The 1980 National Railway Historical Society convention was actually an international event, taking place in Toronto. A Southern Railway tradition was to run a special excursion of private cars, called the Independence Limited to the convention. Two years prior to the merger with the Norfolk & Western, the Southern brought the N&W to the party, pairing a freshly-painted N&W SD35 with one of its FP7’s to power the Independence Limited. Here, on the day after the convention has ended, the pair is shuttled around Canadian National’s Spadina engine terminal to be reunited with their train for the return to the US. Moving the two road units is a CN RS23. Other than possibly on the day that the Independence Limited arrived in Toronto, this certainly has to be the only time that a high hood SD35, an FP7, and an RS23 ever locked knuckles.
The EMD SD (special duty) series are a strong and reliable kind of locomotive which still serve America's rails today. They have proved themselves reliable by clocking in several million miles of freight service over several decades.
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.