The end is very near for Rock Island on July 15, 1979, as GP7R 4552 leads a matched set of jeeps under Loop 12 in Irving toward Dallas. Rock Island diesels and cars have been dressed in “Ingram” blue and white since 1975 in a desperate effort by president John Ingram to rebuild Rock’s tattered image. Likewise the 1952-built 4552, originally the 1304, is one of dozens of GP7s and 9s to emerge from an extensive rebuilding program (hence the “R”) to give the road’s tired roster a shot in the arm. All for nothing. In one month the road’s clerks will go on strike and five months later the railroad will vanish into a final, fatal bankruptcy.
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.
