The Southern Pacific Railroad was an iconic line most often associated with places like California and the Sierra Nevada range. For eons, it was the only major Western carrier without direct access to the nation's railroad capitol: Chicago. That changed in 1990 when trackage rights were granted allowing service to Chicago via Kansas City using the tracks of the Burlington Northern Railroad. That is what we see here, in the village of Lisle outside the Windy City, the somewhat unusual sight of an SP train on BN rails.
More notable is this 1995 view could be the maiden run of these locomotives, judging by the date and the fact that they look so new, as if they just rolled off the assembly line. The SP was a cash strapped railroad with a locomotive fleet that was often a bit ratty, covered in grime, the dark gray livery looking worn and dreadful. But in 1994 - 1995 they purchased new power and this shot of two General Electric AC4400 engines really shows off the colors of this railroad. The fresh paint and angle of the setting sun are so perfectly aligned this looks like it was posed by the publicity department.
In 1996, Southern Pacific began to disappear as it was absorbed in the the vast Union Pacific system.
