Screaming toward the camera at about 55 mph somewhere east of North Platte, Union Pacific’s westbound Big Blow 22, a member of the final class of 8500-hp Class 23 and 24 turbines, is about the most impressive sight and sound on rails since the days of steam. Built in the mid-1950s when Bunker C heavy oil was still cheap, they handled a lion’s share of UP’s transcontinetal freight business at one time. But that time has passed. Fuel prices have risen and excessive turbine blade wear has made the Big Blows increasingly expensive to maintain. And so on October 2, 1966, the 22 and its sisters are entering their final years of service. The last run of a turbine will come the day after Christmas, 1969.
Photos of North America's favorite First Generation locomotives. EMD, ALCO, Baldwin; essentially anything that represents the OG wide cab diesel locomotive
