burlington Northern GEs can also be seen out on the line. This includes U30C set of Nos. 3000 and 3009, plus a C30-7 set, Nos. 3074 and 3073.

Trains magazine reports that these are the last U30Cs and among the last C30-7s known to be in freight revenue service.

Change tends to come slowly at the LS&I. It continued to operate 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotives through 1962 and several of these have survived.

LS&I initially had an all Alco diesel fleet before adding two GE U25Cs in 1964 and five U23Cs between 1968 and 1970.

It then went shopping for used locomotive power in the 1970s and brought home additional Alcos, including four former Baltimore & Ohio/Chesapeake & Ohio RSD12s.

In 1975, the LS&I picked up six former Santa Fe “Alligator” RSD15s.

The LS&I retired its Alcos in 1989 and began replacing its U-boats in 1989-1990.

Hence, it acquired 16 Burlington Northern U30Cs, which still wear their BN markings and colors.

Four U30Cs were replaced with the C30-7, in part because components of the two models are interchangeable.

Another power swap occurred in 2010 when the LS&I took delivery of eight AC4400CEs units.

The railroad continues to use its older GE locomotives in revenue service and has several of them stored at its Eagle Mills Shop. These include U30Cs Nos. 3003, 3004, 3006, 3011 and 3053.

Waiting For The Harvest Season to Begin

A caboose and string of covered hopper cars wait at Jones Switch for the call to be pulled down to a nearby elevator to be filled with grain.

I don’t know who Jones was and why a switch on the old Peoria, Decatur & Evansville was named after him.

I just know that for as long as I can remember there has been a grain elevator southeast of my hometown of Mattoon, Ill., at a place called Jones Switch.

Today Interstate 57 goes practically over the top of Jones Switch. The PD&E, which was acquired by the Illinois Central Railroad early in the 20^th century is mostly gone east of Jones switch.

A portion of the PD&E remains in place from the Canadian National yard in Mattoon – what’s left of it anyway – out to the elevator at Jones Switch.

Traffic on this spur probably is sporadic. A week or more might go by without any trains moving over these tracks.

I left in Mattoon since 1983 and don’t get back there much so I don’t know how often that trains operate on this line.

I do know that the last two times that I saw Jones switch there was a string of covered hopper cars parked to the west and an IC caboose wearing the IC “death star” logo was being used as a shoving platform for CN crews backing the hoppers out to the elevator.

As far as I know, the occasional move of covered hoppers is the only traffic still left on this segment of the old PD&E.

There are countless locations such as Jones Switch scattered all over America. A branch line or a portion of a branch line remains in place to serve a particular customer or two that needs rail service.

The distance between the Mattoon yard and Jones Switch is a couple miles or so and the track is not in the best condition.

I have to wonder how much longer that CN will agree to move covered hoppers over this stretch without some track rehabilitation.

Whatever the case, I made it a point to visit Jones Switch last month during a visit back to Mattoon this past August  to do some railfanning of the former IC.

The caboose I had seen two years earlier on these tracks was there along with a string of covered hoppers. The elevator owns or leases a geep painted solid blue that has had its markings and numbers removed.

The diesel was silent and I didn’t observe any activity at the grain elevator.

The only sounds came from traffic rushing by on the interstate and the wind rustling the corn plants next to the tracks. Some of that grain might move over these very tracks in a couple more months.

But the corn was still quite green and would need more than a month to mature and be ready for harvest.

So everything waits for its time. The caboose, the covered hoppers and the blue geep will soon enough have work to do.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

Rust is threatening to overcome the IC’s gray paint.

Some of the corn growing next to the tracks may well journey to market over those tracks and maybe even in these cars.

CN train crews are not allowed to go all the way to Jones’ switch.

The heritage of this locomotive is a mystery, what with its markings and numbers having been removed.

What tales could this geep tell of places its been and worked?

The elevator at Jones Switch looms in the background over Interstate 57. These tracks once went all the way to Evansville, Ind.

Need a used tractor? It still has lots of life left in it.

Diesel Day Set at Western NY Museums

It will be a celebration of diesel locomotives on Aug. 17 at the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum in partnership with the New York Museum of Transportation.

Among the locomotives appearing will be Rochester Gas & Electric No. 1941, a General Electric 45-ton side-rod switcher once used to shuttle coal hoppers for local power plants; U.S. Army No. 1843, a Fairbanks Morse H12-44 retired from the nearby Seneca Army Depot; and R&GV No. 1654, a rebuilt GE 80-ton switcher formerly assigned to the Defense Distribution Depot in New Cumberland, Pa. Also on display will be Lehigh Valley No. 211, a high-hood Alco RS-3 originally built for the Pennsylvania Railroad, as well as Kodak Park Railroad No. 9, an Alco RS-1 retired from the company’s sprawling film products factory located in Rochester. The museums will operate two diesel trains over their shared demonstration railroad, meeting a shuttle provided by NYMT’s electric trolley. The site is located 15 miles south of Rochester.

“It can be a challenge keeping up with a locomotive that is 50 years old or more,” said Joe Nugent, R&GVRM motive power superintendent. “Diesel Day is our chance to shine a spotlight on the collection and highlight the accomplishments of our volunteers as well.”

Visitors will ride behind vintage diesels aboard the museum’s restored Erie Railroad and Penn Central cabooses.

Supervised cab rides and visits will also be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The train ride connects the extensive trolley and transportation displays at NYMT with the restored 1909 Erie Railroad depot and exhibits at R&GV.

The special event also has extended hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Directions, ticket information, schedule, and full event details are available at www.rochestertrainrides.com.

Diesels on Parade at Illinois Railway Museum

The Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Ill., held a diesel days celebration on Saturday, July 20.  The museum had about 20 engines out for a parade including CB&Q Silver Pilot, an ex-AT&SF Alco RSD15 “alligator,” a Milwaukee Road Fairbanks Morse switcher and many others. Also on display but not in the parade was my favorite, the MNS “blue dragon,” a Lima Hamilton Center cab.

Photographs by Todd Dillon