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The Grapevine Vintage Railroad travels along the historic Cotton Belt Route between Grapevine and the Fort Worth Stockyards. The Railroad is serviced by two vintage locomotives – “Puffy”, a 1896 steam locomotive which was currently undergoing repairs and “Vinny”, a 1953 GP-7 diesel locomotive.
We will look at the steam locomotives on static display as well as look into what happened to Puffy in the next post.
The EMD GP-7 is a four-axle road switcher diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between October, 1949 and May 1954. They were built for both freight and passenger use (primarily the former). The introduction of GP7 was, perhaps, the final nail in the proverbial coffin for steam.
This was the first EMD road locomotive design to use a hood unit design instead of a car-body design. This proved to be more efficient than the cab unit design as the hood unit cost less, had easier and cheaper maintenance, and had slightly better vision. A total of 2,734 of these units were built.
I have not managed to find any history about this particular locomotive. In fact, Vinny is not even included on any list of preserved GP-7 locomotives that I could find.
The Grapevine Vintage Railroad also has a collection of 1920s & 1930s Victorian-style coaches which can be seen in these two images.
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I could not resist using a textured finish with a sepia tone to portray these wonderfully preserved pieces of rolling stock. The old grain silos in the background helped create the atmosphere that I hoped for when finishing the image in this way.
Twitter: ljsaltiel
| August 27, 2012
I love trains Mark and this one is no exception. Nice perspective and color.
Twitter: timstanley
| August 27, 2012
Great vintage shot and sepia tone. It could pass for something from the history books.
Twitter: ToadHollowPhoto
| August 27, 2012
Love these, Mark, great great shots my friend! I love the nostalgia that trains seems to induce, even the ones built in the last century. It’s like being instantly taken back in time, to a simpler world. Love this shots, my friend, they are both absolutely top drawer!
Twitter: twitter (username)
| August 27, 2012
Wonderful shots Mark and I love the sepia on the second image. It really suits the shot.
Twitter: JimiJones
| August 29, 2012
Good stuff, Mark. I love old trains and you’ve done these justice, particularly that second shot. It’s perfect for the subject matter.