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Santa Fe RSD15 "Alligator" 9828 is downhill on the south side of Cajon pass and passing a group of rocks characteristic of this area along the San Andreas Fault Line and Sullivans Curve.
Kodacolor Negative by Bob Black- John Black Collection. 1401
I've never been much of a student of true roster shots and this one is probably a bit too "nosey" by those standards. However, if a shot is to be nosey what better model for it than an alligator.
At the top of my list for must sees was this RSD-15. Better late than never, this one was always a step ahead of me. It was part of LS&I's eclectic fleet that would catch my attention during visits to Marquette, MI as a kid. By the time I made it back with a camera and a visitor's pass, the ALCos had been off the property for 2 years. They had gone south to the Fox River Valley Railroad and saw limited use. After college I moved to Wisconsin for work. By then the FRV and GB&W were gone and the alligators long parked. Still looking, I went up to Green Bay only to find a pile of scrap with LS&I red on the pieces where the locomotives met their fate.
The old LS&I 2402 (renumbered by FRV to avoid a numbering conflict with an SD24) had escaped the torch and found safety here at IRM. It's a little amusing that on a roster as modest as that of the FRV they still ended up with number conflicts. The unit ended up with GBW reporting marks but didn't see service on that ALCo bastion.
2407 had been used for visitors who had paid to try their hand at running a locomotive that morning, so I got to enjoy the sights and sounds of this beast. It took the afternoon off and was here on display once the afternoon sun swung around for a proper picture, 35 years in the making. August 10, 2024.
When the Santa Fe Gators were around, one need not venture into the swamps and bayous of Louisiana in search of the beasts as seen here in Barstow.
Kodacolor Negative by Bob Black-John Black Collection.
0703
Santa Fe 9806 just about has the battle to Cajon Summit Beat as is rounds the curve at the top of the grade.
Kodacolor Negative by Bob Black- John Black Collection.
0681
ATCX 442, an Alco RSD15 Gator leads the Austin and Texas Central excursion train along 4th Street in Austin, Texas on 10/15/2005. This was during the Day Out with Thomas event.
ATCX 442 was originally built as ATSF 842 in June 1960. This locomotive is still operational on the Hill Country Flyer, but is currently undergoing repairs and renovation.
Austin & Texas Central (ATCX) Black Widow heritage Alligator 442 is sitting in Cedar Park, TX, on Sunday, April 14, 2024, for an "unexpected restoration" that apparently has been going on since 2016.
ATCX 442 is an ALCo RSD-15/DL600B. Reportedly: it was built in 1960 as ATSF 842, serial number 83578. It became ATSF 9842, then Squaw Creek Coal 9842, then Indiana Hi-Rail 442, then Wabash & Ohio 442, then Maumee & Western 442, and then ATCX 442.
UTAH 400, 402, 403, and LASCO 600 lay over in Provo between runs in June 1973.
In July 1977 my dad , myself (I was 12), and his close friend made a trip east to photograph the Gators on the Utah Railway. Like the Milwauke Road trip in 1973, I had an attraction to the UTAH from the very first time we visited, which was probably on one of our first pilgrimage to see the Rio Grande Narrow gauge in 69 or 70. Still to this day, even though the UTAH is essentially gone, I still have an attraction to the empty rails southwest of Martin.
Digging in to the old man’s slides we have these three fine scenes along the LS&I in the mid 80’s.
Digging in to the old man’s slides we have these three fine scenes along the LS&I in the mid 80’s.
Digging in to the old man’s slides we have these three fine scenes along the LS&I in the mid 80’s.
The Green Bay & Western, a diesel era all-ALCo road to the bitter end, acquired six ex-Santa Fe RSD15s by way of FRVR/LS&I in 1990. They were never used by the railroad and just sat outside their Norwood shops in Green Bay until sometime in 1994 or so. The 2407, built 1960 as ATSF 841, was lucky enough to find its way into preservation.
Santa Fe X-5576W rolls along between Daggett and Nebo east of Barstow, CA on a cloudy February 10, 1973. Two SD45's are bracketing RSD15 9847, one of only four (that I am aware of) 'Gators' to wear the yellow-bonnet paint scheme. The others were 9804, 9838 and 9841.
It's early spring at the north end of the C&NW (FRVR) yard in Fond du Lac. We watched them switch their train for over an hour, taking in the sounds of classic diesels doing what they did best. At this point, the northbound Fox River Valley freight has finished putting their train together and are ready to depart, and it was time for a parting shot. I will never forget the sound of this consist as they accelerated out of town.
FRVR Northbound
FRVR 2402,2407,2500,2404,4329
Dexter, WI.
April 1990
Lake Superior & Ishpeming Alco RSD-15 No. 2405 heads an eastbound "Hill Job," waiting to depart Eagle Mills, MI on Sept. 8, 1986. The "Alligators" have always been one of my very favorite locomotives and I was happy to get the opportunity to expereince them on the Upper Peninsula.
A eastbound Lake Superior & Ishpeming train approaches Eagle Mills, MI on Sept. 12, 1986 with three RSD-15's. I have always been confused by the train. We were told it was the "Hill Job" returning from Tilden Mine, but this isn't the hill. The power had indeed been working all week on the "Hill Job." Regardless, it has a cut of coal empties followed by a train of loaded jennies.
Count my lucky stars that I happened to find this creature at Calwa on this day. It was a rare occurrence for sure, but it did happen from time to time. ALCo RSD-15 9812 idles outside the Calwa engine house in November of 1970. This is the only time I witnessed an Alligator this far into the Valley, and in fact, this was the last day I photographed railroads in the Valley for a good many years. I've always been impressed by those ALCo trucks - they mean business!
Tuesday, October 22, 1974, was foggy in San Bernardino, California. On this day I found nine Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) RSD15s in a dead line in the B-yard. ATSF 9841 is one of two yellow bonnet DL600Bs that were like bookends for seven pinstripe sisters in between.
ATSF 9841 is an ALCo RSD15/DL600B. Reportedly: ATSF 9841 was built by ALCo in 1960 as ATSF 841 RSD15 serial number 83577. In 1969 it was renumbered 9841. It was repainted in 1972. It was retired in 1975 and sold. Other roadnames and numbers reported associated with this locomotive include LSI 2402, FRVR 2407, GBW 2407. It subsequently went to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union IL.
Tuesday, October 22, 1974, was foggy in San Bernardino, California. On this day I found nine Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) RSD15s in a dead line in the B-yard. ATSF 9841 is one of two yellow bonnet DL600Bs that were like bookends for seven pinstripe sisters in between.
ATSF 9841 is an ALCo RSD15/DL600B. Reportedly: ATSF 9841 was built by ALCo in 1960 as ATSF 841 RSD15 serial number 83577. In 1969 it was renumbered 9841. It was repainted in 1972. It was retired in 1975 and sold. Other roadnames and numbers reported associated with this locomotive include LSI 2402, FRVR 2407, GBW 2407. It subsequently went to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union IL.