Fellow EL Mail List Members, Again, I was looking through my recently purchased railroad book titled, "Atlantic Coast Line Passenger Service The Postwar Years" by Larry Goolsby and noticed on page 16, that the DL&W RR sold to the ACL in 1943, five Mountain-type (4-8-2 wheel arrangement) locomotives to ease their wartime power shortage. According to the caption on the photograph that was snapped on October 21, 1945, "The engines were assigned primarily to the Southwind over its Albany (GA) - Tampa (FL) run." Does anyone from the list know if they kept their original DL&W numbers when sold to the ACL? The number on the steam engine in the photograph is 1403. The photograph caption further goes on to state, "The seemingly endless heavyweight train carried coaches and sleepers from Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, and Atlanta." I wish the photographer could have photographed the whole train consist but in my estimation, it is a long string of heavyweight-type cars, maybe 20 or so. Would that number of heavyweight-type of cars be a correct estimate for this type of steam locomotive to be able to pull over that particular topography down south? Also, the steam engine looked in pretty good shape at the time of the photograph. Wasn't the DL&W RR still in its twilight of steam engine power for the time (1943)? Therefore, why would they sell five of their steam locomotives to another railroad when they themselves would (might) utilize them? Thank you. Sincerely, John Caselli ELHS #2429 ------------------------------------------------------------ Visit the erielack photopage at http://el-list.railfan.net ------------------------------
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