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Communication: Old School

The crew of a southbound Amtrak Floridian receive train orders at McDoel yard in Bloomington, Indiana. At the time this was of the Louisville & Nashville but I’ll always think of it as the Monon.

First we see the fireman in the cab of the SDP40F put his arm out to catch the loop of string holding the paper flimsies; then the conductor back in a legacy coach does the same. There were radios at the time of course, but I reckon they wanted to have hard copy if anything went wrong and trains came together.

Two images by Richard Koenig; taken November 6th 1977.

railwayhistorical

Amtrak Floridian

This is a southbound Floridian just north of Harrodsburg, Indiana; old State Road 37 crosses over the railroad here. This short-lived Amtrak train ran on the Louisville & Nashville, which was the former Monon mainline between Chicago and Louisville.

Photograph by Richard Koenig, taken October 31st 1976.

railwayhistorical

Rainy Day Train—the Floridian

Taken on the same day, and in the same town, as the previous post: this is a southbound Amtrak Floridian on the former Monon (Louisville & Nashville at the time) rolling through Greencastle, Indiana. The train is led by a relatively new EMD F40PH, and has an aging E-unit behind to provide steam heat to the legacy equipment.

The going away shot is really the star here, with the train passing a distinctive semaphore signal of the Hoosier Line. The bowling alley, called Varsity Lanes, perhaps due to this being a college town, along with the vintage cars, are a draw as well.

Two images by Richard Koenig; taken October 15th 1977.

railwayhistorical

Northbound at Hunter

A northbound Amtrak Floridian approaches Curry Pike on the northwest side of Bloomington, Indiana. The line here is Louisville & Nashville at the time, but in my mind I think of it as the Monon.

The semaphore signals visible in the first image are located at the north end of Hunter Siding. The F40PH locomotive is only a little over a month old at this time.

Three images by Richard Koenig; taken September 20th 1977.

railwayhistorical

Sans Headlight

This is a northbound Amtrak Floridian on the former Monon (Louisville & Nashville at the time) in southern Indiana. While there is a sign that looks like a milepost, I believe this is for some other purpose as the the location is between National and Diamond, south of Bloomington, Indiana.

As for the headlight, often these are turned off when one train meets another, and the engineer most likely forgot to turn it back on.

One image by Richard Koenig; taken August 13th 1977.

railwayhistorical

National Limited

Here's a shot of a westbound Amtrak National Limited on the former Pennsylvania Railroad (Penn Central/Conrail) in central Illinois. The train is two miles east of Teutopolis.

One can see that new welded rail has been installed recently, here in June of 1979. One image by Richard Koenig.

railwayhistorical

Northbound Floridian

This is a northbound Amtrak Floridian on the Louisville & Nashville, former Monon, in southern Indiana. The first image was taken at the well-known (to Monon fans) sweeping curve north of Harrodsburg, while the next was taken with the train crossing over Clear Creek south of the town of the same name.

Two images by Richard Koenig; taken May 22nd 1976.

railwayhistorical

Northbound Amtrak Floridian

When the Amtrak Floridian was first moved to the Louisville & Nashville, former Monon, through my town, it ran under the cover of darkness. Not having the wherewithal, knowledge, nor experience of an O. Winston Link, we would simply make long exposures to allow the train to flow-through the frame over time. I should say, however, we may have popped one flash bulb to illuminate the depot in the second image here above.

The first photograph shows the northbound train rolling away from us in Bedford Indiana—the train is gliding by the Monon depot there, not far the the crossing with the Milwaukee Road. The order board is lit and paper flimsies are being “hooped up”. The second imaged has the same train, coming toward us this time, passing the little frame depot in Clear Creek, Indiana, just south of Bloomington. The camera was held open long enough to trace the movements of an automobile through the scene as well as that of the train.

Two images by Richard Koenig; taken April 24th 1976.