Night into Dawn—Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington was a haven for EMD F-units back in the mid- to late-1970s. I ventured over there from Indiana several times to shoot the "covered wagons" of the Gulf Mobile & Ohio, sometimes in the dark. The GM&O was part of the Illinois Central Gulf by that time, but engines weren't painted quickly after the merger took place in 1972, which was fabulous for railroad enthusiasts. [I believe two of the F3s did make it into the orange and white scheme of the ICG.]
We begin this little sequence of images with a view of number 810B: it's an F3 built in 1947. This unit would be upgraded to pull commuters for citizens of Boston, as MBTA 1111. [In the end, a few of these charismatic F-units went to Boston, a few others to Metro North, but I believe others were scrapped within a couple of years from the time of these photos being made.]
Despite the lure of the Fs, I was also attracted to this wonderful SD40, a so-called Redbird. This one was built in September of 1966. Lastly, number 811b is an EMD F7 built in 1949.
I love the beginnings of daylight in the eastern sky in these latter two images. Three photographs by Richard Koenig; taken at dawn on November 21st 1976.
